Community Grants

First Round 2018/2019 Community Grants Program Are Now Open

Applications for the first round of community grants are now open via SmartyGrants. This funding round is for projects or events commencing between 1 July 2018 to 30 December 2018. 

Apply for a community grant

Before applying, we encourage you to read the frequently asked questions.

Eligibility

To be eligible for a community grant, you must meet the following criteria:

• Organisations must be an incorporated, not for profit community organisation. If you are not incorporated it may be possible or ask another organisation to apply on your behalf, in partnership with you.
• Proposed projects or events must generally occur within the financial year in which it is funded.
• Activities must occur within the municipality of Darwin. View the Muncipal map for boundary details.
• Applicants who have previously received a Community Grant and haven’t yet submitted the final financial report, or have debts with us should discuss this prior to applying.
• The application must be received by 5pm on the stated closing date.
• The application must be submitted on the application formvia the ink provided.
• Handwritten application forms will no longer be accepted. 

Ineligible Applications

Community Grants Program does not fund:

• Applications from individuals.
• General operating costs such as funding for permanent staff members, insurance and utilities, rent or anything deemed to form part of the organisation's ongoing expenses.
• Projects that are considered the core responsibility of other levels of Government e.g. Department of Education or the Northern Territory Department of Health.
• Commercial events.
• Prizes or award ceremonies.
• Building works on private property.
• Interstate or international travel costs, unless the person or people travelling will be sharing information or other resources with Darwin communities when they return.
• Projects that duplicate existing services and programs and for the same communities.

Funding is available for new projects and initiatives, not existing programs or operational costs. Partnership projects where your organisation or others are contributing resources or money are encouraged. Applicants are encouraged to provide accurate budget information and quotes or advertisements for equipment where they are a large amount of the funding requested.

Applying for a Community Grant

Please contact the Community Inclusion Coordinator if you have questions about this round of Community Grants

08 8930 0645

communitygrants@darwin.nt.gov.au

Forms and Guidelines

Guidelines - Community Grants Program

Frequently Asked Questions 

I’ve applied for a grant before. Can I apply again?

Yes, even if you received a grant in the last round you are eligible to apply again.

Can my organisation submit more than one application?

Yes, but it’s likely that only one will be funded.

How much money is available?

There is $100,000 in the Community Grants pool, with two grant rounds of $50,000 each year. There is one grant round of $50,000 for Climate Change and Environment Grants each year.

What’s the maximum I can apply for?

The maximum grant amount is $10,000 but it is rare to receive that full amount.

Can I apply again for funding for a project that has previously received funding?

Only if you are applying for a new initiative as part of that Project. Organisations can’t be funded for exactly the same initiative more than once.

Can I apply again for funding for a project that has previously been unsuccessful?

Yes, but call for some advice first so that you know why it wasn’t successful the first time. Sometimes Projects are not successful because there too many good applications to fund them all and a slightly stronger application succeeds.

My organisation hasn’t sent in the acquittal (final financial report) from our last Project. Can we still apply?

Your organisation needs to have sent in the acquittal or to speak to the Community Inclusion Coordinator in the Vibrant Communities team if you need special consideration.

Can I get funding for general expenses for my organisation?

No, this grant round is for the expenses of a Project, not organisational costs e.g. you can’t claim insurance.

Can I apply for money for wages?

Yes, but only the wages for this Project, ie. facilitator wages to run a workshop. Not wages for staff in your organisation generally. 

Can I apply for a grant as an individual?

No, these community grants are only available to not for profit organisations and groups.

When will I know if I have been successful?

Applicants are notified within 6 weeks of applying. You will be alerted through the email you supply in your application. 

​Do you accept hand written applications?

No. We have moved to a new system and to maintain the integrity of the data, all applications will need to be submitted through this system. 

What if I’m late with my application?

The system will not allow you to submit beyond the closing time and date. We cannot accept late submissions.

Can I get advice about what to apply for and what to write?

Yes, call the Community Inclusion Coordinator on 08 8930 0645 or email communitygrants@darwin.nt.gov.au

The guidelines say that projects should be sustainable. What does that mean?

This means that projects either need to start and end during the funding period or that there is a way they can continue after the funding has been spent, if you have a project you want to continue. For example, you may want to buy some equipment or materials that you can continue to use or you may want funding to fund a series of workshops, that won’t require funding after the workshop program is completed.

Previous Grant Recipients

The first round Community Grants for the 2017/2018 financial year were announced in July:

• Darwin Community Arts Inc – Arts in the markets: program for kids @ Malak Marketplace
• Crime Stoppers NT – Crime prevention for Darwin businesses
• NT Writers’ Centre Inc – Community Publishing Forum
• St John Ambulance – St John NT Volunteers iPad kit-out
• Darwin Visual Association Incorporated – The business of being an artist
• Northern Territory Mental Health Coalition – Mental Health Week 2017
• EHE Rare Cancer Foundation Australia Ltd – 10,0000 Steps Challenge: Supporting Research into Rare Cancers
• Balai Indonesia Incorporated – Person Indonesia 2017