Grants are funds given out by private, public and not-for-profit organisations for a range of purposes. All funding body’s provide the money to accomplish their objectives, however grants are not “free money”. They are payments that do not have to be repaid, provided they are utilised for a specific purpose as outlined in your application. Grants are usually highly competitive and require a particular skill to complete effectively.
The small business grants program helps innovative small businesses located in Victoria with funding with the start-up and growth. Grants are always for discrete, stand-alone projects with a beginning, end and clear outcomes from the project. They are not for ongoing running costs of the business, such as permanent staff costs, rent and utilities simply for the organisation to do its usual work.
A requirement of many funding body’s is that a grant acquittal must be completed at the end of the project. This means as a recipient of funding you will need to account for how you spent the funds for your project. This can be a very simple process of filling out a form or, for larger amounts of funding, you may require extensive reports and audited financials.
Banyule Council provides Small Business mentoring free of charge through SBMA, if you’re looking for a small business mentor you can find out about them HERE.
Find out more about eligibility and how to apply at Small Business Grants.