Indigo grants fund 44 projects

Schools, sporting and service clubs, heritage organisations, landcare groups and hall committees will share in Indigo Shire Council grants totalling almost $126,300 to fund community, sustainability, events and ‘get active’ projects in 2026-27. Councillors meeting on 29 September approved 44 applications recommended for funding by four assessment panels. Mayor Sophie Price said the annual grants were “one of the most direct ways Council can support the volunteers and groups at the heart of our communities”. “Across the shire, local people give their time to run events, look after local facilities, care for our environment and create opportunities for people to get active and connect,” she said. “A modest grant can often be what turns a good idea into reality, or keeps a much-loved local tradition going for another year.” The council has also renewed memoranda of understanding and agreements that support and contribute annually $6000 for Yackandandah Folk Festival and $18,000 for Beechworth’s Golden Horseshoes Festival for another two years, plus in-kind support for what the council classifies as significant events. Cr Price said these two signature events were both run entirely by volunteers, and “like community events everywhere, they are facing rising costs for things like traffic management and insurance”. “Council's support for both festivals will continue at current levels, and the two-year agreements give both committees certainty for their next events,” she said. “At the same time, like many rural councils, we need to think carefully about the long-term affordability of everything we fund, and councillors spent some time discussing how we can keep supporting events in a way that is sustainable.” Cr Scott Landells removed himself from the chamber for the discussion and decision because an organisation he chairs benefits financially from promotion of one of festivals. Cr Jane Dowsley, supported by Cr Roberta Horne, sought to acknowledge the value of the two festivals and moved to add a condition that would require the organisers to compete for the council’s events grant funding, or a successor program, on the same terms as other applicants after the proposed MOUs expire at the end of 2027-28. Their motion was lost on the mayor’s casting vote. From $50,036 for community grants, $4000 each has been approved for projects managed by Corowa Rutherglen Motorsport for a fence safety upgrade, Rutherglen Community Garden for a gathering shelter, Beechworth Kindergarten for a kinder bike circuit, Stanley Athenaeum for Stanley street furniture, Middle Indigo school for landscape and play-space improvements, Stanley Landcare for site restoration and habitat recovery, and Tangambalanga Kiewa Men’s Shed for a new build internal fit-out. Crs John Harvey and Diane Shepheard declared a close association with applicant organisations and did not participate in the discussion or vote on the community grant recommendations. Cr Landells, as president of an organisation that had applied for a grant, also removed himself from discussion and voting on the recommendation. From $12,416 for ‘get active’ grants, Indi-Groove Dance Club and Murray River Calisthenics Club will each receive $5000. From $46,655 for events grants, Beechworth Heritage will receive $10,000 to activate street windows with historic images and digital stories of local women who campaigned in the late 1880s and early 1890s for the right to vote, Dragonfly Project will receive $7000 for a theatre project, while Beechworth’s Stable Studios’ Twilight Festival and Old Cranks Motor Club’s Drive Back in Time have been funded $5000 each. From $17,180 for community sustainability grants, $5000 has been awarded to 1st Beechworth Scout Group for energy efficient upgrades and $4000 to Tangambalanga Kiewa Men’s Shed to fund a water tank and pump.

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