Telstra Chairman Geoff Booth said funding has been given to projects benefitting children and young people experiencing social and geographical isolation to help them reach their potential, enrich their social connections and build their sense of belonging.

Over the next three years the Telstra Foundation will support a number of initiatives that focus on education, health and wellbeing.

New South Wales Premier Kristina Keneally has also announced an $880,000 funding program to support volunteers and encourage more people to step forward to give their time to help others.

The program will also set a target to increase the proportion of the total community involved in volunteering by ten per cent by 2016.