Grants available
Cultural sector innovation grant
Total amount we’re giving away: $500,000. Additional value-in-kind fee waiver for street banners and community venues is available, subject to (limited) availability.
How much you can apply for: Up to $20,000.
Who can apply? Sole traders, cultural and creative small-to-medium not-for-profit or for-profit organisations who employ less than 20 full-time employees and have a turnover of less than $10 million. Businesses need to either be in or provide service to our area.
Funding will support the development of innovative operating models, programs and collaborations.
Community services grant
Total amount we’re giving away: $800,000. Additional value-in-kind fee waiver for community venues is available, subject to (limited) availability. Conditions and health requirements apply.
How much you can apply for: $5,000 to $50,000. Projects that involve multiple organisations partnering to achieve a shared goal may be eligible to apply for more than $50,000.
Who can apply? A not-for-profit (including social enterprises), or an individual or groups of individuals auspiced by a relevant organisation who is eligible to apply in their own right. Applicants need to be located in our area or provide significant service to local residents, workers and visitors.
This grant is for organisations that provide food, digital assistance and programs to support vulnerable community groups, temporary visa holders, social housing residents, people at risk of or experiencing homelessness.
We encourage applications between multiple organisations partnering to achieve a shared goal. Contact us to discuss before applying if this is you.
CBD activation grant
Total we’re giving away: $3 million. Additional value-in-kind fee waiver for street banners and landmark venues is also available.
How much can you apply for: $5,000 to $50,000.
Who can apply? For-profit, not-for-profit, sole traders, social enterprises, individuals or unincorporated community groups, auspiced by a not-for-profit that is eligible to apply in their own right. City centre-based businesses in arts and culture, entertainment, tourism and accommodation, retail and hospitality, corporate/private sector organisations with public space to activate and event or creative companies/operators activating city-centre space.
This activation grant encourages collaborations between business and creatives to activate space in the public domain and vacant corporate space with live music and cultural programming to enliven our city centre, inspire visitors to safely return and help revitalise the economy.
The CBD activation grant is brought to you by the NSW Government and City of Sydney. We’re working together to enliven the city centre and boost the economy.
CBD activation grant: Project thought starters
To get potential applicants thinking about creative ideas for this grant, we have pulled together some hypothetical projects. To be clear: we’re not specifically looking for grant applications that mirror these concepts. However, some thought starters might help trigger ideas for applicants and get the creative juices flowing!
- Live music venue: A city-centre-based late-night live music venue that normally programs rock music might apply for a grant to work on a new classical music program.
- Musicians/creatives: Musicians and performers might apply to create a series of performances in an outdoor space in Barangaroo.
- Corporate spaces, shopping centres and developers: These commercial businesses might look to activate public spaces on their premises or even empty corporate spaces. For example, a corporate office space with a courtyard might apply to program DJ sessions for late night shoppers on Thursday evenings.
- Event producers/creative companies: A professional event company might create a unique cultural event in Pitt Street Mall or Circular Quay on the weekends to encourage shoppers back to the city centre.
- Vacant retail stores: A vacant store might be activated as an art gallery showcasing children’s artwork from local schools. Or perhaps it might feature young emerging artists who are studying at one of the universities in our local area.
Need help finding a collaborator?
We are working with Collabosaurus, a marketing tool that connects brands, businesses and creatives together to collaborate on opportunities like our CBD activation grant. Follow the easy steps, watch the tutorial and upload your details to find a collaboration partner. Once you’ve found a collaboration partner you can apply for a grant together .
Want to find out more?
Join us for a briefing session Thursday 12 November, 12pm to 1.30pm and get further information about the grants on offer.
Need support with your application or have a question?
Call our concierge team today on 02 9265 9333.
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Grants are now open and close 5pm on Monday 7 December 2020.
Published 29 October 2020, updated 25 June 2024
