Support offered for community initiatives

Published on 05 September 2020

GRANT funding will support a range of local initiatives that contribute to the cultural identity, sustainability and general wellbeing of the Hobart community as it continues to recover from the impacts of COVID-19.

From this weekend, the City of Hobart is offering more than $245,000 in grants across four programs: Community, Creative, Events and Urban Sustainability.

The new round of grants opening tomorrow (Saturday) follows on from $180,000 in Resilient Hobart Grants recently awarded to 61 recipients, and are among nearly $1.2 million in grants to be allocated this financial year.

The Urban Sustainability Grants offer funding of up to $15,000 to support schools, community groups and businesses to develop projects that help to reduce their environmental footprint and contribute to the long-term sustainability of the city.

Previous environmental grant recipient Mt Stuart Primary School used City of Hobart funding to conduct educational excursions where students learned about waste management and recycling. This led to a waste audit, which in turn led to a massive reduction in waste generated at the school.

“We did a waste audit in August 2018 and again in April 2019 and found we had reduced our landfill by two thirds in seven months,” teacher Denise Otten said.

“We then introduced five bins per classroom – paper bin, comingled bin, soft plastics, compost and landfill – and we have school waste warriors who help sort it out each week.

“As a result, our students are far more aware of the need to be environmentally aware, which has had an even bigger impact on many of our families.”

Lord Mayor Anna Reynolds said the Urban Sustainability Grants were an important way to support the community to be more sustainable.

“A small investment in good ideas and community collaboration can lead to big results for Hobart. Our community are often the ones with innovative ideas for using resources more efficiently or reducing waste and we are keen to invest in these projects,” she said.

“We can’t create a more sustainable Hobart without the community being committed to it too.

“There are a wide range of things that would be eligible for these grants. It might be a project around energy efficiency, air and water quality, waste management and reduction, food gardens, climate change, encouraging active transport or protecting local biodiversity.”

The grants are identified as an important initiative in the draft Sustainable Hobart Action Plan, which is currently out for public comment.

Cr Reynolds added that the Creative, Community and Events grants were particularly important to the City’s ongoing recovery.

“We want to support individuals, groups and organisations as they get back on their feet and give back to the community through meaningful projects that contribute to our city’s identity and wellbeing,” she said.

The Creative Hobart grants are split into two categories, offering grants of up to $5000 for smaller projects and $15,000 for projects categorised as “medium”.

Community Grants of up to $5000 are available to groups and non-profit organisations to develop projects or events – or specific elements of ongoing programs – that enable access and participation or respond to community issues and concerns.

Events Grants provide up to $20,000 to support the facilitation of events that contribute to the identity, economy and wellbeing of the Hobart community.

Applications for all four grants open tomorrow (Saturday 5 September) and will close on Monday 5 October.

Prospective applicants who would like to discuss their project – particularly around how it may be impacted by COVID-19 restrictions – are encouraged to contact the City of Hobart’s Grants Officer prior to lodging an application.

More information on the grants, including eligibility criteria, can be found at hobartcity.com.au/grants.