* 2019 CSU CUP grants worth total of $125,000 available across six campus locations

* Applications open Monday 11 March, and close Sunday 7 April

* Grants available in six categories: arts and culture, education, Indigenous development, health and wellbeing, environmental sustainability, and sport

The 2019 Charles Sturt University (CSU) Community-University Partnership (CUP) Grants Program worth a total of $125,000 across two rounds will soon open for applications.

Applications are invited from local organisations and individuals across each campus region.

Round one of the 2019 CUP Grants Program will open on Monday 11 March, with applications for grants across the six campus locations available in six categories: arts and culture, education, Indigenous development, health and wellbeing, environmental sustainability, and sport.

Applications can be made via https://about.csu.edu.au/community/grants and will close on 7 April. For more information, please contact community@csu.edu.au

Associate Professor Laura Dan, Director of CSU Knowledge Exchange and Engagement, said, “Small grants of up to $1,000 can be awarded, and organisations can apply for grants under multiple categories.

“In 2019 ‘health and wellbeing’ is a new CUP grant category, as is ‘environmental sustainability’, which is being funded by CSU Green.

“In 2018 almost $100,000 was awarded to approximately 100 community groups, organisations and individuals across the University’s regional footprint.”

Examples of successful 2018 CUP Grant applications include:

The Bathurst Writers’ and Readers’ Festival committee received a $500 grant. Committee member Ms Kylie Shead said, “The funding was incredibly useful for the event. Using the CUP grant as well as community donations, we were able to keep the festival free and have professional authors attend to speak, sit on panels, and run workshops.”

Baseball player Mr Steve Garoni from Albury-Wodonga who received a $1,000 2018 CUP Sports Grant said, “The CUP Community Grant allowed me to achieve my goal of being able to represent Victoria at the national level again. The grant enabled me to pay for my travel and accommodation.”

Warriors Albury-Wodonga Dragon Boat Club received a $1,000 CUP grant for equipment to support young people in its sporting community (pictured left).

Uranquinty Preschool in Wagga Wagga received a $1,500 CUP grant to enable it to complete actions from its Reconciliation Action Plan.

A spokesperson for the Preschool said, “We were able to invite Aboriginal people to our service to engage children in cultural and artistic programs and purchase authentic resources for individual and small group play.

“The CUP Grant Program has helped us achieve our goal of embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives into the preschool curriculum.”

Buninyong Public School in Dubbo received a $1,000 grant under the 2018 Sports Development category. Community Centre local facilitator Ms Lorna Brennan explained that the Centre delivers a ‘conversational English session’ each week to a group of up to 25 migrant women and their preschool-aged children (pictured at top).

“After some discussion, the women all said that they wanted to improve their health and fitness, so the funding was used to engage a Zumba instructor to provide lessons for two school terms,” Ms Brennan said.

“The instructor also ran a healthy eating and exercise workshop, which the women all agreed that they enjoyed the sessions and that it had boosted their energy levels as well as improved their diets. The preschool students also benefitted from the exercise.”

Applicants for round one 2019 CUP Grants will be notified in the week starting Monday 29 April.

Round two of applications for the 2019 CUP Grants opens on Monday 15 July and closes on Friday 9 August.