Expressions of Interest sought for City Partnerships Program

The City of Ballarat is seeking Expressions of Interests from local organisations or entities that would benefit from financial assistance to deliver programs, projects or activities that provide community and economic benefit to Ballarat.  

In its second year, the City Partnerships Program for the 2024/2025 financial year will undertake a different process than its inception for the 2023/2024 financial year.

This time, interested parties will be required to initially complete the EOI, with invitations to formally apply for a partnership to be delivered at a later date.

The EOI process opens on 1 October and will remain open until 15 November. Invitations to apply will be sent out early in 2024.

City of Ballarat Mayor, Cr Des Hudson said the change in process was to help guide potential applicants through the application process.  

“We look forward to working closely with organisations who have expressed their interest in applying and providing guidance to submit quality applications to go through to the approval process,” he said.

“The City Partnerships Program has already delivered enormous benefit to Ballarat and I’m sure the future round of the program will help us identify some truly worthy partnerships.

“We strongly encourage interested organisations to undertake the less onerous EOI process so we can work closely with them to deliver the best outcome.”

The City of Ballarat partnered with 12 community organisations as part of the 2023/2024 City Partnerships Program, delivering more than $900,000 in partnership funding.

Once again, there are two streams of funding available and either stream can be a multi-year agreement up to three years:  

• Community stream: Funding of up to $100,000 per applicant per year  
• Commercial stream: Funding over $20,000 per applicant per year with no upper limit  

The City Partnerships Program is designed for organisations that have a well proven record of delivering relevant programs, projects or activities that provide community and economic benefit to Ballarat.

It is also designed to fund organisations or entities that deliver on the goals identified in the City of Ballarat Council Plan 2021-2026:

• An environmentally sustainable future  
• A healthy, connected and inclusive community  
• A city that fosters sustainable growth  
• A city that conserves and enhances our natural and built assets  
• A strong and innovative economy and city  
• A Council that provides leadership and advocates for its community

For more information, visit the Grants page on the City of Ballarat website.