Grants and Funding
Grant or funding opportunities may be available to support the development of your business, project or event. Please see below the tips section for current opportunities.
Before applying, make sure you read the program guidelines and entity and project eligibility carefully to ensure that your project meets the program criteria. Some grants are highly competitive with short application time frames.
Destination Central West NSW may be able to provide a Letter of Support for your project if it aligns with the Central West NSW Destination Management Plan.
Please note that Destination Central West NSW cannot determine if your organisation or project is eligible for funding. You must confirm your organisation and project eligibility under the relevant fund or program before requesting a letter of support.
Please complete this form to request a Letter of Support for your project.
Tips for grant applications
Funding through grant programs can provide significant benefits to businesses and destinations, helping to drive economic growth, create jobs, and improve the visitor experience.
When applying for grants, there are several considerations to keep in mind:
- Eligibility: Before applying for a grant, ensure that you meet the eligibility criteria for the grant program. Check the guidelines carefully to ensure that you are eligible to apply, and that your project fits within the scope of the grant program.
- Timing: Check the grant application deadline and plan to ensure that you have enough time to prepare a quality application.
- Research: Research the grant program thoroughly, including the application process, assessment criteria, and funding priorities. Understand the goals of the grant program and how your project aligns with those goals.
- Project design: Develop a well-planned project that is clearly defined, feasible, and aligned with the objectives of the grant program. Ensure that the project can be delivered within the proposed timeline and budget.
- Budget and financials: Prepare a realistic budget that reflects the costs of the project and the funding requested from the grant program. Ensure that you have the financial management capacity to deliver the project and manage the grant funds effectively.
- Evaluation and reporting: Consider how you will evaluate the success of the project and report back to the grant program. Ensure that you have the capacity to collect data and report on the outcomes of the project in a timely and accurate manner.
- Compliance and governance: Understand the compliance requirements and governance expectations associated with the grant program. Ensure that your organisation has the appropriate policies and procedures in place to manage the grant funds and comply with reporting and accountability requirements.
Overall, careful planning, research, and attention to detail are key when applying for grants. By addressing these considerations, you can improve your chances of submitting a successful grant application that meets the needs of the grant program and delivers positive outcomes for your organisation and stakeholders.
Current Funding Opportunities
Arts and Cultural Funding Program (ACFP) - Round 2
Close: 5pm, 30 April 2025
The Arts and Cultural Funding Program (ACFP) supports a range of artforms to foster innovation, vibrancy, creativity and sustainability within the sector.
Four project funding categories will support both small and large projects across all artforms, career stage and size. The categories include:
▪️ Next Steps – professional and skills development (individuals only)
▪️ Creative Nations – projects for First Nations artists (individuals and organisations)
▪️Creative Steps– project funding for the development of new work (individuals and groups)
▪️ Cultural Access – projects (individuals and organisations) engaging NSW Government strategic priority areas and target populations including regional NSW.
Applications close 5pm, 30 April 2025.
The grants are funded and administered by Create NSW.
Find out more here.
Contemporary Music Festival Viability Fund
Close: 5pm, 30 April 2025
Administered by Create NSW, this program is designed to grow and support the live music ecosystem in NSW through investment in the operations of established music festivals, alleviating short-term financial challenges and improve business and job retention during the cost-of-living crisis.
Funding will be available for government-related and operational costs for contemporary music festivals with event capacity of at least 15,000 people and are currently experiencing financial challenges.
Applications will be accepted on an as needs basis while the funding program is open. The program will close when the budget is exhausted, or 30 April 2025, whichever comes first.
Find out more here.
Net Zero Planning Grant
Close: 5pm, 2 May 2025
The Net Zero Planning Grant provides NSW businesses an opportunity to receive funding to strategically plan for and progress their path to net zero.
The objectives of the program are to:
- Support businesses with long-term net zero planning.
- Enhance businesses' understanding of net zero to better integrate climate-related risks and opportunities, strengthen resilience and reduce emissions.
- Provide practical guidance to businesses to identify and take actions to progress towards net zero.
- Enable businesses to improve their competitiveness in the global transition to net zero.
Grants of up to $30,000, covering up to 75% of costs, are available and will be provided in two stages:
- Milestone 1: Up to $4,000
- Milestone 2: Up to $26,000
A total funding pool of $1.5 million is available.
This program is administered by Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water.
Find out more here.
Qantas Regional Grants
Close: 10 May 2025
The Qantas Regional Grants program offers $2 million in support to Australian-based communities and projects that are looking to benefit our country's regional areas.
The Qantas Regional Grants program offers recipients a combination of cash grants, flights in kind and marketing support.
Projects are assessed on the following:
- regional community needs and socioeconomic impact
- local community benefits
- how the project celebrates and highlights the work of the applicant
- innovations in project strategy, goals and mission, and how these align to improving service offering and increasing regional impact.
There is no maximum or minimum allocation – this is entirely at the discretion of the panel.
Find out more here.
First Nations Tourism Mentoring Program
Close: Ongoing
The FNTMP can support you to grow your tourism business by connecting you with expert advice, tailored learning and access to culturally respectful industry specialists. If you are a First Nations tourism business and you have aspirations to grow, the FNTMP will give you access to free one-on-one mentoring, delivered in a way which suits your needs.
The FNTMP can support you to grow your tourism business by: connecting you with industry professionals who can provide free, one-on-one advice; and culturally respectful support; providing access to a suite of learning supports and resources developed for and tailored to the First Nations tourism sector.
The mentoring will be delivered by industry specialists who have: tourism industry knowledge and experience including understanding of local tourism opportunities; experience working in a culturally appropriate and respectful manner with First Nations businesses and/or communities; previous experience providing business advice and support (including mentoring) and/or owning and operating a business.
It is a flexible program and the mentoring will be a mixture of face to face and online as preferred. Mentees will have an initial, one-on-one meeting with their mentor to discuss the current state of their business, their goals and objectives and to agree on the duration and frequency of mentoring as per the table below
Find out more here.
Financial support for volunteer-led museums in NSW.
The ‘Lights On, Doors Open’ stipend program has been established to relieve the pressures faced by volunteer-led museums and Aboriginal cultural spaces in NSW.
Funding of $2,000 is available to provide crucial financial support to cover essential expenses like rent, electricity bills and more. The program is not for organisations developing new ideas; rather, it is aimed at supporting organisations to cover small operational items difficult to cover through other grant programs.
The application process is designed to be hassle-free, ensuring a smooth experience for all applicants.
Funding will be allocated based on the order of eligible applications received until funds are exhausted.
Find out more here.
