Grants and Funding
MidCoast Council operates three main Community Funding streams aimed at helping not-for-profit community groups support activities that provide social, environmental or economic benefits to our community:
1) Community Donations
2) Event Sponsorship
3) Local Heritage Fund
From time to time, other community grant and funding opportunities may become available and will be included here.
Disaster Recovery Grants
Eligible community groups are being invited to apply for new funding to support ongoing recovery and build resilience and preparedness for future disaster events.
Funding of between $2,000 and $15,000 will be available for community development and capacity building projects and activities, which must be completed by 20 March 2022.
The projects and activities can either support ongoing recovery needs in a community, or they may improve the capacity and capability of community members to respond to future disasters.
The funding may also be used to purchase items of equipment required to deliver these projects and activities.
Application period
Open date: 30 August 2021 Closing date: 10 October 2021 at 11:59pm
Eligible organisations
You must satisfy all eligibility criteria before we can consider your application.
To be eligible you must:
- Have an Australian Business Number (ABN)
And be one of the following entities:
- An entity incorporated in Australia
- A company limited by guarantee
- An incorporated association
- An incorporated not for profit organisation
- A non-distributive co-operation
- An incorporated trustee on behalf of a trust
The Disaster Recovery grants fund is open to the above entities that operate and deliver activities in the MidCoast local government area.
Eligible organisations or community groups must demonstrate their capacity to manage funds and deliver the project successfully.
Eligible projects
Projects must meet the following criteria:
- Deliver social, cultural, economic and/or environmental benefits to communities in the MidCoast Council local government area
- Social: the project will result in improved health, welfare and/or education outcomes for the community.
- Cultural: the project will promote or preserve the heritage, beliefs, customs, practices or behaviour of a group, organisation, or community.
- Economic: the project will result in an increase flow of money to the community.
- Environment: the project will result in the improvement in the natural environment.
2. Address an identified community priority
- Community priorities can be identified and evidenced through a range of means including statistics and community consultation.
3. Demonstrate broad community reach
- Project reach refers to the proportion of the community that will benefit from the proposed project. Reach can be defined in a range of ways including geographic reach across localities / communities and demographic reach across specific populations such as age, gender or culture.
4. Be well defined with a clear budget
- Projects must have defined outcomes linked to the identified need and a clear budget that supports delivery of those outcomes.
- Project costs must be informed by quotes and estimates. For proposed capital purchases of $500 or more at least two written quotes must be provided.
5. Be sustainable
- Projects must demonstrate how their proposed benefits will be sustained beyond the period of funding.
- Projects with ongoing or recurrent costs must demonstrate how these costs will be met once grant funding has been expended.
How to apply
You can apply online using the form here. The form can be saved, so you can save your progress and come back later to complete.
Please review all questions before beginning, and ensure you have necessary documentation for upload.
You will also need to complete the attached budget template for your project or activity and upload it in the relevant field on the form:
Budget template(XLSX, 12KB)
Click here to view form.
Duralie Community Fund
Applications closed on 23 June 2021. A report went up to the 28 July Council Meeting advising of successful applicants.
Community Donations
Community groups play a vital role in strengthening our local communities. Whether it’s by bringing people together, improving local facilities, providing training and skill development, or something else altogether, you may be eligible to apply for funding through our Community Donations program.
There are 4 types of Community Funding for eligible organisations for the purposes of delivering community development and capacity-building projects and activities.
1) Annual Donations Program
The purpose of the Annual Donations Program is to provide eligible organisations with a one-off donation to deliver community development and capacity-building projects and activities or to purchase small items of equipment required to deliver community development and capacity-building projects and activities.
Eligible organisations may apply for a donation of up to $2,000 and may only be granted one donation under this program per funding round.
The funding round for Annual Donations and Seed Funding closed on 9 April 2021.
2) Seed Funding Program
The purpose of the Seed Funding Program is to provide eligible organisations with fixed-term seed funding to establish self-sustaining activities, or to build provider capacity to be self-sustaining.
Eligible organisations may apply for up to $10,000 in funding over a term of up to two years, and may only be granted one allocation of funding under this program in any two-year period.
The funding round for Annual Donations and Seed Funding closed on 9 April 2021.
3) Small Donations Funding
The purpose of the Small Donations Funding is to provide eligible organisations with a small donation to assist in the delivery of minor community capacity-building and development projects and activities, or to purchase minor items of equipment required to deliver community development and capacity-building projects and activities.
Eligible organisations may apply for a donation of up to $150, and may only be granted one donation under this program per financial year.
Applications under this program will be accepted at any time – there is no fixed application period for this funding.
Applications must be submitted online using the application form.
Apply for Small Donations funding here.
4) Recurrent Donations Program (Rates and Fixed)
The purpose of the Recurrent Donations Program is to provide eligible organisations with rates subsidies and/or recurrent donations to deliver core business that primarily aligns with and furthers delivery of the service functions of Council, and/or to provide essential community services.
Applications under this program will be accepted at any time – there is no fixed application period for this funding.
Applications must be submitted online using the application form.
Apply for the Recurrent Donations Program here.
Event Sponsorship
Not only do local events connect our vibrant communities, they help put us on the map, attracting visitors and building our economy.
From art shows and music festivals, to sporting events, food, fashion and everything in between, our events are a celebration of what the MidCoast is all about.
Depending on the scale of your event, three categories of funding are offered in the sponsorship program:
- Community and Local Events: Up to $2,500
- Events and Festivals: up to $10,000
- Regionally Significant: $10,000+
Please note that all applicants are required to submit an event budget using our event budget template(DOCX, 66KB). This should be downloaded, completed and attached to your application form.
Need help deciding which category your event falls into? We have prepared Event Sponsorship Guidelines(PDF, 156KB)
to assist you in completing the application form by providing some examples of the type of information you could include in order to address the selection criteria relevant to your event.
Applications for Events and Festivals Round 2 have closed. Organisers of 'Regionally Significant Events' should contact our events team prior to application.
Funding dates
| Category |
Application period |
| Community & Local Events |
1 - 31 March |
| Events & Festivals |
|
| * Round 1 - events held 1 July - 31 December |
1 - 31 March |
| * Round 2 - events held 1 January - 30 June |
1 - 31 August |
| Regionally Significant Events |
Assessed case by case |
Local Heritage Fund
Preserving our region’s heritage and breathing new life into buildings and places from our past is a great way to enhance the character and charm our local communities are known for.
Your heritage place may need a coat of paint, restoration of its decorative features, stone or brick facade work, roof restorations, window repair or replacement, or fencing reflective of its era.
As custodians of an important part of our region’s history, you may be eligible to apply for up to $2,000 to help restore your heritage place back to its former glory.
Funding must be at least 50% of the total project cost. In some exceptional cases applicants may apply for up to $5,000.
Eligibility criteria extended
As well as applicants who own heritage-listed properties, this year the Local Heritage Fund is available to owners of properties within the 14 heritage conservations areas across the MidCoast.
See the Local Heritage Fund page for further information.
The 2021 annual funding round has closed.