Mr Eales said up to 70 people were known to be sleeping rough in the Ballarat community - and that was "70 people too many".

He said the national spotlight on homelessness this week emphasised how this issue was immense across this region. At the same time, frontline welfare charities were constantly working to explore new ways to break cycles of homelessness.

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The Ballarat Foundation will step up the focus on its Housing Support Fund for this month's Pitch Up crowdfunding event.

Pitch Up is a new event from The Ballarat Foundation calling on three charities to present their case to a room full of people wanting to give and make an immediate difference in the community. Newly launched Ballarat Men's Mental Health, a holistic service to help men navigate support services, and Eureka Mums, offering nursery and children's essentials to families in need, will also present their case to the audience.

Mr Eales said the Housing Support Fund was a pledge and response from the foundation to keep tackling homelessness and related issues after Committee For Ballarat's Future Shapers' homelessness forum last year.

"We want to fund support programs and programs that respond to homelessness," Mr Eales said. "We're trying to fill the gap for service deliveries that exist but go beyond offering a roof over someone's health.

"...We want to try and build funds for supports already doing great work."

The foundation's housing support fund has previously supported programs such as Ballarat and District Aboriginal Cooperative's A Roof For All Project.

This program provides emergency accommodation, food and clothing for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of all ages in crisis, including youth transitioning from out-of-home care or people transitioning from incarceration and those experiencing homelessness due to mental and physical health issues.

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Centacare's Wombelano Housing has also received a boost from the foundation's housing support fund. This helped redevelop and refurnish houses for survivors of family violence, offering a safe refuge to recover.

Pitch Up, while a new concept to Ballarat, has proven a major fundraising drive for regional areas across the nation under The Funding Network's model.

The Ballarat event, to be hosted by ABC radio presenter Jacinta Parsons, is billed to be a fun, high-energy event to create change. Charities will be pleading their cases and rallying for money together, rather than in competition with each other.

Mr Eales said Pitch Up was free and open to anyone wanting to learn more about these charities - you did not have to be a big donor or business leader.

Pitch Up is at Regent Cinemas on August 17, from 5.30pm. Bookings essential: ballaratfoundation.org.au.

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