Mayor Chrissy Weller said that the adjustments were timely to meet the needs of the community.
“Council has allocated a total of $419,000 to grant programs in the proposed 2022/23 budget,” she said.
“The approved adjustments streamline and consolidate the programs on offer, as well as creating an additional program. Four programs have had their budget allocation either increased or decreased to accommodate the number of applications we have been receiving.
“To offset this increase, the Responsive Grants Program and the Donations Program have been combined into one program, and their allocation lowered to $10,000, as very few applications were received to either of these programs in the last year.
“Due to the high volume of applications received for Community Event Sponsorship, and the lack of sufficient funds, the budget allocation for this program has been raised to $65,000. These additional funds have come from what was in the Responsive Grants Program and the Donations Program.”
Cr Weller said Community Equipment Grants had also been keenly sought, and so that program was altered accordingly.
“The trial of the Community Equipment Grants Program in January was extremely successful,” Cr Weller said.
“Council has therefore decided the program will be ongoing and applications will be accepted bi-monthly. The budget allocation for this program has been raised to $104,000.
“These funds have come out of the Community Grants Program, which has recently had a decline in applications. The Community Grants Program’s new allocation is now $60,000.”
Some programs remain open all year round, while Community Equipment Grants and Community Grants open at intervals across the year.
The first round of the new Community Equipment Grant program will open in July, with the next round of Community Grants to open in August.
To read about all grant programs, visit https://www.campaspe.vic.gov.au/Our-services/Community-support-programs/Grants-funding/Community-grants-program
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