About our Community Grants Program

• Residents of the Cumberland Local Government Area (LGA) must be the primary beneficiaries of the project
• Applicants must be a legally registered and incorporated not-for-profit organisation (or group)
• Unincorporated groups may be auspiced (sponsored) by incorporated not-for-profit organisations
• Applicants must have a current registered Australian Business Number (ABN)
• Applicants must be currently located or delivering services in or have specialist expertise not currently available in the Cumberland LGA
• Applicants must be able to provide proof of public liability insurance (minimum of $10 million cover) and any other insurances required to deliver the project which may include professional indemnity, workers compensation or volunteer accident insurance
• Applications must be for a specific project
• Projects must address an identified funding priority
• Projects must be well defined with a clear budget
• Projects must demonstrate that any ongoing or recurrent costs can be met by the organisation once grant funding has been expended
• The organisation must demonstrate the capacity to manage funds and deliver the project
• Projects must be delivered between the dates specified for each grant round
• All requests for funding must go through the Community Grants Program. Unsolicited requests for donations will not be accepted.

• Duplicating of Council services or programs
• Breaching existing Council policy
• Not meeting the identified priority needs of the Cumberland LGA
• Applications from government departments, schools, for-profit businesses, or political parties
• Applications from charities for general donations
• Applications for fundraising, operational expenditure (e.g. admin, insurance), shortfalls in funding from other government departments or completed (retrospective) projects
• Projects that rely on repeated funding from Council
• Organisations that have not submitted acquittal reports for projects funded by Council or have debts with Council
• Organisations already funded under another application stream or in the same financial year.

• Council values and recognises the importance of an applicant’s financial and in-kind contributions. Demonstrating a commitment of financial support to a project is considered favourably.
• Provide statistics or evidence of the need or value of your project
• Engage with your intended audience and gather its views to support your application
• Identify achievable outcomes and determine who will be responsible for these
• Register for Council’s online grants system and complete the application in full including providing quotes or additional documents to support your application
• Identify and engage community partners that may be able to help you deliver your project
• Speak to Council’s Community Development Team
• Ensure your application is clear and understandable.

The Community Grants Program is open once a year, in line with the financial year, and successful applicants are required to:

• complete their projects, spending granted funds, within 12 months of funding
• submit a progress report within 6 months of commencement of project
• submit a final acquittal report within one month after the completion of the project

Failure to acquit the grant will affect any future funding requests.

All applications for funding are completed online via SmartyGrants.

You will need to create your SmartyGrants user account but only need to register once. If you have previously submitted a funding application on the SmartyGrants platform you can use your pre-existing account details to login.

The 2023-2024 timeframes for submitting applications are during three rounds as follows:

Round 1

Opens: 17 July 2023
Closes: 18 August 2023

Round 2

Opens: 30 October 2023
Closes: 1 December 2023

Round 3

Opens: 4 March 2024
Closes: 4 April 2024

Grant stream objectives:

• To aid in the delivery of effective programs that support the diverse needs and interests of the Cumberland LGA
• To enhance community participation in the development and delivery of programs
• To create positive connections between residents of Cumberland
• To further develop existing skills, knowledge, and access to opportunities for residents and organisations
• To maximise access and usage of community resources, services and facilities including equity of access for groups requiring additional assistance
• To encourage collaboration and partnerships.

Expected funding outcomes:

Community

• Supports the wellbeing of residents of the Cumberland community
• Delivers positive social, economic, cultural, recreational, or environmental benefits to residents of the Cumberland community
• Builds a positive profile of Cumberland and/or support an individual, group or organisation to represent the Cumberland LGA or community.

Domestic and Family Violence

• Increase the provision of domestic violence services and support, particularly those with an outreach component.
• Address the underlying drivers of violence against women (primary prevention programs).

Education

• Address barriers to education, training, employment, and technical learning opportunities to attain strong employment outcomes for newly arrived migrants and refugees, people with disability, young people disengaged from education and the long term unemployed.
• Encourage the participation and involvement of parents in the education of their children and to improve their capacity to support learning at school
• Improve education outcomes for young people.

Environmental Sustainability

• Develop and deliver environmental education programs, events, or initiatives
• Encourage community pride and cleanliness in the Cumberland LGA
• Increase awareness of the 3 R’s (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle waste) and promote available waste services to improve our environmental footprint
• Increase biodiversity and provide habitat.

Health and Wellbeing

• Programs that improve health literacy in the community, including those that make it easier for Cumberland residents to understand and access health-related information, and to be able to make the best decisions about their health.
• Provide opportunities to increase participation of women and girls
• Promote physical activity that improves fitness levels and general health and wellbeing
• Projects that combine social, recreational, and physical activities to promote stress management, and physical wellbeing
• Prevent and raise awareness of mental health, substance abuse and lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, obesity, and coronary heart disease
• Promote the use of active transport such as walking, cycling and use of public transport
• Nutrition and cooking programs that promote nutritious food for good health
• Improve the health and wellbeing of young people.

Safety

• Improve crime prevention and public safety outcomes including addressing community perceptions of crime and safety
• Provide programs and support for victims of crime
• Provision of education or services addressing drug and alcohol awareness and/or dependency
• Improve the safety of young people.

Social cohesion, participation, and accessibility

• Promote cross-cultural understanding, community harmony and peace building
• Improve access to services and increased participation in community life by isolated residents, including older people, people with disability, refugees, people seeking asylum and people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
• Address barriers to service access and community participation by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in the Cumberland LGA
• Support the work of local volunteers
• Deliver community education to increase skills and knowledge of Australian systems
• Provide support for people with disability including carers of people with disability
• Improve access to services that address homelessness, housing stress and the drivers of homelessness, including outreach services, living skills programs, and programs targeting key demographic groups within the Cumberland community such as adult men, older women, and asylum seekers.
• Support and celebrate cultural diversity through projects and programs that promote intercultural understanding.

Available funding:

Applications can be made for up to $15,000.

Stream eligibility and exclusions:

• Applications must be for a specific project, either the establishment of a new project or to significantly expand an existing project
• Projects must be completed within 12 months of a successful applicant receiving funding
• Applicants must be a legally registered, incorporated not-for-profit organisation with an ABN
• Unincorporated groups may be sponsored (auspiced) by incorporated not-for-profit organisations
• Projects must demonstrate that any ongoing costs or recurrent costs can be met by the organisation once grant funding has been expensed.

Assessment criteria:

Applications will be assessed using the following criteria:

Project

• Project has clear aims and objectives
• Project has clearly identified activities
• Project is achievable within the proposed timeframe
• Evidence of community need for the project
• Project addresses a funding outcome identified in the Community Participation Stream
• Evidence of consultation and/or engagement undertaken during the project development with potential participants and partners
• Residents of Cumberland LGA are primary beneficiaries
• Project implementation includes specific strategies for special needs groups.

Budget

Does the project present good value for money in terms of:

• Number of people involved
• Is the project financially viable, i.e. is the budget realistic?
• Clear costings for all aspects of the project
• Are the resources required to deliver the project clearly identified?

Project outcomes

• Project outcomes identified
• Project outcomes achievable
• Methods for evaluation/measuring project outcomes suitable to project
• Demonstrated link between project need, project activities and intended project outcomes.

Capacity to manage projects

• Demonstrated ability to manage funds or will be assisted by a reputable organisation
• Demonstrated ability in project management and/or is a well-managed organisation overall
• Employs capable workers or has engaged capable volunteers
• Demonstrated ability to engage community members targeted in the application.

Grant stream objectives and expected funding outcomes:

• Improve career outcomes and create education and training pathways for Cumberland residents
• Help young people into education, training and/or employment
• Increase accessibility to employment and create education and training pathways for Cumberland residents with a particular focus upon:
  • Residents identifying as having a disability
  • Residents identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander
  • Refugees who have settled in the Cumberland LGA.

Available funding:

Applications can be made for up to $15,000 per project.

Stream eligibility and exclusions:

• Applications must be for a specific project, either the establishment of a new project or to significantly expand an existing project
• Projects must be completed within 12 months of a successful applicant receiving funding
• Applicants must be a legally registered, incorporated not-for-profit organisation with an ABN
• Unincorporated groups may be sponsored (auspiced) by incorporated not-for-profit organisations
• Projects must demonstrate that any ongoing costs or recurrent costs can be met by the organisation once grant funding has been expensed.

Assessment criteria:

Applications will be assessed using the following criteria:

Project

• Project has clear aims and objectives
• Project has clearly identified activities
• Project is achievable within the proposed timeframe
• Evidence of community need for the project
• Project addresses a funding outcome identified in the Employment Pathways Stream
• Evidence of consultation and/or engagement undertaken during the project development with potential participants and partners
• Residents of Cumberland LGA are primary beneficiaries
• Project implementation includes specific strategies for special needs groups.

Budget

Does the project present good value for money in terms of:

• Number of people involved
• Is the project financially viable, i.e. is the budget realistic?
• Clear costings for all aspects of the project
• Are the resources required to deliver the project clearly identified?

Project outcomes

• Project outcomes identified
• Project outcomes achievable
• Methods for evaluation/measuring project outcomes suitable to project
• Demonstrated link between project need, project activities and intended project outcomes.

Capacity to manage projects

• Demonstrated ability to manage funds or will be assisted by a reputable organisation
• Demonstrated ability in project management and/or is a well-managed organisation overall
• Employs capable workers or has engaged capable volunteers
• Demonstrated ability to engage community members targeted in the application.

Grant stream objectives and expected funding outcomes:

• Requests for financial assistance to an individual or organisation for a cause worthy and of benefit to the Cumberland Community. This may include but is not limited to:
  • Community fundraising activities
  • Contributions towards a community - based activity or event

Available funding:

Applications can be made for up to $2,000.

Stream eligibility and exclusions:

• Applications can be made for a not-for-profit organisation, charity, or an individual. Individuals applying for funding must be a resident of the Cumberland LGA.
• Projects must be completed within 12 months of successful applicant receiving funding.
• Projects must demonstrate that any ongoing or recurring costs can be met once grant funding has been spent.

Assessment criteria:

Applications will be assessed using the following criteria:

• A project or initiative that supports the well-being of residents in the Cumberland community
• Projects that deliver positive social, economic, cultural, recreational, or environmental benefits to the residents of the Cumberland community
• Projects or initiatives that aim to build a positive profile of Cumberland and / or support and individual, group or organisation to represent the Cumberland LGA or community
• Project has clear aims/objectives
• Project is achievable within proposed timeframe
• Evidence of community need for the project.

• 2023-2024 Program Guidelines (PDF, 1.8MB)
• 2022-2023 Program Guidelines (PDF, 2.1MB)

As an applicant, it is essential for you to check your eligibility/your groups eligibility and whether your project matches the guideline criteria before you submit an application.

• The Community Grants and Donations Policy will be available here when round 1 opens.
• Cumberland Community Strategic Plan 2017-27 (PDF, 460KB)

View the Cumberland City Council Community Demographic Profile.