FAQ

Council welcomes feedback from all Manningham residents, particularly if you or your organisation has:

• Applied for funding and been successful
• Applied for funding and been unsuccessful
• Sought information about this funding but did NOT apply (for whatever reason)

The Community Development Grants Program (CDGP) has a total annual budget of $220,000 (CPI Indexed) and is divided between the two funding streams as follows:

• Small Grants Program (approx $120,000): funds projects and minor asset purchases of up to $4,000 and is open all year round.
• Community Development Grants (approx $100,000): funds projects over $4,000 that demonstrate significant community engagement, partnerships and wide community benefit. The program has one funding round annually, commencing in June.

Each year, Council receives more applications than can be fully funded by this budget, which makes the program competitive and reliant on projects clearly meeting the funding objectives.

• Promote Community Inclusiveness and Connectedness through projects that enable all members of our community to participate in community life and develop a positive connection within the community and a sense of belonging. 
• Embrace Diversity through projects that support and celebrate cultural diversity, engage with culturally and socially diverse audiences and are accessible to a wide variety of cultural and social demographics.
• Promote Innovation and Creativity through projects that invigorate new and innovative ways to service the needs of our community and harness creativity in their delivery.
• Responsive to Community Needs through delivering projects that respond to, and effectively service, a demonstrated community need, specifically target a high needs group (disability, youth, welfare, CALD etc.) or responds to an identified service gap.
• Encourage Sustainability through supporting projects that utilise sustainable resources, promote sustainable practices or reflect sustainable development.
• Build Community Capacity through delivering community training, building skills and supporting our community to develop the means to achieve positive community outcomes.
• Enable Community Partnerships where projects facilitate a positive connection between people as they work towards a shared vision, in particular where community organisations form new relationships as a result of a collaborative project.

Council offers a dynamic suite of funding programs alongside the CDGP, including:

• Community Facilities Capital Works Funding Program
• Manningham Charitable Trust
• Heritage Restoration Fund
• Visy Community Support Grant Program
• Environment Assistance Grants

Each funding program is designed to meet a particular community need and therefore each program requires its own funding policy and process. This review is limited only to the Community Development Grant Program Policy, whilst taking into consideration the strategic position of this program within Councils overall funding scheme.