General News
16 August, 2024
Community grants round opens
Community groups are encouraged to start planning their dream project and apply for funding from the Community Bank Avoca, Maryborough and St Arnaud.
The bank announced this week that applications for their Spring Grant Program will open on Sunday, September 1, providing an oppor-tunity for local not-for-profit organisations to make their ideas a reality.
The program is a continuation of the bank’s community model, which re-invests its profits back into initiatives that promote the growth and development of the local community.
In November last year, 27 local groups were awarded funding totalling over $250,000 from the bank’s Community Grant Program.
One of the recipients includes the Maryborough Family History Group, who were awarded a nearly $10,000 grant to convert Maryborough Advertiser microfilm rolls from 1867 to 2001 into digitised PDF documents.
According to treasurer Barbara Humphrey, the community bank’s funding will open this valuable resource to the public.
“Without this grant, no one would have access to this microfilm because the microfilm reader at the library is out of order and it looks unlikely that they will be able to replace it soon,” she said.
“We were very surprised and excited when we got the grant because it was such a huge amount of money, we thought there were other more deserving applications than what we had.
“We are just grateful for the support from the Bendigo Bank because we wouldn’t be able to afford to have the scanning done and have it available for people to use in the near future.”
Since 1993, the history group has promoted the preservation and collection of Maryborough records, with members offering free research assistance every Wednesday in August to commemorate Family History Month.
Ms Humphrey said research tools like the microfilm are crucial in connecting with local history.
“We’re a small group with around 20 members at the moment and we work hard to try and preserve the history of the town,” she said.
“[The paper] is a good indicator of what was happening in the town at a certain time and puts everything into perspective with your family.
“These files are vital for family history research, local history research, or anybody interested in what happened 100 years ago.”
Other recipients include the Maryborough & District Highland Pipe Band who were granted nearly $20,000 to refurbish their hall, the Talbot Football Netball Club who received nearly $17,000 for kitchen appliance upgrades and the Committee for Maryborough who used their $8000 grant for the 2024 Goldfields Community Festival.
Submissions to the Spring Grant Program are open until Monday, September 30.
For more information, or to discuss your project idea, contact Community Bank Avoca, Maryborough and St Arnaud executive director Julie Driscoll by calling 0411 234 800, or via email at secretary@avocacoop.com.au