Bass Coast Shire Council will distribute $700,000 across 133 businesses and community groups, as part of its Business and Community Resilience Grants Program.
Council received 264 applications for the Program, which was developed earlier in the year in direct response to the COVID-19 pandemic, to help businesses and not-for-profit organisations in Bass Coast recover from the impacts it has had on the community.
Businesses and not-for-profit organisations were invited to apply for grants of between $1,000 and $30,000 for projects and initiatives, that would help them and the community to adapt and recover from the pandemic.
The Grants Program was guided by the Bass Coast Community Leadership Recovery Group, made up of all Councillors and a diverse range of 30 community members from across the Shire.
Bass Coast Shire Mayor, Cr Brett Tessari said it was fantastic to see so many passionate community leaders come together to collaborate with Council towards a common goal.
"This is truly a community-led initiative that we are all proud to be part of," Cr Tessari said.
"A lot of work went on behind the scenes to determine the successful applicants. I would like to thank the Council Officers involved, as well as our Community Leadership Recovery Group, for the long hours they put in assessing the grant applications.
"It was a highly competitive program and the large amount of applications we received meant that this process took a little longer than we had planned, but the final outcome is really positive."
Cr Tessari said that it was understandable that there will be disappointment among the applicants that weren't successful.
"As part of the Working for Victoria program, we now have some additional team members who will be able to work with these businesses and groups and will provide them with ongoing support as we navigate through these challenging times," Cr Tessari said.
"We have a really resilient community here in Bass Coast. I look forward to seeing some of the great initiatives come to fruition, to help our community recover and come back stronger than ever."
A summary of the successful applications will be available at www.basscoast.vic.gov.au/resiliencegrants this week.
