NSW government has invited applications for its ‘Everyone Can Play’ grant program.
The Department of Planning, Industry and Environment’s Group deputy secretary of Place, Design and Public Spaces Alex O’Mara says applications from councils in declared drought or bushfire-affected areas will be prioritised in this round, with an extra $3 million reserved for them in addition to the $4 million grants round on offer to all councils in NSW.
“The Everyone Can Play program has been a wonderful success - in its third year we wanted to recognise the importance of playspaces in all communities especially those in drought and fire-affected areas as a way of bringing people together. It made sense to increase the grants cap for new and upgraded playspaces for struggling communities who have lost so much valuable public space,” says O’Mara.
“The NSW Government is supporting communities facing hardship this year in many different ways and there can be no better result from these grants than putting the smiles on the faces of kids and adults of all ages and abilities.”
Amendments to this strategic recovery round of Everyone Can Play funding include drought and fire-affected councils only needing to contribute 25 percent of matched funding, where usually councils match grants dollar for dollar. Eligible councils will also be able to apply for up to $700,000 in funding for exemplary projects bringing their community together and aiding recovery.
“We want to see creative projects that allow everyone to enjoy our wonderful public spaces and I encourage all NSW councils to apply to create legacy projects of great joy for their communities,” says O’Mara.
Councils can apply for grants of up to $300,000 for new playspaces and up to $75,000 for improvements.
Applications are open until midday, 3 November 2020 October.
Image: Supplied
