Funding & Grants for Queensland's community arts

 


Regional Arts Fund (Qld)

For medium to large ($5,000 - $30,000 grants) community-initiated arts projects that produce sustainable outcomes for the community.

Queensland Arts Council manages the Regional Arts Fund (RAF) on behalf of the Australian Government. The fund supports the arts in regional, remote and very remote/isolated Queensland, offering between $5,000 and $30,000 towards their communty arts projects. Grant rounds are conducted in March and August each year.

 

Regional Quick Response Grants offer assistance up to $1,500 to individuals or organisations for projects that demonstrate a community benefit and are unable to source funds elsewhere.  An application for this program can be received at any time and an answer given as to its success or otherwise within 48 hours.  The Quick Response Grant Scheme operates during the months of February to November each year.

Important notes: It is very rare for RAF to provide the full amount of the project. Also check your eligibilty closely from the application and guidelines. Regional is determined by the Australian Government's definition, which can be, confusingly, slightly different to the Queensland Government's.

Read more about Regional Arts Fund

Regional Arts Development Fund (RADF)

www.arts.qld.gov.au/funding/radf.html

Now, don't get this one confused with RAF (above), RADF is a fund allocated to your local council by the State Government via Arts Queensland.

Your local council bids for an annual allocation of funding for your region and then distribtutes it through a locally run RADF grants program. Local artists and cultural workers can apply to RADF through the local councils RADF Liaison Officer. You can ask your local council or Local Arts Council who this is in your community.

RADF supports individual professional artists, emerging professional artists, artsworkers, cultural workers or project
coordinators to develop cultural activities and skills in the local area. It will not support amateur artists and community arts competitions such as Eisteddfods. It will not support the event hiring artists for entertainment (such as a band).

Find out more about RADF by visiting your local council website or Arts Queensland.


Queensland Arts Council and Heritage Building Society Arts Partnership Fund

For small to medium community arts events (contributes up to $3,500)

Australia’s biggest building society has formed a partnership with QAC to build the capacity, quality of life and sustainability of regional communities through the support of their arts initiatives and arts components of cultural celebrations. The fund encourages and nurtures local entrepreneurship and community partnerships by utilising arts and cultural activities to motivate and inspire positive social outcomes. This fund supports projects in communities where there is either a Heritage Building Society branch or Arts Council presence.

This fund is great if you need financial assistance with developing a community arts event because it will contribute to artists' fees including the cost of bringing artists in from a larger centre or even Brisbane. From 2008, the fund also contributes to the costs of marketing the event.

Think jazz nights, bands in the park, screenprinting workshops, cooking and wine classes, motivational speakers. Great for promoting community cultural togetherness and your organisation's cultural entrepreneurship.

Read more about the Queensland Arts Council and Heritage Building Society Arts Partnership Fund.


Queensland Government Grants

Use the nifty little Grant Finder facility on the Queensland Government website.


Queensland Events Regional Development Program

www.qldevents.com.au/regional  or  1300 881 255

Queensland Events Regional Development Program (QERDP) is an investment program designed to extend the flow of economic and social benefits of events to regional Queensland. The focus is specifically on events located outside the Brisbane metropolitan area. (Brisbane City Council provides assistance to art/cultural events through the Major Festivals and Cultural Projects Fund).  Events supported range from music, fishing and food festivals, to camel races, kite surfing and cultural celebrations, and can be existing or new events. Grant rounds are conducted twice a year, typically in February and August and relevant application forms can be downloaded from the Queensland Events website.

Events which are successful under this program best meet the following key objectives:

  • To increase local economic activity and development   
  • To enhance the profile and appeal of the destination in which they are held
  • To enhance the visitor experience    
  • To demonstrate future growth and sustainability
QLD Department of Local Government, Sport and Recreation
Blueprint for the Bush - Our Place, Our Future

www.dlgpsr.qld.gov.au or 07 3234 1870

The aim of this initiative for rural and remote communities is to increase the capacity to own and manage their future. The funds are available for building community capacity and revitalising rural image and relationships. This includes enhancing community strengths, such as leadership, networks, organisations and infrastructure, and relationships within and with other areas. It also includes cultural development activities that build social and economic capacity.

Two categories of funding are available:

  • planning and engagement funds are designed to help communities engage members in developing plans or strategies that may lead to longer-term projects.
  • project implementation funding is available for projects that activate existing community plans, social plans or strategic plans.

 The applications will need to show evidence that all sections of the community will have input into the project. Funding submissions can be lodged with the Regional Offices for Rural and Regional Communities Check website for funding submission closing dates (2008 -  3 March, 2 June and 1 September).


Multicultural Affairs Queensland - Multicultural Assistance Program (MAP)

www.multicultural.qld.gov.au/be_involved/grants or Freecall 1800 053 739

MAP encourages community organisations to undertake projects that promote understanding and acceptance of multiculturalism in Queensland and provides funding to non-profit incorporated community organisations, local councils and tertiary institutions for:

  • multicultural festivals and events that promote an acceptance of cultural diversity across the whole community
  • multicultural projects which foster access and participation for people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.