By Peter Douglas
Around $130,000 in small grants funding is still available for Yarra Ranges communities before the end of this financial year.
With the June 30 deadline edging closer, Yarra Ranges Council is encouraging local community groups to put pen to paper and start applications for the Small Grants Program.
To date, 86 grants have been approved through the scheme, with the total awarded amounting to $67,021.
Though this represents only a small portion of the pie, with council last year committing $200,000 annually towards the initiative, which aims to deliver small grants to community groups.
The grants aim to boost key areas such as social inclusion, community planning, youth initiatives, participation grants (sports), and in-kind grants for hall and facility use.
Cr Fiona McAllister said the Small Grants Program had been an enormous success.
“I love the incredible return we get on often small amounts of money,” she said.
“It’s helping many amazing events and programs; we’re hearing many moving stories about what difference a small amount makes.”
Cr McAllister urged the community to support the scheme.
Though she insisted that even if the commitment wasn’t met, it would still be a win for the community.
“If there is a substantial amount of money left, it might be a great opportunity for us to feed that into other larger or more formalised programs,” Cr McAllister said.
