Hilltops Council is calling on community groups who have shovel ready projects to contact Council urgently for application assistance to the next round of the Stronger Country Communities Fund which closes on Friday 25 June.
Community groups who believe they have an eligible project, should first go to the Stronger Country Communities Website and carefully check their project against the guidelines provided, this site can be found by typing the following address into an internet browser nsw.gov.au/sccf. You can also contact the fund managers via email at sccf.enquiries@regional.nsw.gov.au or phone 1300 679 673.
Community groups who check their eligibility, feel their projects fit the guidelines and want Council support should contact Council immediately on 1300 445 586. Please make contact with Council prior to Friday 11 June 2021 to allow enough time for a submission to be prepared before applications close on Friday 25 June 2021.
Eligible applicants for Round Four include: regional Councils and Joint Organisations, non-government organisations, community organisations registered as incorporated associations and Local Aboriginal Land Councils. All applications must be completed online through the State Government’s Smarty Grants portal.
Under the current round $100 million has been made available for community projects that improve the liveability of regional NSW communities, including up to $50 million for projects that enhance female sporting facilities and increase female participation in sport.
There are two funding streams, the first being Community Programs and Events which can include the following:
• Community events
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community cultural education programs for Indigenous and non-Indigenous participants
• Multicultural festivals
• Intergenerational activities – sharing knowledge through activity-based experience
• Environmental education and working bees
• Short-term disability and/or carer support programs
• Workshops to identify accessibility and inclusion needs in the community
• Cultural and/or disability awareness training sessions
• Community programs which seek to remove barriers to participation through promoting accessibility and inclusion
• Community wellbeing programs
The second stream is based on the provision of Community Amenity and Community Service Infrastructure and can include projects in the following areas:
• Community centres and halls
• Libraries
• Community amenities and barbecue/picnic areas
• Recreation facilities
• Club houses, change rooms, canteens
• Murals or community art instalments
• Memorials or statues
• Emergency services infrastructure (e.g. aerodrome water refilling)
• Surf Life Saving Club infrastructure
• Aquatic facilities and pools
• Amenities for participants and spectators
• Playgrounds, parks, shared paths and fixed fitness stations
• Seating, planting boxes, landscaping and paving
• Street lighting to improve safety
• Street/footpath reconfigurations
• Shade cloth, awnings and pergolas
• Public toilets
• Infrastructure for health and community services facilities (e.g. domestic violence centres for women)
• Homeless shelters
• Men’s sheds
• Children’s special needs premises
• Community aged care facilities
• Infrastructure upgrade to local community radio station facilities
• Infrastructure to support and improve accessibility to community facilities
• Town and tourism signage
• Main street beautification projects
For more information contact Council on 1300 445 586.