Oct. 21 – Community organisations impacted by COVID-19 are encouraged to apply for funding, thanks to the next round of the NSW Government’s Infrastructure Grants program opening today.
Minister for Customer Service Victor Dominello said the economic impacts of COVID-19 have meant some communities have struggled to maintain sports, cultural and other social activities.
It should be noted that since March this year, a number of community-wide activities in the Philippine community have either been cancelled or scaled down to video call or Zoom meetings such as the Philippine Independence Day Ball, meetings of Philippine community seniors clubs, religious event like Penrith Penafrancia and the Philippine Fiesta Kultura. Meanwhile announcement is still due as to the future of the Philippine Christmas Festival in Darling Harbour which is usually held end-November.
“Community sporting and cultural organisations are the lifeblood for many communities and this funding can be used for projects that foster equity, social inclusion and participatio.,” Mr Dominello said.“We want these organisations to not just keep their doors open but to grow and prosper.
“Clubgrants funding is designed to give community organisations a boost when and where it’s needed most – it is available for projects to build, repair or upgrade facilities across arts and culture, sport and recreation, disaster readiness and community infrastructure.”
The last round of the program gave a weighting to projects to repair and rebuild community assets affected by bushfires and COVID-19, and such projects will remain in the priority framework for this round.
Community infrastructure is also now a standalone category and it can be used for spaces like halls and meeting rooms, community transport, and infrastructure that supports youth, disability, mental health, homelessness, and domestic violence services.
The grants are made possible by the Clubgrants Category 3 Fund which re-invests profits from registered clubs’ gaming machines into a statewide funding pool for large-scale community projects.
Since 2015, the NSW Government has funded more than 350 community projects worth $62.8 million under Infrastructure Grants.
To find out more information or to apply, please visit responsiblegambling.nsw.gov.au. Applications close 12 October 2020