Our last Community Funding Policy expired in 2023. We are updating the policy for the period of June 2025-July 2029.

Community Funding allows the Council to partner with community to create positive outcomes that strengthen connections and support Council’s plans and strategies. Well-managed funding programs help the Council collaborate effectively with the community, tackle important issues, and build trust in its processes and governance.

A grant is money given to individuals or organisations for a specific purpose to help achieve the goals of the grant program.

Recipients are chosen based on certain criteria, and grants often come with conditions, such as reporting requirements and performance targets. Grants can be one-time or long-term, but they are not meant to be ongoing funding.

Grant programs allow the Council to work with multiple recipients and, where possible, encourage collaboration between them to reach common goals.

Holistically designed grants programs enable Council to work collaboratively with, and leverage strength of, community, to respond to both emerging needs and take advantage of unforeseen opportunities that may arise.

• Community Grants

• Cultural Development Fund

• Community Grants (Diversity and Ageing)

• Quick Response Grants

• Youth Access Grants

• Seniors Festival Event Grants

• Love My Place
• Community Meals Subsidy (ceased offering in 2022/23).

Approximately $900,000 has been allocated to grants in the above programs in the 2024/25 year

Many core funding and service responsibilities lie with State and Federal Government who will advertise opportunities as they arise.

Council actively advocates to State and Federal governments to improve outcomes for our community.

Community engagement is just one part of developing the new Community Funding Policy and grants program.

This process is connected to other ongoing projects, like the Health and Wellbeing Plan and Plan for Port Phillip. We will also take into account feedback from these projects.

Additionally, we will look at the results and lessons learned from past grants and policies.

Information that you tell us will be used to inform the draft grants program and Community Funding Policy. We will summarise what we hear in a report, which will be available to read in late April 2025. If you’d like to receive an email alert when this is available, click ‘follow’ on the top-left of this page.