Locally-led and Creative Communities

The City of Stirling acknowledges the importance of fostering a connected, strong and creative community, enhancing arts, culture and heritage across the City. Locally-led and Creative Communities grants are designed to stimulate cultural and creative programs across the local community, provide vibrant places and strengthen our position as the ‘City of Choice’ in which to live, work and visit.

Overview

The Locally-led and Creative Communities grant stream aims to support the achievement of the objectives in Sustainable Stirling 2022-2032, specifically to:

• Facilitate social connections and access to services locally
• Build strong relationships with our multicultural and diverse community
• Support the City’s cultural sector to create vibrancy in local areas
• Improve the liveability and identity of local areas.

The Locally-led and Creative Communities grant stream seeks proposals for projects, programs or activities that will:

• Enhance the unique character of local areas and neighbourhoods
• Inspire artistic excellence and create opportunities for the wider Stirling community to connect and engage with arts and culture
• Support diversity and community inclusivity
• Support community development initiatives that align with the City’s social plans
• Encourage participation and social connections in local communities
• Contribute to the retention and enhancement of the City’s built heritage
• Enliven the City through activation, activities and placemaking in public spaces
• Activate places and spaces that would otherwise be underutilised or uninviting and foster vibrancy within town centres, precincts or neighbourhoods.

Eligibility

*Individuals, artists and/or artist collectives must be able to demonstrate community benefit in their application, and their capacity to deliver the project.

Quick response grants

Quick response grants are for small amounts up to $2,000 and will be quickly approved. Applicants must be able to demonstrate that the proposed activity/event/project benefits the City of Stirling community.

Quick response grants may include but are not limited to:

• Expenses associated with becoming incorporated – Up to $1,000
• Public Liability Insurance – Up to $500
• Professional development relating to creative practice: workshops, seminars or courses – Up to $500.

For grants over $2,000, please refer to the information below.

What will we fund?

This list is not exhaustive, and we recommend discussing your project with a grants officer prior to submitting an application.

• Public art projects for professional and emerging artists that align with the City of Stirling’s Public Art Masterplan 2021-2025 (including murals)
• Community based arts projects
• Residencies and/or formal mentorship opportunities
• Funding for conservation works which are in the public view and enhance and reveal heritage significance of the property and/or urgent conservation works required to stabilise a building (please refer to specific guidelines for heritage restoration funding)
• Creative events/activations across the City of Stirling with less than 100 attendees
• Small businesses working with local creatives, for example creating exhibition spaces, setting up art trails etc
• Professional development relating to creative practice – workshops seminars or courses to enhance or develop skills
• Delivering creative workshops or programs
• Community development and wellbeing initiatives, such as events, programs or neighbourhood get-togethers with less than 100 attendees
• Develop knowledge and skills of community leaders, organisation officials or volunteers to facilitate quality programs for community participation
• Place activation projects, such as events, installations, activities and artefacts that create bump-in spaces for local people to forge deeper relationships
• Other activities which address the objective or scope of the grant stream.

What won't we fund?

This list is not exhaustive, and we recommend discussing your project with a grants officer prior to submitting an application.

• Recurrent operational costs including, but not limited to wages, salaries, or administrative overheads
• Special events that show or in the past have shown significant profit
• Requests for venue hire only, however, venue hire as part of an overall project will be considered
• Projects that are part of the organisation’s annual or regular program activities i.e. end of year performance
• Programs which have already commenced, unless the proposed activity substantially increases the impact of the existing program
• Activities or programs that are already delivered by the City of Stirling or are our core business
• Donations or fundraising activities that support the recurrent operations of the applicant
• The purchase of equipment that is not specific to the delivery of the activity and would otherwise support the operations of the applicant
• School camps or travel expenses to attend sporting trips, educational, civic, political events, conferences, seminars, forums or similar trips or excursions
• Events over 100 people, if you wish to hold an event for over 100 people please apply under the ‘Vibrant communities’ category
• Faith-based activities of religious organisations, this includes worship activities of a religious entity or group such as preaching, delivery of sermons, prayer services and rituals
• Any activity which, at the City’s sole discretion, is deemed as having the potential to subvert or negatively impact the City’s brand, activities, programs, projects, governance or reputation
• Any activity, at the City’s sole discretion, is deemed to pose an unacceptable health and safety risk toward City employees and/or the wider community.