Eurobodalla Mayor Mathew Hatcher has congratulated the 56 recipients of Council's Community Grants and Donations Program for 2025–26.
Funds totalling just over $223,000 will be distributed across six funding categories supporting local events, community wellbeing and education.
Mayor Hatcher said Council's focus was on supporting events, projects and programs that align with Eurobodalla's Community Strategic Plan. Recipients of the event funding streams also aligned strongly with the Eurobodalla Destination Action Plan and the Eurobodalla Events Strategy.
"While grant funding isn't intended to be the primary source of income for events, it plays an important role in helping organisers add extra elements or elevate their event to the next level," Mayor Hatcher said.
"Council's support enables these opportunities to happen."
Mayor Hatcher said this year's program was hugely competitive, with assessment panel judges reviewing 122 applications, totalling over $950,000 in grant funding and donations requested – more than quadruple the budget allocated.
"Even though we could not fund everyone, the response has been great to see there's still strong interest in Council supporting events, projects and programs across the region," Mayor Hatcher said.
Iconic event recipients were Narooma Oyster Festival and Sea Otter Australia, each receiving $75,000 dollars across three years, and Sculpture for Clyde receiving $45,000 dollars across three years.
Major events recipients include Crank It Up Batemans Bay, Narooma Forest Rally, Sharkskin NSW IRB Championship, Fungi Feastival, Fox Superflow Eurobodalla Gravity Coast Racing, and Coastrek South Coast.
A full list of recipients is available on Council's grants webpage.
Mayor Hatcher mentioned how challenging it can be to run an event and, while not all applicants received funding, Council's events team continues to help organisers navigate the process and provide plenty of in-kind support.
"Each year Council helps facilitate around 90 events on community land," he said.
"Events not only bring people together, but they also bring real economic value. Regional NSW sees more than a billion dollars of event-related visitor spending each year, and that money lands directly in local cafes, accommodation, shops and tour operators.
"Council's investment in local events pays off for the whole community. When we back events, we are backing local jobs and a stronger regional economy."
For help planning your event or for general advice, contact Council's Events Team on 02 4474 1247 or [email protected] or visit the 'planning your event' web page.
