The NSW Government is calling for applications for the $1 million 2022/2023 NSW Cultural Grants program which will support community organisations, groups and businesses to fund Aboriginal cultural events and activities.
Grants of up to $20,000 are available to empower Aboriginal communities to strengthen, protect, share, promote, and maintain traditional and modern expressions of Aboriginal culture.
Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Ben Franklin said supporting Aboriginal cultural heritage is a vital part of maintaining health and wellbeing in communities across the State.
"The NSW Cultural Grants program will empower Aboriginal organisations and community groups to host cultural events and activities that will enable the sharing of cultural knowledge and skills between generations," Mr Franklin said.
"This is an important program that will invest funding into the hands of Aboriginal communities who best know how to deliver culturally appropriate and community-centred events and activities for their local areas.
"We know by investing in local community initiatives we will significantly shift the dial on Closing the Gap targets and I encourage all Aboriginal community groups to apply for this funding."
Under the program, $700,000 will be available for smaller, community-based Aboriginal owned and controlled organisations, unincorporated groups, and businesses. Larger regional and state-wide organisations will share in $300,000 in funding.
Aboriginal Affairs NSW delivered a Cultural Grants program in 2021/2022 that supported 43 projects totaling $680,910.
Wahgunyah Housing Aboriginal Corporation (WHAC) at Narrabri was one of the successful recipients, using their funding to organise a gathering of community and Aboriginal service providers to coincide with Harmony Day.
WHAC Treasurer Kate Briggs said the post-Covid get-together was an amazing day out.
"It was so great to have the service providers and community mixing together at the grassroots level in a relaxed atmosphere," Ms Briggs said.
"Elders and school children wrote messages on paper hands and these are now stuck on our office Harmony Day community tree as a lovely reminder of an important community get-together after such a long period being kept apart."
Applications for the NSW Cultural Grants Program close on Friday, 14 April 2023.
Further details are available at: Aboriginal Affairs NSW - Grants
