Category Archives: Grants and sponsorship

Council grants help local groups hold Youth Week activities

March 10, 2021

Redland City Council will provide funding to help seven local not-for-profit youth organisations run events during Queensland Youth Week (10-18 April 2021).

Mayor Karen Williams said Council was happy to support the organisations with up to $1500 through the Redlands Coast Youth Week Grants.

“Redlands Coast organisations do a fantastic job supporting our local youth and providing them with safe spaces to meet, share experiences and to have fun,” she said.

“Unfortunately Council’s Youth Week program was cancelled last year due to COVID-19 so this year the focus has been on building organisational capacity for youth organisations to deliver youth activities.

“We are pleased at the response to the Youth Week Grants and the range of activities to be funded.”

Mayor Karen Williams with La’a Uitime, Clinical Centre Manager of Headspace Capalaba, which has received a Redlands Coast Youth Week Grant.

The successful grant recipients and their funded activities are:

Redland Community Centre – screen printing workshops
Headspace Capalaba in partnership with Community Connections Redlands Coast – movie in the park
The Cage Youth Foundation – obstacle course
Redlands PCYC – rock climbing
Joii Community in partnership with Celebrate Learning – an escape room
YMCA Victoria Point – movie night
Running Wild Youth Conservation Inc – parkour on Russell and Macleay islands

Cr Williams this year’s Youth Week activities would also include the announcement of the Redlands Coast Young Legends Awards winners on Wednesday, April 15.

Awards will be presented in four categories – Young Legend of the Year, Community Commitment, Environment and Sustainability, and Sports Leadership and Achievement.

Winners will receive a $200 voucher.

Nominations close this Friday, 12 March. Visit Council’s Redlands Coast Youth – support and activities webpage for more information.

Council grants support Queensland Youth Week activities

March 2, 2021

Redland City Council has launched a grants program to help local not-for-profit youth organisations run events during Queensland Youth Week (10-18 April 2021).

Mayor Karen Williams said the Redlands Coast Youth Week Grants had been established to recognise and support the great work done by youth community organisations across the city.

“These grants, which offer funding of up to $1500, will empower Redlands Coast not-for-profit groups to run local programs during Queensland Youth Week,” she said.

“Youth Week is Australia’s largest celebration of young people aged 12 to 25 and highlights the positive contributions they make in our communities.

“Council is pleased to be able to support our local youth organisations by helping to fund events which will give young people the opportunity to come together and make new connections.”

Redlands Coast Youth Week Grant applications close on Friday 5 March 2021.

Cr Williams said Council would also formally acknowledge the achievements of young Redlands Coast residents through the Young Legends Awards, with winners to be announced during Queensland Youth Week.

Award nominations close at 4pm on 12 March 2021.

For more information on the Youth Week Grants and the Young Legends Awards, visit Redland City Council’s Youth support and activities webpage.

Council community grants to help groups impacted by COVID-19

February 15, 2021

Applications are now open for Council grants to help Redlands Coast community and sporting groups which are still feeling the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Redland City Mayor Karen Williams said the $400,000 funding pool would support local community organisations and their members as they recovered from the pandemic.

“We know there are still groups within our community struggling due to the pandemic and so we surveyed them to see how our grants program can best support their needs,” Cr Williams said.

“Based on this feedback the 2020-21 Community Grants Program has been revised to ensure it helps our local community groups do what they do best – support our residents.”

Grants up to $5000 will be available in two categories – Organisation Support (Sustainability) and Capital Infrastructure (Maintenance).

“The Sustainability grants aim to help community organisations and sporting clubs to stabilise and continue to operate over the following 12 month period,” Cr Williams said.

“The grants can be used to pay regular bills or operational costs, fund financial or strategic planning assistance, or for initiatives to increase membership.

“Maintenance grants will help organisations address urgent building compliance work for community facilities to meet relevant laws and codes.

“This could include minor structural repairs, pest management, fire safety and emergency equipment, or disability access.”

Cr Williams said eligible organisations were welcome to apply for both grants.

Applications for the 2020-21 Community Grants Program open today (15 February) and close on 28 March 2021.

Eligible items for Organisation Support (Sustainability) Grants include:

Payment of regular rates and other bills
Financial and strategic planning assistance (including accounting, business consultancy, legal services, human resources services and other business specific advisers)
Day to day operational costs (including staff wages, rent and insurances)
Initiatives designed to increase membership (including incentive programs, direct mail and other advertising)

Eligible items for Capital Infrastructure (Maintenance) Grants include:

Electrical infrastructure
Disability access and associated issues
Fire safety and emergency equipment
Replacement of residual-current devices (RCDs)
Minor structural repairs
Pest management
Renewal of Asbestos Management Plans (AMPs)

For information on eligibility criteria and how to apply for either of the grants, visit the online application portal on Redland City Council’s website.

Council funds six local art projects with RADF grants

October 21, 2020

Redland City Council has awarded grants for six local art projects through round one of the 2020-2021 Regional Arts Development Fund (RADF).

Mayor Karen Williams said the successful grant recipients would undertake projects which creatively explored stories of people and place in Redlands Coast.

“Our stories have the power to teach, entertain and inspire and the successful projects will be expressed through a range of media including painting, performance, digital media, photography and videography,” she said.

The RADF provides grants of up to $10,000 for professional and emerging artists based in Redland City.

Recipients of 2020-2021 RADF grants:

Adam Robinson – $10,000 for IndigiLedger Artist Workshops: Indigenous artists, enterprises and traditional owners will be consulted to ensure their cultural and commercial concerns are addressed when protecting Indigenous art from piracy.
Jo Ariel – $9840 for SMBI’s Creative Magic: This project will examine how and why artists’ island homes enhance artistic motivations and passions.
Elisabeth Gondwe – $9000 for “Getting Equal” exhibition: A digital media artist will provide graphic design and digital production of the Getting Equal exhibition which tells the story of Quandamooka workers in the Dunwich Benevolent Asylum getting equal pay in 1944.
Mercedes Sepulveda – $3100 for Finishing Touches (aka My Artistic Brooch): A group of elders at Prins Willem Alexander Lodge will engage in a therapeutic art experience which will result in an exhibition of paintings.
Goompi Give and Grow Ltd – $9966 for Connection to Quandamooka Country Across Generations: This photography and videography project will share the stories of connection to country of Quandamooka people through the eyes of the young and old.
Julie Larson – $9953 for Running Wild Performing Arts Showcase: This project will facilitate the delivery of a youth performing arts program on the Southern Moreton Bay Islands.

Council is calling for applications for RADF Professional Development (or Quick Response) funding of up to $2000 for individuals and up to $4000 for groups.

Applications open on 6 November 2020 and close at midnight 22 November 2020.

The RADF is a partnership between Arts Queensland and Redland City Council.

For more information, including how to apply for grants, visit redland.qld.gov.au/RADF

Apply for a RADF grant today

August 3, 2020

Redland City Council is now accepting round one applications for 2020-2021 Regional Arts Development Fund (RADF) grants.

Mayor Karen Williams invited professional and emerging Redlands Coast artists to apply for funding from the RADF, a partnership between the Queensland Government and Redland City Council.

“Like so many things, the RADF schedule has seen pandemic-related disruption this year, but we’re back in business with submissions for round one grants being accepted until 31 August 2020,” Cr Williams said.

RADF Assessment Panel Co-chairs Cr Paul Bishop and Cr Lance Hewlett said the focus for this round was ‘People and Place’.

“We are looking for applications that creatively explore stories of people and place in Redlands Coast,” Cr Bishop said.

“Our stories have the power to teach, entertain and inspire and we are keen to see projects expressed through a range of media; including song, visual arts, dance, music, craft, writing, theatre and design.”

Cr Hewlett said the RADF provided opportunities for local communities to participate in arts and cultural activities, with funding of up to $10,000 per project available.

“I urge all Redlands Coast creatives to visit Council’s website for information about categories of funding, eligibility criteria and how to apply,” he said.

“Check out our videos of previous RADF grant recipients at www.redland.qld.gov.au/radf for some extra inspiration.”

Council delivers a helping hand for Redlands Coast businesses and community groups

July 24, 2020

Redlands Coast businesses and community groups have received a $370,000 helping hand to get back on their feet following COVID-19 restrictions.

Redland City Mayor Karen Williams said Council had awarded grants to 16 community groups and 81 businesses as part of its $2 million social and economic package to support residents, businesses and community groups through the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Funding worth $111,594 was made available through grants of up to $10,000 to local community groups to provide support and relief to the Redlands Coast community,” Cr Williams said.

Redland City Mayor Karen Williams with Salads Made Fresh owners Jeff McEvoy and Darlene Clemenkowff

Love and Hope Redlands provides healthy and nutritious meals for families and others in need. The group was inundated with requests as the financial impact of job losses hit.

With a grant to buy commercial fridges and freezers, group founder Adriana Kuhn said Love and Hope was now able to put food on the table for more families.

“We can keep more in stock and will be able to help everyone who needs it, when they need it,” Mrs Kuhn said.

U3A Redlands president Debra Barker said dealing with social isolation had been a major challenge, particularly when libraries, community centres and retail venues were forced to close during the COVID-19 lockdown.

The group accessed a grant to expand its use of cloud-based video conferencing to deliver courses such as German language and ukulele lessons to older residents.

“It’s been very important to stay in contact with our members and this grant has also provided us with new ways to bring together groups and those unable to travel,” Mrs Barker said.

“The grant has also been an amazing help for us to keep in contact with members who don’t have internet access or a computer. We were able to use some funds to cover paper and postage costs so we could keep our hardcopy newsletters flowing and keep people informed during the pandemic.”

Assistance for 32 local businesses, worth a total of $31,494, through Council’s COVID-19 Business Support Grant included up to $1,000 for professional advice services such as accounting or human resources.

Innovation grants of up to $5,000, worth a total of $228,055, were awarded to 49 businesses seeking to restructure their operations to ensure viability and continued operations.

The full list of community organisations that received a grant is provided below.

Redlands Coast Chamber of Commerce president Rebecca Young praised Council’s swift response and active support for local businesses.

“I’m across what other councils have done and they were nowhere near as supportive of businesses as Redland City Council has been during COVID-19,” she said.

“The Chamber has received very good feedback about the grants. This will help keep the doors open and it has allowed a number of businesses to invest and shape their longer-term futures.”

She said Redlands Coast businesses were resilient and had received strong support from the local community.

“There is some concern that what’s happening in Victoria could happen here,” Ms Young said.

“However, businesses are feeling optimistic and have shown how resilient they are. Grants like these really help.”

Victoria Point’s Salads Made Fresh went above and beyond during COVID-19, teaming up with other local traders including Pattemores Meats at Alexandra Hills, and Banjo’s Bakery at Cleveland, to home deliver food and essential supplies.

As primarily a wholesaler of fresh, pre-prepared salads, owners Jeff McEvoy and Darlene Clemenkowff saw an opportunity to expand their home delivery market.

With assistance through Council’s innovation grant Salads Made Fresh is implementing an end-to-end business automation and inventory management system that will significantly improve efficiency.

“This support puts us in a good position to kickstart something and give us the capability of holding on to the new business we are winning,” Mr McEvoy said.

Community organisation support grant recipients were:
• STAR Community Services
• Running Wild… Youth Conservation Culture Inc.
• Love and Hope Redlands Inc.
• Bay Islands Community Services Inc.
• University of the Third Age (U3A) Redlands District Inc.
• CPL – Choice, Passion, Life
• Donald Simpson Community Centre
• Victoria Point Redland Bay Meals on Wheels Inc.
• Redland Community Centre Inc.
• The Rock Family and Community Support Inc.
• St Vincent de Paul Society Qld
• Queensland Police-Citizens Youth Welfare Association – Redlands Branch (Redlands PCYC)
• Young Life Australia – Redlands Area
• Redlands Fellowship Property Ltd
• Jobs Association Inc.
• Cleveland Uniting Church

Council seeks Redlands Coast arts practitioners for volunteer grant assessment panel

July 17, 2020

Redland City Council is calling for local art enthusiasts to be part of its Arts Queensland Regional Arts Development Fund (RADF) volunteer assessment panel.

Mayor Karen Williams said Council was seeking Expressions of Interest from local artists, arts and cultural workers, members of cultural groups, local organisations or associations and people active within the arts community who would like to be part of the panel.

“Being on Council’s RADF volunteer assessment panel is a great opportunity for those who are active within the Redlands Coast arts community to provide mentoring and assistance to other local artists,” she said.

“We have a vibrant arts sector on Redlands Coast and this is an opportunity to ensure that vibrancy continues into the future.

“The panel will be co-chaired by Councillor Paul Bishop and Councillor Lance Hewlett and an additional six members will be appointed to the panel for two years with an option to extend for a further two years.”

Division 10 Councillor Paul Bishop said the arts industry had been especially hard hit during the COVID-19 crisis, and this was one avenue through which local artists could support other Redlands Coast artists and residents through recovery.

“Being a volunteer panel member requires attendance at a training induction and participation in assessment meetings, all of which will be done online while COVID-19 social distancing measures are in place,” he said.

“This is critical time for the arts to continue to thrive on Redlands Coast.

“Council is looking for exemplary arts leaders to be part of this important initiative.”

Division 4 Councillor Lance Hewlett said panel members could still apply for a grant themselves but would not be able to assess that round.

“Council has been administrating Arts Queensland RADF grants for many years, helping professional and emerging local artists from all fields further their development while fostering high quality arts experiences across Redlands Coast,” Cr Hewlett said.

For further information about the expressions of interest process, visit redland.qld.gov.au/RADF

The Regional Arts Development Fund is a partnership between the Queensland Government and Redland City Council to support local arts and culture in regional Queensland.

Funding support for Redlands Coast sporting and community clubs

May 27, 2020

Local sporting and community clubs will get access to operational funding to help them continue supporting the local community.

Redland City Mayor Karen Williams today received support from Councillors to amend the guidelines for Council’s Mayor and Councillors’ Community Benefit Fund so it could support clubs with operational funding.

“We know local community and sporting clubs are doing it tough and Council is committed to doing everything we can to support them,” she said.

“Historically the Mayor and Councillors’ Community Benefit Fund has been restricted to supporting events and one-off projects, which are not occurring given the COVID-19 situation.

“Today’s decision will allows Council to pivot and make the $50,000 remaining in this fund for this financial year available for operational funding, so local clubs are ready to welcome back members when restrictions are lifted.

“With the end of the financial year approaching fast, it is critical interested clubs get their applications in by 11.59pm on 14 June 2020 so they can take advantage of this operational funding, which at this stage only applies to the current financial year.”

Cr Williams said today’s decision followed Council’s $2 million COVID-19 stimulus package adopted in March, which included a one-off contribution towards electricity costs for clubs and associations registered under Council’s community electricity scheme.

“Local clubs are the backbone of our community and now more than ever they need our support,” Cr Williams said.

“Council is also continuing to work with any clubs suffering financial hardship to ensure they are supported through the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Post-COVID recovery discussion during economic round table

May 22, 2020

Laying the foundations for a local post-COVID economy was a key point of discussion during a meeting of the Redlands Coast Economic Development Advisory Board (EDAB) this week.

EDAB Chair Sam Kennedy said this week’s round table discussions showed a large amount of work had already been done to lay the foundations for how the Redlands economy could rebound from the current pandemic.

“The meeting was a real eye-opener and shows the importance of collaboration in responding to the current economic challenges being faced through the COVID pandemic,” Ms Kennedy said.

“It is clear Council has already done a great deal of work on the city’s social and economic response and on behalf of the Board I congratulate them for moving so rapidly to respond.

“We heard about a number of success stories that have come out of Council’s $2 million stimulus package, including businesses that have used Council’s repurposed grants program to pivot and access professional services so they can continue serving the community.

“The Board also built on that work with some exciting discussions including internet connectivity across the city and how we can use the current situation to keep Redlanders in the Redlands through better connectivity, delivering an economic boost to local businesses.

“We also discussed some exciting projects that are taking shape and have the potential to be a real game changer for the city.”

Redland City Mayor Karen Williams said having some of the nation’s leading economic minds focussed on the Redlands would ensure we were well placed to not only recover from COVID-19 but to grow the local economy beyond the current pandemic.

“We know recovering from the current situation will be a marathon not a sprint, so having the foundations and collaboration is going to be critical,” Cr Williams said.

“The Board this week was able to provide decades of economic experience and suggest a number of key partners who can support Council in helping our initiatives and projects become a reality, ultimately delivering benefits for the broader community.

“This week’s EDAB meeting follows a round table I hosted with local shopping centres recently and a second meeting I convened to discuss how to ensure any projects built in our city deliver jobs for locals.

“It is critical this work gets done now so the plans are in place and ready for when restrictions are lifted so our local economy can benefit.”

Details of Council’s COVID-19 Support for businesses and the community are available at redland.qld.gov.au/info/20166/support

Council’s COVID-19 assistance package progressing and new measures to be investigated

May 13, 2020

Redland City Council has noted the progress of its Stage1 COVID-19 Social and Economic Assistance Package and endorsed investigation of new, Stage 2 initiatives.

Mayor Karen Williams said that of the 11 items endorsed on 26 March 2020 as part of a more than $2 million assistance package, five were already complete and the other six were in progress.

“I’m pleased that Council has moved swiftly to play its part to relieve some of the pressure the COVID-19 pandemic has caused for Redland Coast residents and businesses,” Cr Williams said.

“This early progress paves the way for Council to now look at new options to provide further stimulus and support.

“Council has doubled the time for current rates payments and continues to work compassionately with those requesting financial relief,” she said.

“Community groups have been advised of available grants up to $10,000 to provide hardship relief to residents and one-off Council contributions made to waive electricity network charges for clubs and associations adversely impacted by COVID-19.

“Business owners may apply for grants up to $1000 to access professional business advice and up to $5000 to re-engineer their business operations to remain viable.

“Already we’ve received 26 applications for these grants, across all categories. Application information is available on Council’s website.”

Cr Williams said Council was also giving preference to local suppliers, with a 10 per cent advantage to be applied, while Council’s own local spend increased by approximately four per cent in the past quarter and 97 per cent of invoices paid within 14 days.

“In addition to providing increased flexibility in many of Council regulatory requirements, a substantial area of support has been delivered through advice to community and businesses,” she said.

“Council’s support officers have helped local businesses, social enterprises, community groups and sporting clubs access Federal and State government economic stimulus packages.

“Council support services have effectively triaged business and organisation information needs by helping point to relevant support with forty percent of business inquiries seeking information on government stimulus support.

Twenty one percent of business inquiries to date have been accommodation and food services businesses and eighteen percent from manufacturing.

“This support information is also being offered through regular e-newsletters to more than 1400 business recipients and updates on Council’s COVID-19 Business and Community page.

“Approximately 400 tourism and event businesses have also received six industry specific e-newsletter updates while our officers have individually contacted more than 80 event organisers.

“Council is committed to working closely with industry representatives and government agencies to ensure tourism and events operators receive the help they need.”

Cr Williams said opportunities to bring forward State Government investment in major infrastructure projects was also being identified, including through programs administered by the Department of Transport and Main Roads.

“While it is impossible to completely remove the burden this pandemic is having on Redlands Coast, Council remains committed to doing what it can to continue supporting our local people, community organisations and businesses.”

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