By Shelby Brooks
In an effort to bring the community together post-Covid, Cardinia Shire Council will increase the budget for the 2021-22 Community Wellbeing Support grant program by $20,000.
Due to budget constraints, eight submissions were going to miss out despite meeting the criteria.
A limit of $97,305 was allocated in the 2021-2022 budget for the grant scheme, which originally was going to fund 49 events across the shire.
But at the Cardinia Shire Council meeting on Monday 19 July, councillors voted to fund the eight which missed out, increasing the budget by $21,800.
Cr Tammy Radford said it had been disappointing to be forced to cut the eight submissions.
“These applications had merit, met all the grant criteria and they would make a significant contribution to our shire,” she said.
“The grant program is to establish new organisations, services and initiatives that improve residents’ health and wellbeing, support opportunities for volunteering, build the capacity of community groups, projects and programs to be sustainable.”
She said the aim of the program was to support community organisations which in turn support the overall health and wellbeing of the shire.
“I completely understand that needing a budget is important and that this will result in $21,800 overspent in the 2021-22 budget, but after a year of Covid-19 and the lockdowns that came with it how can we not support not for profit organisation who have met the criteria and who will be valuable in supporting our community post-Covid?”
