Grant Opportunity
Need a bit of grant money to get a special project up and running? Now's your chance! Apply for an inclusion grant until the 6th of March.
It's a runout! The ACT government's giving away $5 dollar notes . . . (Picture credit: Reserve Bank)
Well, it's not quite true that because the Queen's disappearing from the five dollar note Andrew Barr's just giving the away money - you've got to have a good project first - but the money is quite genuinely up-for-grabs. Another round of the ACT's disability inclusion grants is open. You'll have to get in quickly, however. The grant round closes on the 6th of March.
Each grant is worth up to $20,000 each, and needs to be spent by community groups (or small businesses) on projects "promoting social inclusion" for people with disability. The aim is to help People with Disability (PwD) participate in mainstream activities by removing barriers.
In 2021 these grants were allocated to eight organisations, ranging from the CBR Gals Network (which produced a disability and inclusion plan) to the Yarralumla Play Station (allowing for the construction of an accessible carriage-way and ramp).
Other groups receiving money that year included Riding for the Disabled (to install a hearing loop system for use in the arena); Belconnen Dog Obedience Club, Lids4Kids, and the Canberra Islamic Centre (making facilities more accessible); Daydream Machine (enhancing opportunities for PwD); and to Yeddung Mura Aboriginal Corporation.
In the Ngunnawal language yeddung mura means "good pathways". Now based in a restored indoor sports facility in Fadden, this organisation seeks to help disadvantaged first nations people choose the right path forward. They work with young, often vulnerable people who might otherwise be at risk of falling into a downward spiral of crime by offering participation in sporting activities and yarning circles.
Programs run by Yeddung Mura's CEO, Pastor Priestley Obed, specifically target people who have been in jail and involved with drugs or substance abuse. He had been working in the prison system to provide support but felt there was a hole people risked falling into when they left prison. Last year Obed told Riot Act that he emphasised working with those who had chosen to turn their lives around, and it's understood he used the Inclusion Grant to extend that support for PwD.
At the height of the pandemic, fourteen groups received money in 2020 and fifteen in 2019.
