Tourism Event Funding

• Community groups, organisations, businesses or for-profit organisations based in the Rural City of Wangaratta and holding event in the Municipality.
• Organisations located outside of the Rural City of Wangaratta but hosting their event in the Municipality of the Rural City of Wangaratta.
• Events being held within the Rural City of Wangaratta boundaries.

Events supported under this program have a strong tourism focus that demonstrate the potential to promote the destination and aligns with the strategies of the Rural City of Wangaratta. This program has a strong focus on supporting events in their early years, enabling the event to become financially sustainable and viable in the future

Will your event?

• Increase visitation to the region from Intrastate and Interstate visitors
• Enhance the Rural City of Wangaratta as a holiday destination
• Supports and enhances the local tourism strengths
• Provides an economic benefit to our community and businesses
• Enhances the culture of the community

• Attract key target markets

• Overnight visitors
• Visiting Friends and relatives
• Lifestyle leader market
• Nature and adventure
• Food and wine lovers
• Cultural and heritage tourists
• Event specific visitors

• Sporting events that increase non-participant spectator attendance and tourism visitor appeal

This program prioritises funding for events, festivals and activities that celebrate:

• culture
• arts
• local food and produce
• local business or tourism

See Program Guidelines(PDF, 2MB) for information on funding priorities.

What events cannot be funded?

• Local events with a community focus or appeal
• Events without the capacity to attract visitation outside of the Rural City of Wangaratta
• Events that have failed to acquit previous funding programs from the Rural City of Wangaratta or meet previous obligations from grant funding.

• Events that have already secured financial support through another Rural City of Wangaratta grant, program or source

• Events that have already commenced at the time of application, or events that have been completed prior to the application

• Events held outside of the Rural City of Wangaratta
• Sporting events that are participant and support crew focused

   

Successful applicants can used their Tourism Event Grant for the following;

• Marketing, promotional materials & marketing activities that increases the awareness of Wangaratta and appeals to visitors from outside our regional area.

   

• Costs associated with securing and hosting events

   

• Strategic or business plans for event development

   

• New innovations or additional activities to expand an event program

   

• Other innovate expenses as specified in your application

The following expenses cannot be funded under the Tourism Event Grant 

• Prize money, awards or activities associated with prizes or awards (e.g. trophies)

   

• Alcohol licenses, tobacco and gambling related activities

   

• Requests for fixed or permanent equipment, building maintenance or capital improvements (e.g. heating or cooling systems, shade sails, solar panels, portable buildings, etc). This funding is specifically for the delivery of events within the Rural City of Wangaratta community.
  
  
• Requests to fund salaries, administration fees or personal expenses (e.g. petrol, utility bills, phone bills that aren’t in the group’s name or aren’t incurred by the group). 

This grant supports the growth and development of events in the region that attract outside visitation resulting in economic benefits for the town.  Events supported under this program must have a strong tourism focus that demonstrate the potential to promote the Rural City of Wangaratta as a destination and aligns with the strategies of the Rural City of Wangaratta. This program has a strong focus on supporting events in their early years, enabling the event to become financially sustainable and viable in the future.

Applicants are required to outline how the funding will assist the event to contribute to one or more of the following key objectives:

• Increase visitation to the region
• Enhance the Rural City of Wangaratta as a holiday destination
• Attract key target markets
• Provides an economic benefit
• Enhances the culture of the community
• Supports and enhances the local tourism strengths
• Grow the event to become financially viable and sustainable

Tourism Event Funding Guidelines(PDF, 2MB)

• Community groups or organisations based in the Rural City of Wangaratta.
• Businesses or for-profit organisations based in the Rural City of Wangaratta
• Events being held in the Rural City of Wangaratta.

Events must;

• meet one or more of the Tourism Events Grants objectives;
• event must be held between 1 January and 31 December 2026
• be able to meet the conditions associated with receiving the grant; and
• submit a completed application form before the program closing date

Events supported under this program have a strong tourism focus that demonstrate the potential to promote the destination and aligns with the strategies of the Rural City of Wangaratta

Will your event?

• Increase visitation to the region
• Enhance the Rural City of Wangaratta as a holiday destination
• Supports and enhances the local tourism strengths
• Provides an economic benefit to our community and businesses
• Enhances the culture of the community

• Attract key target markets

• Overnight visitors
• Visiting Friends and relatives
• Lifestyle leader market
• Nature and adventure
• Food and wine lovers
• Cultural and heritage tourists
• Event specific visitors

• Sporting events that increase non-participant spectator attendance and tourism visitor appeal

Successful applicants can use their Tourism Event Grant for the following;

• Marketing, promotional materials & advertising costs that look to not only promote the event to individuals who reside in the Rural City of Wangaratta but to those who live outside and further away from our LGA
• Costs associated with securing and hosting events
• Strategic or business plans for event development
• New innovations or additional activities to expand an event program
• Other innovate expenses as specified in your application

What events cannot be funded?

• Local events with a community focus or appeal
• Events without the capacity to attract visitation outside of the Rural City of Wangaratta
• Events that have failed to acquit previous funding programs from the Rural City of Wangaratta or meet previous obligations from grant funding.

• Events that have already secured financial support through another Rural City of Wangaratta grant, program or source

• Events that have already commenced at the time of application, or events that have been completed prior to the application

• Events held outside of the Rural City of Wangaratta
• Sporting events that are participant and support crew focused

   

The following expenses cannot be funded under the Tourism Event Grant

• The purchase of land or rent
• Staff wages, contractor fees

• General administration costs and maintenance costs

• Administrative equipment and supplies

Applications for the Tourism Event Funding Program are made via SmartyGrants online portal.

Using SmartyGrants

• If you are a new user, you will need to set up a login before you begin.
• If you have previously used SmartyGrants for any application (not just Rural City of Wangaratta) you can use the same email address.
• SmartyGrants lets you complete sections of your application in stages, save your progress and return to it later (you don’t need to do it all at once). Your application will be stored online, so there’s no need to save it to your computer.
• Allow plenty of time to complete your online application, so that if you run into difficulties, you have time to fix it.
• As part of completing the form, you need to upload supporting documents. Files must be no greater than 25mb but are best kept under 5mb each.
• Please ensure the supporting documents you upload are the appropriate documents required for your application. See What documentation do I need for information on the documents you need to supply.
• To avoid losing your work, remember to regularly save your progress in SmartyGrants every 10-15 minutes, as the form logs you out after 30 minutes of inactivity.
• Make sure you hit the Submit button when you are ready. If the Submit button is grey, there is something incomplete or wrong in your answers. Check all sections highlighted red. Once you have submitted you will be sent an email confirmation. If you don’t hit Submit, Council cannot see your application, so it won’t be considered.

You can also refer to the SmartyGrants Applicant Guide for help.