Eight Gilgandra businesses and charities are delighted to receive funding through the It’s GREAT grant program from the Gilgandra Shire Council. 

The program is dedicated to community events that contribute to the region's economic growth. 

“The delivery of events in our community is critical to drive the economic growth and competitive advantage of the Gilgandra Region,” Gilgandra Mayor Doug Batten said.

“The successful events are complementary to our Community Strategic Plan, and we encourage the community to get on board in supporting these events as they arise, and capitalise on the opportunities being brought to the Region.”

In total, $50,000 was available to both private businesses and non-profit community groups in the district. 

Between them, applicants requested $73,000 and offered $47,000 in co-contributions.

Successful organisations receive 75 percent upfront and once confirmation is received that all the money is spent, the remaining amount is transferred. 

The Gilgandra Film Festival is one of the successful applications. They will receive $10,000 to go towards their film festival next year. 

“We anticipate that it will allow us to do more advertising and become more involved in the schools,” Sue Armstrong, Director of the Gilgandra Film Festival said. 

The film festival gives donations in the form of recording equipment to the four schools in Gilgandra to help the children develop a curiosity for cinematography.

Sue Armstrong presenting school children with sound equipment.

“The hardest thing is if you’re using mum’s phone to get good sound. Having a sound system connected to your phone can make your audio, so much better.” 

The Gilgandra Film Festival has been around for two years. This year, the event took place in May and had over 200 guests on its first night.

The organisers present one local documentary and one documentary from overseas. 

“We have to pay for them and although we are able to this year, it will help considerably in doing that,” Ms Armstrong said.

Ms Armstrong said they are always aiming to improve their sound equipment this year.

“This grant will also help to get proper sound systems, rather than borrowing them from someone. So, the grant is really appreciated,” Ms Armstrong said. 

The Curban Community Hall also received a grant. They got $1,000 out of the $2,000 they requested. 

“I’m sure everybody is just as happy as we are because it’s giving us all an opportunity to do activities within our community,” Secretary of the Curban Community Hall Robyn Howard said. 

The money will go towards the Singing Chef Entertainment Show which is a dinner that features live entertainment as well. 

The date for the show is set for March or April of next year but what exactly the entertainment will be is still a surprise. 

Other organisations that received the grant included the Country Women’s Association (CWA) Armatree, Rustic Burrow Trading Co, Toowareenah Prime Lamb Marketing Cooperative, Tooraweenah Show Rodeo, Tooraweenah Golf Glub, and the Old Bank. 

The It’s GREAT program was launched in 2023/2024 to develop a culture and infrastructure that supports and grows a vibrant events calendar in the Gilgandra Region. 

“It was great to see businesses and community groups eager to apply and host events in the region,” Mayor Batten said.