Council has approved its 2026 Annual Grants program, with more than $570,000 in funding to be distributed to 75 not-for-profit community groups and artists across the region.
The Annual Grants program supports a wide range of community-led projects in arts, heritage, festivals, events, and community development across the Yarra Ranges.
The grants will be allocated from three funding streams:
$189,027 for festivals and events
$130,233 for arts and heritage
$255,275 for community development
Council received 100 applications for this year's intake of the program, with some successful applicants receiving partial funding of their request due to the high number of applications this year.
Yarra Ranges Mayor, Cr Richard Higgins, said that the Annual Grants program was one of Council's proudest initiatives.
"Seeing the incredible outcomes from this program is one of the things that we look forward to most here at Council," said Cr Higgins.
"It is quite humbling to see the passion that comes through from the community for their projects, so to be able to support them to achieve their goals in this way is really special.
"You can see from the list of recipients that projects are funded right across the municipality, with all of them encouraging connection which we know is so important to creating a healthy and thriving community.
"And to those who put in an application and were unsuccessful this time around, we encourage you to apply again next year, and to chat with our Grants team ahead of the next application process to give yourself the best chance."
Highlights from the 2026 Annual Grants:
Warburton Valley Market - $7,000 for Music and Art at Warburton Valley Market
Wandoon Estate Aboriginal Corporation - $10,000 for Coranderrk Archival Preservation Project
Upwey Community Group - $5,706 for the Upwey Archies 2026
Lilydale Township Action Group - $10,000 for Lilydale Melba Festival & Street Fair
Healesville Festival Inc - $15,000 for Healesville Festival
Dandenong Ranges Literary Festival - $10,000 for Literary Festival
Yarra Ranges Film Society - $5,000 for Warburton Film Festival 2026
Monbulk and District Community Opportunities Working Group - $5,000 for Monbulk Intergenerational Project
Repower the Dandenongs - $5,000 for Repower Festival 2026
Mountain Men Inc - $6,000 for Mountain Men group activities
Upwey Mens' Shed Inc - $5,000 for Membership Recruitment & Participation Program
For more on these successful projects and others, visit https://www.yarraranges.vic.gov.au/Our-services/Grants-and-support-for-community-groups/Annual-grants/Previous-grant-recipients.
