New guidelines to spread community grants further

A planned overhaul of the City of Whittlesea’s Community Grants program will make it easier for individuals and groups to secure vital funding for worthy causes.

Administrators resolved at Tuesday night’s Council Meeting to release the draft Community Grants Guidelines and commence a month-long public consultation process.

The proposed changes to the guidelines are designed to simplify the application process and ensure grants are distributed in an equitable way to a wider range of applicants.

The guidelines have been informed by feedback from Council’s partners, and from previous grant recipients together with analysis of best practice within the local government sector and beyond.

The draft Guidelines would see Council offer six categories of grants – small, medium, large, individual, unincorporated groups and emergency.

One of the significant proposed changes would be the introduction of all year-round grants, with approval rounds conducted on a monthly or quarterly basis.

Emergency grants are also now proposed to provide immediate support to eligible applicants experiencing unforeseen financial hardship.

When applying, applicants will be asked to categorise their event or program into one of four themes: arts and culture, sport and recreation, community leadership or sustainable environment.

Chair Administrator Lydia Wilson said Council was excited to partner with even more individuals, groups and organisations to deliver beneficial events and programs.

“The grants program is a great way to support the terrific work done by so many people for the benefit of our community,” Ms Wilson said.

"Updating the guidelines means that funding opportunities will be available for more people, providing they meet the eligibility criteria.”

The draft guidelines will be open for community feedback between 17 May and 13 June.

Key stakeholders and the wider community are encouraged to share feedback in a variety of ways, including digital engagement and community pop-ups; more information is available at engage.whittlesea.vic.gov.au

Grant Type	Funding amount	Timing
Individual	Up to $1000	Monthly
Small	Up to $3000	Monthly
Medium	$3000 to $20,000	Quarterly
Large	$20,000 to $40,000	Quarterly
Unincorporated group	Up to $1000	Quarterly
Emergency	On a needs basis	On a needs basis