What’s in the 2024–25 Victorian state budget for your grantseeking organisation?

Funding highlights for community groups and social sector services included:

• $128.4 million to support cultural institutions
• $115 million in grant funding for homelessness services, and a new four-year competitive grants process from 2025–26
• $60 million to support water corporations, local councils, farmers and primary producers with grants to promote sustainable irrigation
• $19 million in new funding towards the Building Blocks grants (inclusion and improvement streams) for kindergartens to refurbish and renovate, with $5 million allocated in 2024–25 and $13.1 million in 2025–26
• $18 million for local sporting clubs including:
  • $8 million for sports and recreation facilities through community sports grants
  • $6 million to continue the Get Active Kids Voucher program
  • $5 million for the continuation of the Local Sports Infrastructure Fund to build pavilions, sports fields, courts, play spaces and skate parks
  • $4.2 million to continue the Country Football and Netball Program to upgrade community football and netball facilities in rural, regional and outer metro areas
• $7.5 million in continued funding for the waste levy rebate grant program for charitable recyclers
• $6.5 million for creative festivals and events across Victoria, including $4.5 million for the Victorian Festivals Fund. It’s unclear at this stage if this is a new fund or the recently launched Live Music Festivals Fund
• $5 million in 2024–25 for the Growing Suburbs Fund for local councils across Melbourne’s outer suburbs to improve infrastructure such as libraries, playgrounds and community spaces. There is no funding allocated for the following two financial years, indicating that the 2024–25 round may be the last
• $4.9 million to support Victorian veterans, including the Veterans Capital Works Grant Program
• $3.3 million for the Visitor Economy Partnerships program to support tourism in regional communities.
• $2.5 million in food relief funding, which will be available via an open grants process for volunteer-based organisations and Neighbourhood Houses
• $1 million for the Music Works program to support musicians and music workers

It's still unclear when or how this money will trickle down to not-for-profits and community groups, but we'll be keeping our eyes peeled for grant updates relevant to Funding Centre members.

In the meantime, log in to your Funding Centre account to sign up for alerts to be among the first to know where the money is flowing, to search for grants, and to manage your grant applications using the dashboard tool.

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