Regional Arts Fund (RAF) Community Grants

ANR_If These Halls Could Talk Launch_Jules Ober photo_Roundabout Theatre - The Cupcakes 2

Arts Northern Rivers 2016 RAF Project “If These Halls Could Talk” featured Roundabout Theatre’s The Cupcakes at its launch. Image courtesy Jules Ober

The Regional Arts Fund (RAF) Community Grants program is changing for the 2017 round. Here are a few things you need to know:

Opening dates and closing dates have been moved forward in the year.
RAF applications will only be accepted through the Regional Arts Australia secure online grants system, SmartyGrants.
Guidelines have been reviewed and simplified.
There is a NEW category Small Regional Festival Support.
The Residencies and Mentorships category is no longer available.
Multi-year funding is only available for two years and projects must be discussed with RANSW staff before applying.
You will need to respond to a number of Australian Government questions for statistical collection that are common to all arts grants applicants administered by the Department of Communications and the Arts.

SmartyGrants is an online grants management system now being used by most government and non-government arts bodies. It might be a bit confronting the first time you use it, so make sure you leave plenty of time to get your application done. READ THE RAF Community Grants NSW Guidelines 2017 CAREFULLY. Discuss your project with the local RADO or RANSW staff. They can help explain the new process.

Applications open: Monday 20 June, 2016
Applications close: 3:00pm AEST Monday 8 August, 2016
No extension to the closing date is possible.

ABOUT THE REGIONAL ARTS FUND
The Australian Government’s Regional Arts Fund supports sustainable cultural development in regional and remote Australia and meets the strategic priorities of supporting participation in, and access to, the arts and encouraging greater private sector support for the arts. The Regional Arts Fund is designed to benefit regional and remote arts practitioners, arts workers, audiences and communities.

OBJECTIVES
The objectives of the Fund are to support and promote participation in, and access to, Australia’s arts and culture in regional and remote Australia by:

Encouraging and supporting sustainable economic, social and cultural development in regional communities.
Developing partnerships and networks which leverage financial and/or in-kind support for specific projects and encourage ongoing collaboration.
Developing audiences and broadening community engagement with the arts.
Increasing employment and professional development opportunities for, and raise the profile of, regional and remote artists.

Download the RAF Community Grants NSW Guidelines 2017

The following link will take you to the Regional Arts Australia online application system. Click on RAF NSW Community Grants 2016-17 Application Form. If you have not used SmartyGrants before you will need to set up an account. This account and password can be used to go back to your application at any time and will be the same for any other grants you might apply for in the future using the Smartygrants system. Your application will be available to you until you click SUBMIT, or the closing date is reached.

Enquiries: If you have any enquiries about the RAF contact your local RADO (link to network page) or the Funding Manager at Regional Arts NSW Tel 02 9270 2502 Email funding@regionalartsnsw.com.au. Successful applicants can download the RAF Logos HERE.