Grants and Funding

Applications for the 2026 Gannawarra Small Grants Program open via SmartyGrants on Friday, 1 May.

You can prepare for your application now by completing the following steps:

• Registering a SmartyGrants account, which you can do by clicking the SmartyGrants and SmartyFile heading at the top of this page.
• Reading the 2026 Gannawarra Small Grants Program guidelines, which you can view by clicking here(PDF, 13MB).

Before applying for funding via the Gannawarra Small Grants Program, please confirm that your organisation meets the following requirements:

• Our organisation is a not-for-profit group.
• Our organisation has an ABN or Incorporation Certificate.
• Our organisation is based in the Gannawarra Shire or provides services that primarily benefit Gannawarra Shire residents.
• If we are a school, the project will provide a clear benefit to the broader community, not just the school.
• We do not have any outstanding Council grants that have not been acquitted.
• If applying through an auspice organisation, the auspice organisation also meets these eligibility requirements.

If your organisation does not meet all of the criteria listed above, please contact Council before submitting an application to discuss your eligibility.

Do you have quotes for project costs?

Can your project be delivered within 12 months (July 2027 completion date for the 2026 program)?

Does your project consider access and inclusion?

If you answered "yes" to the three questions above, your project is ready to be considered for funding thanks to the Gannawarra Small Grants Program.

If any of the answers were "no" and you need assistance, please contact Council's Community Partnership team on (03) 5050 9333 or email grants@gsc.vic.gov.au

Council wants your project to succeed, yet you need to make your project stand out.

To assist with this, Council has developed resources that can assist with your application.

Guide to writing a grant application

Click here(PDF, 301KB) to view a guide that provides advice regarding how to write a successful grant application.

Developing a budget

One of the most common mistakes is applications containing incorrect budgets. To assist in making this area a bit easier to understand, please click here(PDF, 274KB) to view the Budget Help Sheet, which contains an example of what a budget might look like for your application.

2021 Community Grants forum

To support interested applicants, Council hosted a Community Grants Forum online in 2021.

This forum was designed to support our community to better understand the process of applying for a Community Grant, as well as support you to feel more confident in sourcing and applying for grants from a range of organisations.

Council has not yet hosted a another forum, however the content of the 2021 forum is still current. 

To watch a recording of the forum please click this link: 2021 Gannawarra Community Grants Forum

To learn more about past projects supported by Council's grants programs, please click on the links below:

• 2025 program recipients
• 2024 program recipients 
• 2023 program Community Support stream recipients
• 2023 program Community Events stream recipients
• 2022 program recipients
• 2021 program recipients
• 2020/21 Major Projects Grants recipients
• 2020 Community Grants program recipients
• 2019/20 Major Projects Grants recipients
• 2019 Community Grants program recipients

The Victorian Government's grants and programs website lists various grants programs community groups, organisations, businesses and individuals can seek funding from. To view this resource, please click here.

The Australian Government's Community Grants Hub lists grants available from various government departments. To view this page, please click here.

Regional Development Australia - Murray's website has a range of resources available, including grant opportunities. To view this resource, please click here.

Defibrillators increase the chance of survival by 62 per cent if a person in cardiac arrest is defibrillated by a bystander before an ambulance arrives.

Council encourages all community groups to install a Defibrillator and consider applying for a grant where possible.

We encourage those who successfully receive funding for a defibrillator to register with Ambulance Victoria within two months of receiving funding.

Please subscribe to Council's email list via mailchimp to receive updates about external grant opportunities available.

The Community Defib Project team is available to guide you through every step of the process of installing community accessible defibrillators, from introducing the project, to fundraising, to planning, to installations, education and then of course the ongoing maintenance and support to keep these units ready for community access. Click here for more information.

Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal (FRRR) strengthens rural, regional and remote communities working in partnership with philanthropy, government and business.

FRRR often have a range of available funding opportunities available to communities, and they are outlined online or by phoning 1800 170 020.

Sport and Recreation Victoria provides various grants to support sporting clubs and organisations.

To see what grants are available and to apply, please click here.

Sustainability Victoria offers grants for sustainability initiatives. Click here for more information and to see which grants are currently available.

Regional Arts Victoria offers a number of funding opportunities for artists, art organisations and presenters of arts projects.

Any groups or individuals who have creative ideas are encouraged to make contact with Lorraine Little who is the Manager of the Swan Hill/Gannawarra region for Regional Arts Victoria via email or phone 0476 353 856.

To see current funding opportunities available through RAV please visit www.rav.net.au

This program aims to provide support for groups or individuals undertaking projects that will make a positive difference to the natural living environment, in land, sea or air, rural or urban.

Grants between $1000 and $10,000 are available.