Grants and Sponsorships

We provide a number of funding opportunities to support initiatives that contribute to the social, cultural, environmental, and economic life of the city.

Some of our grants and sponsorship opportunities have been updated to make it simpler to apply, and fairer to everyone in the community. They also align with our plan for the future, Newcastle 2030 Community Strategic Plan.

Please note that all funding for the 2021 Community Grant Funding Program has been issued. The next round of funding will be in May 2022.

Following the allocation of funding, if any stream has unexpended funds, the stream may reopen for further funding opportunities.

The current exception to this process is:

  • Sponsorship Program - Major Events Development Sponsorship. An EOI process which remains open throughout the year until funding is fully expended.

Supporting Documentation for the Grants and Sponsorship Process.

Grant Funding:

Sponsorship Funding:

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Previous Grant Rounds

City of Newcastle’s (CN) Grants and Sponsorships programs have been modernised following stakeholder engagement to deliver better outcomes for the community.  The new Policies, exhibited from 24 February to 24 March 2021, were adopted on 27 April 2021.

The Community Support Grant Funding Round opened from 3-31 May 2021.  Under the Community Grants Program a total of 94 applications were received requesting a total of $1,060,235 in funding.  Funding for 59 projects totalling $457,121 was awarded.

The successful projects for 2021 are:

INFRASTRUCTURE GRANTS

Infrastructure Grants include Façade Improvement, Recreation Facilities and Sustainability streams.

Applicant

Funding Stream

Project

Description

Funding Amount

Suni Bommareddy

Façade Improvement

Lucky 7 Supermarket - 53 Joslin Street, Kotara

Repainting frontage.

$3,333

Malwa Food and Liquor Ltd

Façade Improvement

IGA Supermarket - 32-34 Llewellyn Street, Merewether

Repainting frontage and eaves.

$1,767

Barratt’s Laundry

Façade Improvement

Barratt's Laundry - 30 Llewellyn Street, Merewether

Repairs and painting to awning and new light.

$5,000

Merewether District Cricket Club

Recreation Facilities

Empire Park Wicket Irrigation

Installation of an automatic irrigation system for Empire Park.

$3,800

New Lambton Eagles Football Club

Recreation Facilities

Alder Park Seating

Pre-fabricated tiered aluminium seating.

$10,000

Wallsend Football Club

Recreation Facilities

Playing surface improvements at Cook Park, Shortland

Playing surface improvements.

$5,000

Stockton Junior Football Club

Recreation Facilities

Installation of additional light pole for Corroba Oval

Improve lighting at Corroba Oval.

$10,000

Hamilton Park Tennis Club

Recreation Facilities

Electrical Upgrade of Meter Box

Upgrade and relocated the electrical meter box.

$4,250

Mayfield United Junior Soccer Football

Recreation Facilities

Irrigation design at Stevenson Park Field 1

Upgrade irrigation at Stevenson Park Field 1.

$5,000

Newcastle French Bread House

Sustainability

Solar upgrade

Solar installation.

$5,000

Novacare Community Services Ltd

Sustainability

Solar installation

Solar provision at Ailsa Craig Cottage respite care.

$5,000

Apnom Pty Ltd

Sustainability

Newcastle Zero Impact Vertical Farm

Investigate the impact of recycled battery storage to improve waste minimisation.

$5,000


COMMUNITY SUPPORT GRANTS

Community Support Grants include Quick Response, Environment, Social Inclusion and Arts, Culture and Heritage streams.

Applicant

Funding Stream

Project

Description

Funding Amount

Surfing the Spectrum Foundation Limited

Quick Response

Surfing the Spectrum – Autism Informed Training for Surf Schools

Delivering Autism Informed Training packages to Surf Schools.

$3,552

STARTTS

Quick Response

Unity and Diversity Festival

Celebrates the Cultural Diversity of Newcastle in the spirit of inclusiveness and welcome. The festival is held to coincide with the National Refugee Week celebrations.

$4,000

Kodi Twiner

Quick Response

Prickly Pear 2

A multidisciplinary arts events showcasing women and gender diverse creatives of Newcastle. All ages and alcohol-free.

$2,000

Rebecca Dallwitz

Quick Response

Living post-industrialisation: the experience of Novocastrians

A digital exhibition looking at the social experience of post-industrialisation of people who live and work in Newcastle.

$4,000

Tech Wise 2.0

Quick Response

Engaging the Elderly Community Members

Connecting and engaging the elderly members of the community through media and online proficiency.

$4,000

Newcastle Toy Library

Quick Response

Newcastle Toy Library Refurbishment/Expansion – Stage 1

Refurbishment of the Newcastle Toy Library.

$2,900

Hannah Indigo

Quick Response

OMGWTF

Creative development for artists in the show OMGWTF to further enhance the artists ability to seek paid work opportunities and increase their portfolio of bookable acts.

$4,000

Janice Chamberlain Hamilton South Community Solutions

Quick Response

Murals for Hamilton South

Replacing graffiti with art.

$4,000

Micro Theatre Pty Ltd

Quick Response

Micro@NTC

Short plays to showcase local talent and activate a new space.

$4,000

Uniting Adamstown Heights Preschool

Quick Response

Healing Country Through Art

Children and educators in collaboration with Speaking in Colour will create a mural to be displayed in the playground to represent the theme of NAIDOC week.

$3,000

CALD Connect

Quick Response

Newcastle Arab Youth Network

Establish Newcastle Arab Youth Network including workshops and seminars.

$4,000

STARTTS

Quick Response

Afghan Community Festival

Afghan Community Festival to connect and celebrate the diverse Afghan cultures of Newcastle through dance and food.

$3,000

Hunter Multicultural Communities Inc

Quick Response

Multicultural Pop-up Library

To build a library station that will house a Multicultural Pop-up Library.

$4,000

Little Dreamers Australia

Quick Response

Young Carers Talent Show

An event to highlight and celebrate the many diverse talents of young people with caring roles and responsibilities within the community.

$3,700

Weaving the Red Thread

Quick Response

Menstruality Education and Empowerment – Graphic Design Branding and Website Creation

Branding and website development to establish a professional identity.

$4,000

Stockton Bowling Club Cooperative Ltd

Quick Response

Junior and adult social bowls equipment

To purchase specific equipment to conduct school holiday lawn bowls programs for all ages of school children.

$3,815

Peta Belic

Quick Response

Newcastle – Australia's First Region (Seminar Series)

A research project looking at the history of Newcastle as Australia's first region.

$4,000

Heath Killen

Quick Response

On a Floating World

A publishing and events platform, focused on the coastline and waterways of the greater Newcastle Region. Combining art, science, history, and culture, the project aims to foster a deeper connection to our marine ecosystems and contemplate their futures.

$4,000

Janice Chamberlain Hamilton South Community Solutions

Quick Response

Children's Activity and Gardening Day

Community afternoon welcoming children in Hamilton South. The afternoon will encourage social activity, art, gardening and play.

$1,520

STARTTS

Quick Response

Congolese Community Festival

Congolese Community Festival to connect and celebrate the diverse Congolese cultures of Newcastle through dance and food.

$3,000

November Sheehan

Quick Response

Heart Letter Pen

Volunteers provide hand written letters for the elderly in aged care facilities or nursing homes to reduce feelings of isolation .

$4,000

Janice Chamberlain Hamilton South Community Solutions

Quick Response

Hamilton South Shop Mural – Bottleshop Wall

To finalise a wall of murals behind Hamilton South business precinct.

$4,000

Crete Kings Without Crowns

Quick Response

Tighes Hill Winter Walk

Explore Tighes Hill local businesses and community.

$4,000

STARTTS

Quick Response

Syrian Community Festival

Syrian Community Festival to connect and celebrate the diverse Syrian cultures of Newcastle through dance and food.

$3,000

Feedback Organic Recovery

Environment

Feedback Futures

Delivery of a Circular Economy sustainability engagement program in schools.

$20,000

Go Circular

Environment

Hack the Future: Circular Economy Leadership Project

Harness young people's passion to protect our climate by providing them with the skills, networks, and confidence to solve problems around transitioning to a regenerative circular economy, pioneering career opportunities for emerging students in the Hunter

$20,000

Seaside Scavenge

Environment

Seaside Scavenge

A community event where litter collected from local beaches and waterways becomes a currency in a pop-up market to purchase pre-loved clothes and other goods that have been donated by the local community, thereby reimagining waste as a resource.

$10,870

Hunter Community Environment Centre

Environment

Squirrel Habitat Education, Restoration & Enhancement

Engage households and communities to enhance, restore or create habitat, food-sources and potential corridors for local Squirrel Glider populations.

$10,000

Hunter Jobs Alliance

Environment

Clean Energy Transition Community Engagement Program

Community education program to increase literacy and awareness of economic opportunity in the clean energy transition.

$16,000

Mercy Services (auspice for Brooke Charlton)

Social Inclusion

Mayfield Citizens Community Activation Project

A beautification project at the Mayfield Elderly Citizens Centre which aims to support and educate patrons.

$6,500

Hunter Multicultural Communities

Social Inclusion

Youth Nations

A programme to engage with the Multicultural Youth members of new and emerging communities of the region.

$15,000

Northern Settlement Services (auspice for Ruth Anagnostis)

Social Inclusion

The Global Table Collective

An opportunity for people from Diverse Cultures in Newcastle to meet and share their cultures and build social and community connections through the sharing of food and music from people from CALLD backgrounds.

$15,000

University of Newcastle – Gender Research Network

Social Inclusion

16 Days of Activism

Strengthen our city’s response to domestic and sexual violence, showcasing survivors’ stories to increase community connection, providing young people with access to consent education, and include men in conversations about prevention.

$15,000

Hunter Parents and Teachers Association of Community Languages Schools Inc

Social Inclusion

Enabling social inclusion through child safe practices

Strengthening capability for CALD organisations to engage in and lead social inclusive community events by enabling Child Safety practices and approaches.

$10,800

Little Dreamers Australia

Social Inclusion

Young Carer School Holiday Program

A program to provide respite for Young Carers aged 6-14.

$9,000

Centre for Hope

Social Inclusion

Wallsend: All Welcome

Breaking the ice by breaking bread: Promoting social inclusion by bringing together a diverse community to share a meal, based on the cuisine of their various cultural backgrounds.

$10,000

City of Newcastle – Region Library (auspice for Alyaa Al-Attabi)

Social Inclusion

A Thousand And One Nights

Cultural nights which promote the varied cuisines and cultures of the multicultural peoples living in Newcastle through food, music and storytelling.

$8,000

Hunter Community Legal Centre

Social Inclusion

Online Accessibility Project

Creating an accessible online portal making free legal information, advice and education more accessible to vulnerable and disadvantaged members of the community.

$5,000

Carnivore Films (Stories of Our Town)

Arts, Culture and Heritage

Threlkeld and Biraban (Film)

A film on the Missionary Rev Threlkeld and Biraban who 200yrs ago protected local Aboriginal people and preserved their language.

$18,000

National Young Writers Festival Inc

Arts, Culture and Heritage

National Young Writers Festival 2021

Australia’s largest gathering of young writers. Bringing young people together for invention, connection and discovery opportunities.

$25,000

Arwarbakal Cultural Resource Ass Inc

Arts, Culture and Heritage

Digitisation and remote access to collections

Digitisation of cultural records to be made available online for Indigenous audiences.

$19,814

Jacinta Fintan

Arts, Culture and Heritage

Little Festival

An ephermal arts festival celebrating small scale and miniature outdoor street art installations in and around Newcastle.

$20,000

Newcastle Historic Reserve Land Manager (The Lock-Up)

Arts, Culture and Heritage

The Lock-Up's REVIVE

A suite of experimental and contemporary commissioned new works by both local and Nationally recognised artists.

Yr 1: $22,500

Yr 2: $22,500

Yr 3: $22,500

Curious Legends Ltd

Arts, Culture and Heritage

Spirit of Newcastle Project

Artist development, community engagement and events project.

$20,000

Newcastle Music Festival

Arts, Culture and Heritage

Newcastle Music Festival Inc

Annual Newcastle Music Festival encompassing a broad range of musical genres.

Yr 1: cancel

Yr 2: $10,000

Yr 3: $10,000

Hiss and Crackle (auspiced Kodi Twiner)

Arts, Culture and Heritage

Professional Development Music Workshops for Women in Music at Hiss and Crackle Records

Four professional development music workshops, with an emphasis on fem-identifying people in music.

$7,000

Reenaction Pty Ltd t/as Newy with Kids

Arts, Culture and Heritage

Newy with Kids Scavenger Hunts Part II

Two additional Newy with Kids Scavenger Hunts.

$5,000