The cultural & arts support grant program is an initiative aimed at nurturing fledgling artists, supporting grassroots community arts and cultural activity and underpinning higher level arts and cultural development. There are two rounds of funding per year. Grant rounds are available twice annually:

Opening date Closing date Notification to applicants
1 February 1 March April
1 July 1 August September

 

Organisations can apply for a cultural and arts support grant if :

  • the organisation is an eligible community organisation or is under the auspices of an eligible community organisation as defined in the 2.59 Community Grants Policy;
  • the organisation operates or provides services within the Toowoomba Regional Council area; and
  • the organisation has an Australian Business Number (ABN).

Individuals can apply for a Cultural Arts Support Grant in collaboration with a community organisation which is eligible or in collaboration under the auspices of an eligible community organisation as defined in the Community Grants Policy. Educational institutions cannot apply for funding but they can auspice applications for individuals or non-eligible organisations if the application is for a project that does not form part of the core business of their institution (public and private primary, secondary and tertiary including Parents & Citizens and Parents & Friends Associations) and demonstrates broader community benefit that reflects the CAS program priorities

Who can't apply:

The following would not be eligible to apply:

  • individuals without an auspicing organisation
  • for-profit companies, trusts and other organisations
  • government, semi-government organisations and statutory authorities
  • unions and student guilds
  • research foundations
  • professional associations
  • an organisation that has been granted approval for support through a Toowoomba Regional Council funding program for the same project
  • an organisation that has not acquitted an overdue TRC funded grant application.

Eligible projects

Any project, event or activity which has an art or cultural theme or outcome that:

  • has a clear broad community benefit or is focused on maintaining the ‘spirit’ and identity of communities within the Toowoomba Region Council area;
  • develops and enhances artistic or cultural capacity of a group’s talents within our communities.

Examples of costs that may be eligible for funding include:

  • professional / relevant artists’/cultural workers’ fees
  • production costs including:
    • venue hire costs
    • relevant project specific professional services other than arts/cultural services
    • relevant project specific materials (other than artist’s materials)
    • hire of relevant equipment
    • relevant project documentation costs.

Ineligible projects

The following are not eligible for funding.

  • projects, events or activities which have a for-profit, political or overt self-promotional agenda
  • projects, events or activities that are scheduled to start prior to the applicant being notified of grant funding approval
  • recurrent funding for arts organisations
  • murals
  • accredited study, training or university courses.

Ineligible expenditure items

These items may be included in an eligible project but grant funding cannot be attributed to this expenditure:

  • capital items (including the purchase of artworks)
  • publishing costs
  • artist’s materials
  • any aspect of framing or freight
  • promotional and advertising items
  • statutory charges, salaries/wages/honorariums, consumables, insurance, administration or contingencies
  • catering.

 

Application help

Prospective applicants are strongly encouraged to contact the Cultural and Arts Support grants team on 131 872 to discuss their proposed projects and the potential alignment with the Cultural and Arts Support Grant. 

Advice and assistance on applying for our grants can be obtained by contacting a Community Development Officer on 131 872. If necessary, our staff will meet with applicants at their local library to help explain the online form content.

How to apply

  1. Read the 2.15 Cultural & Arts Support Grant Program Guidelines
  2. If eligible, fill in the Cultural and Arts Support Grant - Toowoomba Regional Council (smartygrants.com.au)

Our suite of community support grants is now online and powered by SmartyGrants. Those new to SmartyGrants are required to establish a username and password before they can commence an application, and our staff are willing to assist new users with this step. Regular grant subscribers may already be familiar with SmartyGrants, and for those that aren’t, we are willing to meet with community groups and organisations to provide a simple overview of the system.