General News
4 April, 2024
Grant writing support
Fundraising is often a stressful and challenging endeavour for local community groups, but a new initiative is aiming to change that. A series of free workshops, designed to give attendees crucial guidance around writing successful grant...
Fundraising is often a stressful and challenging endeavour for local community groups, but a new initiative is aiming to change that.
A series of free workshops, designed to give attendees crucial guidance around writing successful grant applications, will be on offer from the end of this month.
These sessions, first trialled in 2023, are the result of a partnership between the Maryborough Volunteer Resource Centre (MVRC) and the Central Goldfields Shire Council.
Councillor Anna De Villiers, who also facilitated the workshops last year, said the shire’s community groups should capitalise on this opportunity.
“There is plenty of money out there and our shire has probably been missing out over recent years,” she said.
“We just need to know where to look and to learn how to increase our chances of success by writing stronger grant writing submissions.
“It’s not rocket science but there are some basic things you need to know about grant writing that strengthen your applications.”
The workshops draw on expertise from guest speakers and utilise the experience of local leaders who have had remarkable success with raising significant amounts of money.
According to MVRC treasurer Faye Pyke, it can be difficult for groups to keep on top of finances and these upcoming workshops will provide a blueprint to navigate through that.
“It’s hard enough to run and administrate an organisation these days, let alone have the time to run sausage sizzles, quiz nights and raffles [to raise money],” she said.
“But there are sources of sizeable funds out there that can save you a lot of time and stress if you just learn how to go about it effectively.”
With a total of five sessions planned, the first workshop, ‘Preparing Your War Chest’, will focus on the basics that need to be addressed to maximise chances of a successful application.
This session will also include an introduction to strategic planning.
Cr De Villiers will again be facilitating all five workshops which will run over five weeks — starting on April 22 and concluding on May 27.
They will run for two hours every week, from 10 am to 12 pm.
While it is not essential to attend every workshop, groups are encouraged to send a representative to each session.
Bookings are not essential but those interested in registering or confirming their attendance can contact MVRC president Tony Macer on 0400 029 068.