Council reinvests for businesses

“While the awards evening was acknowledged as an enjoyable event, businesses indicated that the awards held little ongoing value beyond the presentation night,” council said.

“Given the significant staff time and resources required to run the awards over five months, council has opted to trial this new grants program instead.”

The pilot Small Business Grants Program started this week, and runs for five months.

The program will be reviewed for effectiveness in July 2025.

A total of $20,000 has been allocated to the pilot project, with a maximum of $4000 available per application.

Smaller funding requests will be given priority, to enable the funding to spread further.

Council has suggested the grants could be suitable for:

• Business Startup: Provide seed funding for a new business to cover some initial costs such as purchasing equipment, renting space, or developing a product.

• Expansion: Helping a small business to grow by funding marketing efforts.

• Innovation and Technology: Supporting businesses that aim to develop new products, improve existing services, or adopt innovative technologies.

• Education: Helping business to further the knowledge base of their employees.

• Job Creation: Encouraging business to hire more employees.

Each business may submit one application per financial year.

All eligible applications will be assessed by an external committee, based on a set list of criteria.

Applications will be evaluated based on:

• The merits of the proposal and its alignment with the stated purpose of the grant program.

• Budget and quotes, including the applicant’s financial contribution and potential economic impacts.

• Employment opportunities generated by the proposal.

• The project’s alignment with one or more of the Community Strategic Plan objectives.

Applications will be assessed monthly and the grant program will close once all funds are expended, or by June 20, 2025 - whichever comes first.

For more information, and to view eligibility criteria, go to https://www.berriganshire.nsw.gov.au/Business/Business-Funding-Local-Plans/Small-Business-Grants-Pilot-Project.