Apply for Council's Economic Development Grants

Council is accepting applications for its new-look Economic Development Grants Program.

This program includes three new grant categories – Quick Response Grants, Project Partnership Grants and Multi Year Partnership Grants.

Quick Response Grants, says Economic Development Adviser Carolyn Bullen, provide up to $2000 to support one-off projects, such as networking nights, small projects and skill development workshops.

“For these smaller grants we’ve been able to simplify the application process to make it easier for eligible event and program organisers to access funding sooner,” Ms Bullen said.

Project Partnership Grants are for economy-boosting one-off projects, to be completed within 12 months, whereas the Multi Year Partnership Grants support longer-term projects.

“These are ideal for chambers of commerce and other not-for-profit business organisations, for example, to help them deliver additional projects that add value for their members,” Ms Bullen said.

Ms Bullen said Council was looking for projects that had potential to attract funding to the region, help grow new and existing industries and address local skills shortages.

Council has also changed the eligibility criteria to allow for-profit organisations to apply, but projects must have a wide benefit to local businesses and the economy.

“The other good news is that these are open or rolling grants, and not subject to closing dates and application deadlines. Essentially they remain open until the end of the financial year, or until we’ve distributed all of the allocated funding,” Ms Bullen said.

The new-look grants program is part of Council’s commitment to boosting the local economy, as outlined in the Local Economic Plan.

Ms Bullen said all applicants must discuss their intended project with Council’s economic development team before applying for funding.

For more information, visit the business page of Council’s website.

30 November 2017