Matching Grants boosting health, culture and community in the City of Sydney

Has your brain been ticking over with an idea to improve or inspire your local village and you know of a group of eager participants ready to make it happen? Then start planning – you might have what it takes to receive a Matching Grant!

Matching Grants support neighbourhood groups in the City of Sydney to purchase materials or supplies, to help create projects that bring the community together. Matching Grants are available all year round and ‘match’ contributions made by the community with up to $10,000 cash or offer in-kind support like venue hire of City owned buildings.

Money is not the only thing City of Sydney will match; they will also match your ‘community contribution’, ie the time you and your group contribute to the project. This can include volunteer time such as labour , set up and pack down and meeting time to identify, plan and implement projects.  Volunteer time is matched at the rate of $20 per hour and professional services at $75 per hour.

Some motivating recipients of the matching grants that could spark your light bulb are the Bikegal website and Conductors Project.

Bikegal is a cycling website for women with the catchphrase “More Sisters Cycling in Sydney”. It was written and developed to provide female-specific information and content from female cyclists with the aim of getting more women to cycle in the city of Sydney.

Bikegal

Another grant recipient is the publicly interactive Conductors Projects. It is an art initiative utilising two of Sydney’s busiest train stations. By transforming the disused display cabinets of St James and Museum into exhibition space, the daily commute of approx. 5800 people becomes a cultural experience. Committed to exhibiting the work of both emerging and established artists, Conductors Project connects artists to new audiences.

Andrew Quilty – Transport

This is by no means an exhaustive list of the types of projects that have received matching grants. There are cooking camps for kids, festival days, community gardens and even organisations making neuroscience more accessible plus many more!

Head to The Matching Grants website for 5 simple steps to starting your project and information on how to apply for a matching grant.