Applicants that reflect creativity, inclusion, sustainability, knowledge and economic prosperity are encouraged to apply.
Grants and sponsorships help recipients to deliver quality programs, events, products and services which are of great benefit to Melbourne and Melburnians alike and which bring a wide range of environmental, social and economic returns to the city.
What types of grants are available?
Organisations running arts projects, events and festivals are eligible to apply for a range of grants and sponsorships. Individuals can also apply for arts grants.
Grant programs include:
- Aboriginal Arts Grants
- Annual Arts Grants and Residencies
- Business Events Sponsorship Program
- Community funding and grants
- Event Partnership Program
- Multi-year Arts Grants Program
- Quick Response Arts Grants
For more information, see
Funding for business, social enterprises and microbusinesses is available through:
For more information, see Business grants and sponsorships.
Businesses may also be eligible for other City of Melbourne grants and sponsorships through arts funding opportunities , grants for events and festivals or community funding and grants.
Grants for community organisations, including sport and recreation grants:
- Aboriginal Community Grants
- Community Events Grants
- Community Inclusion Grants
- Community Meals Subsidy Program
- Connected Neighbourhood Small Grants
- Inclusive Sport and Recreation Grants
- Operational Support Grants
- Social Investment Partnership Grants
For more information, see Community funding and grants.
| Grants or sponsorship type | Eligibility |
|---|---|
| Aboriginal Arts Grants | Funding of Aboriginal arts projects, supporting developments and activities taking place in the City of Melbourne within the 2024 calendar year. |
| Aboriginal Creative Residency | The residency at Boyd studios provides Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander artists with a valuable opportunity to spend time researching, experimenting, developing and creating new work. |
| Aboriginal Community Grants | Community-led projects that promote community connection, cultural and social inclusion, access and participation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. |
| Annual Arts Grants and Residencies | Funding of arts projects, arts residencies, supporting developments and activities taking place in the City of Melbourne within the 2024 calendar year. |
| Arts Grants - Multi-year Arts Grants Program | Multi-year arts grants provide three year funding for small, medium and large arts organisations. |
| Arts Grants - Quick Response Arts Grants | For artists and small to medium arts organisations across all disciplines who need support to successfully deliver their project to the public or to develop new work. |
| Business Event Sponsorship Program | Business events or conferences held in the City of Melbourne municipality that promote Melbourne as a destination. |
| Community Inclusion Grants | Support for not-for-profit organisations to run projects that promote community connection, social inclusion, and access and participation. |
| Community Meals Subsidy Program | Subsidies are available to not-for-profit organisations that support older people to meet and share a meal on a regular basis. |
| Community Use of Town Halls | Allows not-for-profit community organisations to apply for in-kind support for use of the Melbourne Town Hall, North Melbourne Town Hall or the Meat Market in North Melbourne. |
| Connected Neighbourhoods Small Grants | Provide funding for projects that support diverse communities of a particular neighbourhood through increased community connection, access and participation. |
| Event Partnership Program | A sponsorship program supports and enables free, accessible and inclusive events that generate unforgettable, captivating, and innovative experiences. |
| Fishermans Bend Innovation ChallengeOpens in new tab | Win $70,000 towards implementing technology idea to benefit communities in Australia’s largest urban renewal project. |
| Heritage Grants Program | Any owner of a building within the heritage overlay located in the City of Melbourne, and planning restoration works that will be visible from the public realm |
| Inclusive Sport and Recreation Grants | Inclusive Sport and Recreation Grants are delivered by the City of Melbourne to provide opportunities for children and young people to participate in community sport and to support individuals participating at an elite level to achieve their sporting goals. |
| Operational Support Grants | Grants for local volunteer-run community organisations that support community connection, social inclusion, access and participation for City of Melbourne residents. |
| Signal Screen and Sound Commissions | Signal will commission up to ten young and emerging artists aged 16 to 25 to produce their screen or sound work for highly visible showcase in the city. |
| Small Business Grants | Creative and innovative small businesses currently located or intending to move to the City of Melbourne municipality, including previous applicants. |
| Social Investment Partnership Grants | Funding that supports the development and delivery of projects and programs that provide equitable opportunities that enable, empower and build the capacity of our diverse community. |
| Social Enterprise Grants | Social enterprises currently operating or intending to operate in the City of Melbourne municipality, including previous applicants. |
| Urban Forest Fund | Matched-funding from $10,000 to $500,000 is available to support new greening projects on private property with public benefits, such as tree plantings, biodiversity plantings and green roofs and walls. |
External assessment panel members review, assess and provide objective, independent recommendations to Council in relation to funding for grants and sponsorship programs. Panel members ensure that guidelines and assessment criteria endorsed by Council have been applied consistently and equitably for all applications.
Terms of reference
In 2020 Council endorsed the following external assessment panel members for a term of four years.
- Aaron Bradbrook
- Adam Fawcett
- Alice Cottrell
- Alice Duncan
- Alice Fleming
- Alice Robinson
- Alistair McLean
- Allysha Pinches
- Amanda Page
- Amelia Evans
- Andi Snelling
- Andrea Rassell
- Andrew Atchison
- Andrián Pertout
- Andy Butler
- Andy Howitt
- Angela Brennan
- Angela Conquet
- Angela Todorovski
- Angharad Wynne-Jones
- Anita Spooner
- Anna Nalpantidis
- Annette Vieusseux
- Annie Lee
- Annie Louey
- Annie Wu
- Ara Dolatian
- Ariel Blum
- Arvinder Singh
- Aseel Tayah
- Asha Bee Abraham
- Ashleigh Morris
- Astrid Edwards
- Autumn Tansey
- Bec Carey-Grieve
- Becki Whitton
- Belle Bassin
- Ben Neil
- Benedict Deane-Johns
- Benjamin Andrews
- Benjamin Juers Indyk
- Benjamin Nichol
- Bethany Jones
- Bev Killick
- Bilus Abaffy
- Brendan McCleary
- Brent Lockhart
- Brett Ashby
- Bron Batten
- Bronwyn Pringle
- Caitlyn Lesiuk
- Callum Watson
- Cally Lotz
- Carl Polke
- Carla Gottgens
- Caroline Lee
- Casey Jenkins
- Cassandra Fumi
- Cassandra Kaoustos
- Catherine Asquith
- Catherine Woods
- Chalitha Weerakkody
- Charlie Owen
- Charlie Xiao
- Chelle Destefano
- Chelsea Wilson
- Cheyenne Harper
- Chris Reidy
- Christian Thompson AO
- Christina Aubry
- Christos Linou
- Cindy Rodriguez
- Claire Portek
- Clare Bartholomew
- Damian Cunningham
- Dan Goronszy
- Daniel Dunlop
- Daniel Jenatsch
- Darrin Verhagen
- David Brien
- David Graney
- David Maney
- David O'Toole
- David Williams
- Deanne Butterworth
- Derya Dilara
- Diego Ramirez
- Diego Villalta
- Domenico Mazza
- Dominique Butler
- Dongyan Ma
- Drew Pettifer
- Drewe Clarke
- Dwayne Andrew
- Dylan Cole
- Edwina Stevens
- Elisabeth Amiel
- Elizabeth Millington
- Ella Baudinet
- Ella Baxter
- Elwyn Murray
- Emile Zile
- Emily Bennett
- Emily Bitto
- Emily Siddons
- Emily Tomlins
- Emma Dodd
- Emma Hamilton
- Emma Muir-Smith
- Fabiana Aguilar
- Finn Erben
- Fleur Brett
- Fraser Orford
- Freya Waterson
- Gary Abrahams
- Gary Willis
- Gennet Makonnen
- Geoffrey Thorsen
- George Egerton-Warburton
- Georgia Ketels
- Georgia McDonald
- Geraldine Quinn
- Hannah Crofts
- Harry McAlpine
- Heidi Braithwaite
- Helen Marcou
- Hineani Roberts
- Hugo Mathias
- Israel Aloni
- Jackson Castiglione
- Jacqui Shelton
- Jagriti Bhatia
- James Barclay
- James Rushford
- Jane Thompson
- Janice Gobey
- Janice Muller
- Jennifer Mackenzie
- Jenny Branagan
- Jenny Gay
- Jesse Stevens
- Jessica Carroll
- Jessica Kease
- Jessirose Streker
- Jim Rimmer
- Jim Shomos
- Jingwen He
- Jodie Kinnersley
- Jody Cleaver
- Joel Goodall
- John Guscott
- Jon King
- Jon Perring
- Jonathan Homsey
- Jonathan Little
- Joseph Franklin
- Joseph O'Farrell
- Josephine Mead
- Josh Bennett
- Joshua Allen
- Juan Gomez
- Karen Berger
- Kasey Gambling
- Kate Fryer
- Kate Golding
- Kate Neal
- Kate Ryan
- Katerina Stathis
- Katja Nedoluha
- Katy Maudlin
- Katy McKeown
- Kay Campbell
- Kenji Fujimura
- Khalida De Ridder
- Kimia Hendi
- Kristian Chong
- Kylie Stillman
- Kyran Daniel
- Lana de Jager
- Lana Thymianidis
- Laura Delaney
- Laurence Watts
- Leah Filley
- Lee-Ann Joy
- Leslie Gurusinghe
- Liana Skrzypczak
- Lili Wilkinson
- Linda Studena
- Lisa Stewart
- Liz Landray
- Lorraine Meinke
- Louisa Bufardeci
- Louisa Minutillo
- Louise Swinn
- Lucie McMahon
- Luke Elliot
- Madeleine Flynn
- Madeline Bishop
- Mark Pritchard
- Mary Mihelakos
- Matthew Bon
- Max Cahill
- Meghan Bourke
- Michael Blackman
- Michele Lee
- Michelle Scott Tucker
- Mike McLeish
- Mish Grigor
- Mitch Jones
- Morgaine Anastasia (preferred name) La Fey
- Nicholas Colla
- Nick Cooper
- Nick Pages-Oliver
- Nina Bahoudian
- Olivia Poloni
- Pablo Murdoch Alvarado
- Phaedra Gunn
- Pip Grummet
- Rani Pramesti
- Rick Bridgman
- Romi Kupfer
- Ronny Ferella
- Roslyn Oades
- Ross Taylor
- Rukmal De Silva
- Sal Cooper
- Sara Glaidous
- Sarah Austin
- Sarah Greentree
- Sarah Neal
- Sasha Leong
- Siahn Davis
- Simon Hughes
- Simon Spain
- Simone Flanagan
- Sophia Constantine
- Stephen Phillips
- Steven Mitchell Wright
- Sue Gore
- Suhasini Seelin
- Susan Kukucka
- Suzanne Chaundy
- Tara Daniel
- Tim Dalton
- Tobias Willis
- Tom Pritchard
- Vivian Cooper Smith
- Wayne Coles-Janess
- Yitzhak Yedid
- Yu Fang Chi
- Yuhui Ng-Rodriguez
- Alvaro Maz
- Anthony Lam
- Barry Barber
- Ben Neil
- Carlos Schäfer
- Charlie Owen
- Cheree Hunter
- Christian Robertson
- Dan Cimpoesu
- Denise Hall
- Eugene Cheng
- Fiona Sweetman
- Francesca O'Brien
- Garry Williams
- Gavin Ballard
- Heidi Braithwaite
- Hiren Savjiyani
- Ian Dennis
- Jane McAlear
- Jaxon Hickey
- Jay Sutaria
- Jennifer Odgers
- Jennifer Scott
- Jeremy Horey
- Joss (Joycelyn) Evans
- Kate Dinon
- Katya Ellis
- Kay Campbell
- Kirsty Grimwade
- Liam McFadden
- Madalen Ross
- Marcus Powe
- Marilyne Crestias
- Martin Bailey
- Nelly Shaw
- Nick Cooper
- Ninna Larsen
- Pablo Murdoch Alvarado
- Paul Pellegrino
- Peter Topping
- Richard Milne
- Roberto Pietro Giovanni Daniele
- Sheree Ramage
- Simone Flanagan
- Sophie Krantz
- Sue Gore
- Suhasini Seelin
- Tony De Stefano
- William Kong
- Alvaro Maz
- Andrea Johannessen
- Bec Carey-Grieve
- Bernadette Khoury
- Cheree Hunter
- Chiara Grassia
- Chris Reidy
- Elvis Martin
- Francesca O'Brien
- Garry Williams
- Hannah Meyer
- James Barclay
- James Fowler
- Janet Liu
- Jennifer Odgers
- Jeremy Horey
- Jessica Little
- Jez Hunghanfoo
- John Kuot
- Kimberley Reynolds
- Linda Studena
- Liz Landray
- Mimi Taye
- Miriam Suss
- Mochekoe Steve Rametse
- Nevena Spirovska
- Peta Christensen
- Ross Couper-Johnston
- Sam Elkin
- Sandy Bell
- Tony Fisher
When applying for a grant, be wary of cold-callers or websites that charge for grant-related services – this assistance is available for free. Visit the ACCCOpens in new tab for tips on how to protect your business or project.
