Black Swan Health, IDEA Foundation, Valley Verges and Fremantle Design Week are among the recipients of funding in the latest round of Community, Youth and Arts grants.
$100,174.76 has been shared among 19 organisations and individuals that make a positive contribution to the community, in the City of Fremantle's twice yearly grants program.
There were ten recipients in the March 2026 Community Grants category:
- Apace WA will expand its facilities to engage more volunteers, including older people and people with disability, by transforming an under‑utilised outdoor area into a sun‑safe, accessible potting workspace.
- Freo Fury Netball Club will celebrate and recognise its volunteers through a hands‑on creative activity where participants customise tote bags with local colours and designs, acknowledging their contribution in a fun, inclusive, and community‑building way.
- Kinder Education will deliver workshops for upper‑primary students at local schools exploring refugee experiences, identity, and belonging through storytelling, discussion, and creative expression as part of the In My Pocket Project.
- A three‑month, volunteer‑led LifeLinkConnect initiative for Fremantle residents will reduce loneliness and social isolation, with a focus on older people, people living with disability, and adults experiencing mental health challenges.
- Free, monthly Sunday‑morning community BBQs at South Beach will provide a relaxed, non‑clinical space for local men to meet, chat, and connect, delivered by volunteers from Mr Perfect Incorporated Community BBQ Events.
- Nannine Common will deliver a productive, wildlife‑supportive community garden in White Gum Valley, including five raised garden beds, fruit and nut trees, and a purpose‑designed bird waterer to support native wildlife.
- Curedale Street Reconciliation Park will be activated as a safe, inclusive, and culturally meaningful community space through a NAIDOC Week community gathering, a bush‑cinema screening, and community‑led busy bees to establish a cultural garden.
- Second Act Arts will deliver a community storytelling project inviting Fremantle residents to share personal stories, with selected stories developed by a writer and brought to life by actors at a free public storytelling event.
- Valley Verges will undertake native revegetation of a median island in White Gum Valley, transforming the space into a biodiversity‑rich native garden and will also produce lasting educational resources from the project.
- WA Poets will deliver a free poetry workshopping program at Fremantle Library, with in‑person sessions providing a safe, low‑barrier entry point to sharing and developing creative work, particularly for emerging or returning writers.
| Recipient | Funding received |
| Apace Aid Incorporated | $4,875.00 |
| Freo Fury Netball Club | $1,051.00 |
| Kinder Education Incorporated | $4,959.00 |
| LifeLinkConnect Ltd | $5,701.50 |
| Mr Perfect Incorporated Community BBQ Events | $5,000.00 |
| Nannine Common Inc. | $7,500.00 |
| Reconciliation Park (auspice via Noongar Mia Mia) | $7,490.00 |
| Second Act Arts | $4,500.00 |
| Valley Verges Inc. | $6,268.00 |
| WA Poets Inc. | $3,000.00 |
| TOTAL | $50,344.50 |
There were four recipients in the March 2026 Youth Grants category:
- Free psychology consultations will be provided to young people aged 16-24 who access Black Swan Health's General Practice for Young People Street Doctor service in Fremantle and are experiencing mental health challenges.
- A 12‑week, youth‑led program engaging 20 young people aged 15-18 will support participants to design and deliver initiatives that benefit the Fremantle community. The program will be delivered by IDEA Foundation in the Fremantle Piazza precinct.
- Imagined Futures will distribute accessible resources to local young people, providing information on how and where to access mental health, housing, and wellbeing support through its Where is the Door? for Young People initiative.
- A four‑week Foodbank WA NOM! course will be delivered to Life Without Barriers' Ngatti House residents aged 17-22, supporting the development of practical life skills, nutrition knowledge, confidence, social connection, and long‑term independence.
| Recipient | Funding received |
| Black Swan Health | $7,500.00 |
| IDEA Foundation | $4,900.00 |
| Imagined Futures (via St Pat's) | $2,271.00 |
| Life Without Barriers | $4,836.26 |
| TOTAL | $19,507.26 |
There were five recipients in the March 2026 Arts Grants category, with $5,000 from by Fremantle Community Bank a branch of Bendigo Bank:
- Word Play Festival Inc. will host the second iteration of the Totally Lit literature festival, 2-16 October 2026. Celebrating Walyalup/Fremantle as a city of literature, Totally Lit 2026 will again offer imaginative new ways for audiences of all ages and diverse interests to connect with writers, storytelling, and books.
- Leza Howie, together with artists Josephine Johnson and Nicole Steenhof, will present the Holdfast group art exhibition, which will explore how seaweed operates across multiple artistic states, held 27 June - 12 July 2026 at Moores Building Art Space.
- Life Imitates, an emerging arts organisation, will present the What it Means Showcase, that will consist of poetry, fashion, art and music, and aims to connect with young and diverse artists.
- Design Freo Inc. will present Fremantle Design Week, that brings ten days of exhibitions, talks, tours, workshops, films, open studios and special events to Walyalup/Fremantle, 16-25 October 2026.
- Birdbooks Pty Ltd, will present the inaugural Paper Bird Illustration Award & Exhibition, which is designed to stimulate and promote creative opportunities for illustrators, 9-23 May 2026.
| Recipient | Funding received |
| Word Play Festival Inc. | $7,500.00 |
| Leza Howie | $7,443.00 |
| Life Imitates | $4,888.00 |
| Design Freo Inc. | $6,792.00 |
| Birdbooks Pty Ltd | $3,700.00 |
| TOTAL | $30,323.00 |
The next round of grants will open on 1 September 2026.
Image: Tim Frodsham and Dave Broun from Valley Verges
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