Council's Community Grants support community groups

Twenty-one community groups and organisations addressing local community needs were recently presented with Council community grants to support their programs and services, sharing in a total of over $40,000 in financial support from Council.

At the presentation morning tea on 30th August, the Mayor, Cr Anne Connon acknowledged the invaluable role of non-profit community-based groups in supporting local residents and the Mosman community.

The grants were provided as part of Council’s 2012/13 Community Grants program, which provides financial assistance to support non-profit community groups and organisations deliver non-recurrent projects that meet Council’s social and community development objectives. Successful applicants were assessed as meeting identified community needs and being able to demonstrate tangible outcomes as well as building community capacity and enhancing community connectedness.

The grants were awarded for a diverse range of projects, from seeding grants for new initiatives to vital equipment to operate programs. As well as the community as a whole, the grants also covered many important demographic groups, including children, young people, older people, people with a disability, and people from a culturally and linguistically diverse background.

In attending the presentation, community group representatives also had an opportunity to connect with each other and identify common interests and the potential for collaboration.
The grants program is an important aspect of Council community development support in working in partnership with community organisations, that also includes assistance in establishing new services and programs; advocacy for Commonwealth and/or State government funding; community information and promotion; and contribution to other strategies for further enhancing effective service and program delivery in the local area.

Applications for Council’s Community Grants Program open in May and close at the end of June each year. For further information on Council’s Community Grants program, please visit Council’s website or contact Council’s Manager Community Services on 9978 4006.

The successful groups for 2012/13 included:

• 1st Balmoral Sea Scouts (tent replacement)

• 1st Clifton Gardens Sea Scouts (upgrade of personal flotation devices)

• Beauty Point Public School Out of School Hours Care (art classes for children)

• Constant Companion (provision of personal emergency alarms to two Mosman residents in need)

• Crows Nest Centre (Multicultural Expo at Mosman markets in March 2013.)

• Fighting Chance Australia (Fighting Chance Annual Cricket Day)

• Holyoake (Pathways and youth health forums)

• Lower North Shore Domestic Violence Network (family fun day)

• Lower North Shore Multicultural Network (: development of a welcome pack for newly arrived migrants)

• Mosman Community Choir (support for Choir’s establishment, including music and promotional costs)

• Mosman Community Gardeners (community garden development in Mosman)

• Mosman Croquet Club (improvement of security lighting at the clubhouse and grounds)

• Mosman Home Gardeners (support in organising Mosman’s Big Lunch)

• Mosman Lawn Tennis Club (: improvement of fencing around club perimeter)

• Mosman Musical Society (A joint concert initiative with Mosman Orchestra and Mosman Music Club)

• Mosman Orchestra (support for costs including venue hire for holding community concerts)

• Riverlink Interchange (participation by a local resident with a disability and their carer in the Connecting and Belonging camp)

• Sydney Legacy (volunteer transport)

• Taldumande Youth Services (youth and family early intervention support)

• The Garrison Men’s Shed (acquisition of tools to make and repair furniture and undertake manual projects)

• Wings of Hope (development of on-line resources to support people bereaved by suicide)