COMMUNITY groups across the Central West and Western NSW are being urged to get their applications in for the Multicultural Community Support Grants (MCSG) that were recently released.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The grants are part of a $1 million funding package that was announced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and is aimed at helping communities along with multicultural media programs and projects across the state.
There are three categories of grants available under the MCSG program including:
COVID Community Support Grants
- Total of $500,000 available
- Individual grants of $5,000
- Aimed at creating new programs or supporting a wide range of existing culturally, linguistically, and religiously diverse programs
Multicultural Media Grants
- Total of $250,000 available
- Individual grants of $5,000 or $10,000
- Aimed at supporting the reach and sustainability of multicultural media in NSW following COVID-19
Festivals and Events
- Total of $250,000 available
- Individual grants of $5,000 or $10,000
- Aimed at supporting multicultural and multi-faith community groups to produce festivals and events that celebrate and embrace NSW's vibrant cultural diversity
Member for Dubbo, Dugald Saunders, said he encouraged culturally diverse groups to apply for a share of the funding.
"We have people from a very diverse range of cultures in our region now and they bring so much to our towns and cities," he said.
"There is a real emphasis on integrating into our communities, and I know that is definitely the case in our region where people from many different cultural backgrounds get involved in community groups, sporting organisations and other things that make our part of the world so great to live in.
"Despite everyone's best efforts there are still challenges, and during the pandemic our multicultural communities have provided wonderful assistance to the government by communicating important health messages to all members of our community.
"This funding will support them to share important health information, link people with essential services and support cultural celebrations in the new year."
READ ALSO:
"During 2020, our multicultural media sector has proven to be an indispensable part of our response to the pandemic and has helped us communicate important health messages to all members of our community.
Acting Minister for Multiculturalism, Geoff Lee, said supporting the community was crucial to NSW's recovery.
"The trials and pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic have touched all parts of the NSW community including our diverse multicultural communities," he said.
"We are excited to partner with organisations and groups to create projects, festivals and events for the year ahead, which celebrate and strengthen our communities in NSW after a challenging year.
"Grants of $10,000 will be offered to multicultural media outlets to reach new audiences and pilot innovative approaches to disseminate public health information to harder-to-reach communities."
The $1 million in funding is in addition to the $600,000 of COVID-19 immediate support grants that were delivered to 120 multicultural community organisations in June 2020
Applications for funding through the MCSG program close on Friday, January 29.
For more information including full program details, community groups should visit https://multicultural.nsw.gov.au/grants.
We depend on subscription revenue to support our journalism. If you are able, please subscribe. If you are already a subscriber, thank you for your support.