Council
10 December, 2025
Community groups share in Ready Now grants
CORANGAMITE Shire Council has supported a total of 22 community organisations over the past quarter under the Ready Now Grants program.
Councillors were presented with a report on the approved grant applications from July to September this year at last month’s Ordinary Meeting of Council.
The Ready Now Grants program is designed to be flexible and responsive to community needs, with grants up to $500 available and approvals delegated to the chief executive officer for fast funding.
The program is aimed towards projects and activities supporting community inclusion and participation and providing equipment, facilities and public spaces appropriate for community use.
Among the recipients were six applications from Timboon, Simpson, Cobrico, Port Campbell and Cobden.
Timboon Basketball Association received $500 in July for a hoops basketball coach.
Port Campbell Community Events were granted $250 for Halloween trick or treating supplies in August.
The Rotary Club of Cobden received funding in September, with $500 going towards a drought relief family fun day.
The Simpson and District Community Centre were also recipients of funding through Ready Now in September, receiving $500 to go towards a morning tea.
Two community groups applied for funding through this program for RUOK Day events across the region, including Simpson Bowls Club ($200, August) and Cobrico Hall Committee ($200, August).
Four additional applications were received – two were ineligible applicants and two were for ineligible expenses.
The funding delivered to all the groups totalled $6800, inclusive of other $2000 handed out as part of council’s promotion of RUOK Day.
Councillor Nick Cole moved the motion, saying the program was “excellent” for community groups which needed access to funds quickly.
“These small things mean a lot to a small community,” he said.
“A lot of small communities are struggling to raise funds at the moment – everything seems to have tightened up a lot.
“We still have $18,200 to go, so there is plenty of money to access if someone has something they’re thinking about doing.
“They’re only small amounts of money, but please put in for it and get the money there and the job done.
“Use local tradies as much as possible and shop locally.”
Councillor Ruth Gstrein seconded the motion, sharing Cr Cole’s views on the importance of volunteer community organisations.
“A lot of really good projects and equipment is being purchased, and I agree people are certainly doing it much harder as a committee organisation, particularly volunteers,” she said.
“They need to be spending their time delivering programs, not fundraising.
“I’d like to note a significant number of projects were awarded money for the RUOK Day, so that’s a really good initiative.”
Read More: Cobden