Community
11 June, 2025
Community encouraged to cash in on funding
CORANGAMITE Shire Council is encouraging community groups to reach out and apply for the Business Assistance Scheme (BAS) after allocating funds to two groups.
At the Ordinary Meeting of Council last month, councillors voted to provide $4000 in funding under stream two – creative industries and placemaking to two applicants.
The Camperdown Community House received $2000 in funding to support the delivery of the Grow Community program, a weekly hands-on gardening session within the community hub, which is delivered in collaboration with Innerbloom.
Councillor Geraldine Conheady said the program being delivered by the Community House and Innerbloom was “quite lovely”.
“What they’re wanting to do there to provide that activity for members of the community,” she said.
“They’re improving engagement and functionality with the community – that’s a really important thing for so many people within our community.”
Keayang Maar Vineyard was also a recipient, being granted $2000 to fund a series of monthly gatherings featuring volcanic wine, produce and culture, aiming to create a long-term series that boosts cultural tourism and strengthens community connection.
Councillor Nick Cole said the BAS was a “very wide-ranging” scheme capable of many things.
“It can do business façade improvement, creative industries, placemaking, community enterprise and fees and enabling infrastructure,” he said.
“It’s great to get people outside and doing these things – same with Keayang Maar setting up a cultural tourism and community functions.”
Cr Conheady encouraged more community groups to reach out to council to apply for funding under the BAS, with $69,797 remaining of the allocated $90,000 in the 2024-2025 budget.
“This is a great scheme – I just love that it’s absolutely an enabling support for our small businesses in the shire and it’s good to see that are watching out and taking that opportunity to make an application,” she said.
“I’d recommend others to have a look at the BAS to see if they think they have a project that could be suitable for support.
“There is still quite a bundle of money in there – it’s there to provide an opportunity for these small businesses and to support innovation.
“These things, with the support of council, are potentially leading to growth within the shire and it sort of makes it a doubly beneficial thing – on the one hand, they can get that support to help them undertake an innovation, and then there could be some growth to come out of it.”
Read More: local