Has City of Ballarat worked recently to make the grant application writing process more accessible to small community groups?
We haven't changed the process for grant applications. We believe it is user friendly and accessible to all community groups as it is. Our main program, SmartyGrants, is predominantly used by local and state governments for grant applications while the Strategic Partnership Grants involve filling in a simple Word document.
Will the council officer grant recommendation process change in the wake of BOAA going into administration? More stringent reporting expected by grant receivers, etc?
Our governance and contractual processes are stringent and robust for all grants applications and a review of the grant application process in the wake of BOAA's collapse showed there were no significant issues in our processes.
Do council officers believe launching and supporting new events are the priority of grant funding, as older community events shown to be likely unsustainable without council's monetary support?
Council's grant program is designed to provide seed funding to help events become self-sustainable in the long term. It is not Council's role, nor is it financially responsible to our ratepayers, to continually subsidise events in an ongoing manner.
For example, we have funded Organs of the Ballarat Goldfields for over a decade so Council officers have now been working closely with organisers to help them develop into a self-sustainable model.
Will other events miss out on cash, in the wake of BOAA's failure.
No. Every event is assessed on its own merit to determine the benefit it will deliver for the ratepayers.
Good events delivering good community outcomes will be supported by Council.
