Groups’ funds on a plate

KNOX City Council was in a generous mood last week, dishing out $200,000 worth of Community Development Fund grants to local community groups and not-for-profit organisations.
The council endorsed a list of successful applicants at last Tuesday night’s council meeting.
Councillors Debbie Field and Monique Davey – both members of the evaluation panel – explained that 55 groups had submitted applications for a total of $279,000, with 47 groups ultimately receiving funding.
“These grants are an annual allocation of funds that puts resources back into the community,” Cr Davey said.
Among the recipients were Knox Community Health Service, which received $10,000 to put towards a project to engage the local indigenous community on health issues, and Upper Ferntree Gully’s Coonara Community House, which will use a $1750 grant to continue its Girls Together body image mentoring program.
Cr Field added that the not-for-profit groups supported by the program served a much-needed role in Knox.
“They represent the fabric of our community and without their contribution we would all be the poorer,” she said.