The Mirror News

Community grants: tonight’s the night

ONE of the first tasks of the new South Gippsland Shire mayor, to be elected at 5.30pm this evening (Wednesday, December 1), will be to acknowledge the successful 2010/11 Community Grants Program Round One applicants at a formal presentation at 7.30pm. Representatives of the various community groups will by now have received their invitations to the ceremony, which is always a very happy occasion.

A panel comprising Council’s Community Strengthening Coordinator, Recreation Coordinator and Grants Officer assessed the applications, taking into account any additional comments provided by other relevant officers, such as the Engineering Manager, Building Coordinator, etc.

Applications were assessed against the criteria identified within the Council Policy and Guidelines and scored accordingly.

A total of 77 applications were received, requesting a total of $344,091.30 in funding.

General community grants

There were 54 applications for General Community Grants, requesting a total of $208,170.30. The assessment panel recommended 26 projects be funded totalling $117,214.50.

Celebrations, festivals and events

Eight grant applications were received in the category of Celebrations, Festivals and Events. They requested a total of $28,290. The panel recommended five projects be funded totalling $14,000.

Planning development studies

There were 10 applications received for Planning Development Studies. They requested a total of $78,131. Six projects were successful and will share funding of $30,245.

The assessment panel identified that some of the applications are also eligible for funding through the Department of Planning and Community Development (DPCD), Community Actions Grant Scheme (CAGS), which provides funding of up to $5,000 to increase the capacity of grassroots sport and recreation organisations in regional and rural Victoria.

Therefore, to enable Council’s Community Grants funding to stretch further, three applications were submitted to the DPCD CAGS funding program: Korumburra Bowling Club Inc., Port Welshpool Bowling Club and Leongatha Gymnastics Club.

Major events

Six new applications were received for funding in the category of Major Events. All applications have been approved and will share funding of $28,000. This is the full allocation for the Major Events category. There will be no funding allocated in Round Two. The panel is satisfied that there will be no further eligible applications submitted during Round Two.

Grants total $338,000

The Community Grants Program is funded in the 2010/11 Financial Budget and includes an additional $58,000 transferred from the Councillors Discretionary Fund. The total budget for the 2010/11 Community Grants program is $338,000, with a total allocation of $189,459.50 for Round One. The total allocation for Round Two will be $148,540.

At its meeting last Wednesday, November 24, South Gippsland Shire Council gave unanimous approval to the list of recommended recipients and also approved the list of applicants for leveraging to other nominated funding programs.

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