Nillumbik Community Fund grants awarded

2nd Eltham Sea Scouts, Scouts Victoria

Hatchet Throwing and Archery Activities | $4,290
Exciting no-cost archery and hatchet throwing activities to all young people at Eltham Festival and other local community events.

Allwood Neighbourhood House

Have-a-Go Hursty 2.0 | $5,000
Have-A-Go Hursty 2.0 delivers low-cost accessible workshops in Hurstbridge. Participants can explore new skills, build confidence, and connect with others through hands-on, creative, and social activities, fostering wellbeing, inclusion, and stronger connections across the local community.

Arthurs Creek Primary School

150th Anniversary Celebration | $5,000
This year Arthurs Creek Primary School marks its 150th birthday and the wider Arthurs Creek community is coming together to join the celebrations. The school will be staging a school fair on 21 November, incorporating performances by students, historical displays, rides and food stalls.

Bend of Islands Conservation Association

Fifty Years of Environmental Living | $5,000
Event celebrating fifty years of successfully nurturing and protecting the environment of the Bend of Islands – Environmental Living Zone. The purpose is to reinforce community connection and to reinforce and renew the commitment of the community to this biodiversity hotspot.

Diamond Creek Traders Association

Diamond Creek CarFest 2026 | $5,000
A family-friendly celebration of classic, vintage, and unique vehicles, set against the vibrant backdrop of Diamond Creek. Enjoy live music, delicious food, local market stalls, and kids’ activities while exploring an impressive showcase of cars. A must-attend event for all ages!

Edible Hub Hurstbridge Community Hub Garden

Kids' Activities in the Community Garden | $1,350
Two interactive installations will be created for young visitors to the community garden: a busyboard where children can track weather, temperature, nature sightings and day of the week using moveable dials and markers, and a series of nature-shaped chalkboard panels on which children can draw and write freely.

Eltham Chamber of Commerce

Winter Arts Night Light Installation Festival | $4,122
The Winter Arts Night Light Installation Festival is a vibrant event showcasing mesmerising light installations, interactive displays, and local performances. It fosters social cohesion, encourages community participation, and boosts the local economy by attracting visitors and supporting businesses.

Eltham High School

Centenary Exhibition | $4,122
2026 marks the centenary of Eltham High School. To celebrate this significant event an exhibition will be held at the Barn Gallery, Montsalvat in August 2026. This will bring together the work of current and past staff, alumni and celebrated artists from parent and local art communities.

Eltham Junior Football Club

Girls Footy Celebration Day | $5,000
This celebration event brings local Northern Football Netball League (NFNL) girls' teams together for an unforgettable day of Girls Football at Eltham. Every game played on Eltham Central Oval will showcase girls playing AFL supported by motivational AFLW player involvement highlighting inclusion, visibility, and the power of girls in footy.

Eltham South Preschool

60th Birthday Celebration | $5,000
Eltham South Preschool is inviting the wider Nillumbik community to help celebrate its 60th birthday, with food, entertainment and a trip down memory lane, recognising everyone who has played a part in its proud history and sharing its stories with the families who will continue its legacy into the future.

Hurstbridge Learning Cooperative Primary School

Walking with Country: Learning Co-operative Bushland Path and Cultural Signage Project | $5,000
Creation of a public low-impact walking path to host regular free family friendly events and open days, providing safe, inclusive, and sustainable access to the wider community, targeting children, young people and culturally and linguistically diverse communities. An accessible outdoor resource to promote conservation, cultural awareness, active living, and community connection. Including interpretive signage and audio trails featuring Indigenous plant knowledge.

Imagine Re-evolution

Flipping the Lid - Levelling Up on Plastics | $4,420
A sustainability project implemented with programs at their Eltham workshop to redirect hard plastics from landfill - turning plastic lids and other hard plastics into marketable products. The requested funding for a Plastics Extruder will enable disadvantaged youth program participants to safely manage the recycling of plastics into new items including keyrings, medals, chopping boards etc - whilst teaching manual and vocational trade skills which may lead to future employment.

James Phelan - Auspice Montsalvat

Nillumbik Writers Festival | $5,000
A one-day, community-focused writers and illustrators festival held at Montsalvat in Eltham.

LinC (Love in the Name of Christ)

Eltham Emergency Food Support | $3,000
Due to current economic pressures the need for emergency food supplies has increased. These funds will support food parcels created by LinC for distribution to Odyssey House, Health Ability and local schools.

Mange Management

Treating Wombats with Mange in Nillumbik | $5,000
Saving Nillumbik’s wombats from the excruciating suffering and fatal impact of sarcoptic mange. This support will provide life-saving treatment, provide landowners with free treatment kits, and raise community awareness. Together, we can stop mange spreading, reduce suffering, and give wombats a fighting chance.

Montsalvat

Festival of Fire and Clay | $4,800
A vibrant winter celebration of ceramics, wood-firing and community connection. Featuring live kiln firings, artist talks, workshops and exhibitions, the festival brings local, national and international artists together, activating Montsalvat’s heritage grounds and engaging the Nillumbik community in hands-on cultural experience.

Nicole Wallace - Auspice Montsalvat

Opera Under the Stars at Montsalvat | $5,000
An inclusive, community-focused outdoor classical music initiative designed to bring audiences together through a shared live performance experience in one of Victoria’s most significant artistic environments.

Nillumbik Mudbrick Association

50 Year Celebratory Mudbrick Workshop and Tour | $4,450
Discover the beauty, sustainability, and craftsmanship of mudbrick living through this unique experience of a hands-on mudbrick-making workshop and guided tour of distinctive local mudbrick homes across Nillumbik, particularly on the rich mudbrick heritage of St Andrews, Smiths Gully and Christmas Hills. Run by the Nillumbik Mudbrick Association, this immersive event offers participants the opportunity to learn traditional building techniques from experienced practitioners.

Nillumbik Repair Café - Auspice SHIFT

'Lost Skills' Workshops and Tinker Table | $1,579
Nillumbik Repair Cafe will run a series of workshops for the community. At these sessions, community members can learn fantastic new repair and reuse skills to use at home. Also updating the 'Tinker Table' kids area to attract more young families to the cafe.

Nillumbik SES

Land Based Swift Water Rescue Safety Equipment | $2,298
Purchase of land based swift water rescue safety equipment to increase available resources, enabling the Unit to respond to a wider range of critical events when required to assist with the rescue of community members in distress through flooding and storms. The equipment will be used in creeks, rivers and flooded roads to provide rescue to those trapped by rising waterflows and unable to get to dry land.

North Warrandyte Osborne Peninsula Landcare Group

Connecting Community Through Nature: Education & Engagement Program | $4,690
Free, family‑friendly activities that deepen environmental and cultural knowledge, strengthen community connection and inspire long‑term stewardship of the Osborne Peninsula. The program boosts wellbeing, encourages active living and grows community capacity to protect and restore local habitat.

Operation Newstart

Operation Newstart Nillumbik | $5,000
Operation Newstart is a strength based program using challenging outdoor adventure activities and community workshops to help to re-engage young people in education. Program offered to students enrolled in a Nillumbik Secondary School. Outdoor activities include surfing, hiking, mountain biking and caving, tertiary tours and mental health workshops. Local Nillumbik agencies Health ability, Headspace, Edendale Community Farm and Eltham Leisure Centre will partner to co-deliver the program and activities.

Plenty Historical Society

Sharing the Story | $2,239
The small group presentations and gatherings that The Plenty Historical Society does (between 20-30 people) will be greatly enhanced and extended by the purchase of a portable PA system, a permanent projector screen and the efficient and safe storage and display of our history.

Rebecca Landy Creates - Auspice Allwood Neighbourhood House

Books Alive by No Big Dramas | $5,000
A performance program for young people aged 9-16, building skills and stage experience. Over 18 weeks, participants collaborate with local artists to develop improvisation, comedy, singing and stagecraft, culminating in Books Alive — live adaptations of children’s picture books, presented as affordable school holiday entertainment for local families.

Rotary Club of Diamond Creek

Community Lunch | $5,000
Hosting a free community lunch similar to 2025 event, to bring together people accessing the food pantry and those who may feel lonely, marginalised, or newly arrived in Australia, including smaller ethnic and refugee communities, creating connection, inclusion and a welcoming community space.

Rotary Club of Eltham

Rotary Eltham Art Show | $5,000
Exhibition of 3D and 2D works - paintings from artists who are connected with Nillumbik's heritage. Other media include sculpture, glassworks etc.. The show includes En Plain Challenge, Year 11 Nillumbik VCE Art students tutorials, demonstrations and community involvement via free entry for students and retirement home residents.

St Johns Anglican Church

Drop in Food Pantry | $3,050
St Johns Anglican Church Diamond Creek Drop in Food Pantry provides non perishable food for people facing financial insecurity and food insecurity. Due to increasing community need the Pantry will be expanded to provide a dedicated space on St Johns property.

The Social Education Group - Auspice Lions of Nillumbik

Pack and Give Back - Nillumbik Schools Project | $3,773
Delivering Pack & Give Back workshops in secondary schools, combining social justice education with hands-on service learning. Students explore issues like food insecurity, build empathy and awareness, and create practical resources for local charities, strengthening community connection, positive citizenship and pathways to support for young people.

Wattle Glen CFA

Wattle Glen Emergency Street Numbering | $4,184
All properties within Wattle Glen will have permanent, consistent, standard property numbers installed at their primary entrance and be visible from a vehicle on the street, night and day by 2027 fire season. Will improve efficiency and accuracy of emergency response and provide general benefits of identification for the residents.

Aborigines Advancement League

Possum Skins in the Park | $5,000
Four free weekly public sessions will tell stories of belonging, of place and of the sacred, spiritual Dreamtime. As a community cultural practice the making/wearing of possum skin cloaks is significant and instils a sense of pride, evoking a sense of belonging and connectedness to culture and Ancestors.

Allwood Neighbourhood House

Tucker, Tunes & Trivia | $5,000
Series of community gatherings featuring food, music and trivia. Healthy, low cost, low waste, vegetarian meals accompanied by local live music and followed by a trivia quiz, these family-friendly events will bring community together - strengthening connections and showcasing local talent.

Always Invited

NeuroDiVine events with Always Invited | $5,000
Series of four-six NeuroDiVine Events in local community spaces within Nillumbik and nearby, offering sporting, social, creative activities for Neurodivergent children in sensory friendly environments. Alongside the children’s activities parents and carers will benefit from Always Invited peer support network which offers information, guidance and mutual support.

Arthurs Creek Primary School

A Place to Gather, A Past to Remember - Grounded in Legacy, Rising in Pride | $5,000
Creation of a landscaped assembly area featuring the Australian, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags, corten soldier silhouettes by local artist Melissa Thomas, and hands-on student engagement. For the school and adjacent Community Centre and Mechanics Institute Hall, this welcoming environment will promote cultural respect, community connection and pride in heritage in the Arthurs Creek community.

Cantonese Art Association

Christmas Carol Festival in Nillumbik | $2,680
Held at Edendale, this one-day festival will be a vibrant community celebration, bringing people together through music, culture, and holiday spirit. Featuring live performances from local choirs, musicians, and groups, the festival will foster inclusivity and strengthen community connections, culminating in a finale concert with a communal singalong and the lighting of the Christmas tree.

Catholic Ladies College Eltham

Bake, Care, Share | $5,000
Focusing on alleviating the problem of food insecurity, providing students an opportunity to cook and donate food to Diamond Creek Rotary Food Pantry and local charity Hayden's Helping Hands, on a weekly basis over a one year period.

Clean Energy Nillumbik

Nillumbik Sustainable Homes Trail: Future living today | $5,000
Learn from neighbours how households in Nillumbik can make their home healthier, more comfortable and less costly to run. Offering approximately 50 open house tours through 10 different kinds of homes in Nillumbik, this peer led, environmental education event showcases each houses electrification and sustainability journey.

Eltham and District Woodworkers

Artisan Woodworking Fair | $5,000
Promoting their artisan's 'craftmanship' in woodworking to a diverse audience, hosting approximately 400 children, engaging with toys they helped make and can take home. Free attendance, held over the second weekend in November at Eltham Community and Reception Centre.

Eltham Junior Football Club

Girls Footy Celebration Day | $5,000
Community event to bring Northern Football Netball League (NFNL) girls' teams together for one unforgettable day at Eltham Central. With every game played on this prime ground, plus activities, an Indigenous dance group, and a motivational AFLW speaker, they will celebrate inclusion, visibility, and the power of girls in footy.

Eltham Orchestra

Ghibli in the Park | $4,940
The performance will connect community members both inside and outside of Nillumbik, through the enchanting world of Studio Ghibli's music, a Japanese film company known for its rich and culturally diverse musical scores. Performed at Alistair Knox Park, families and friends can gather and enjoy a picnic, while listening to Eltham Orchestra perform a series of compositions.

Em for Music Magic (auspice Allwood Neighbourhood House)

Em for Music Magic Weekly Music Sessions | $4,460
Providing free, engaging music sessions for children aged 0-6 in Hurstbridge. Through interactive songs, movement, and play, it will foster confidence, creativity, and early learning in a fun, inclusive space, supporting developmental growth and community connection.

Erika & Her Kraft (auspice Allwood Neighbourhood House)

The Art of Noticing | $5,000
Series of six guided outdoor art workshops combining mindfulness and creative expression. Participants will engage in nature-inspired sketching, watercolour painting, and mindful mark-making, using art as a tool for relaxation. Inclusive sessions to foster mental wellbeing and resilience, support community connection, and activate outdoor space.

Hurstbridge Jazz Club

Beyond Barriers Spring and Summer Series 2025 | $5,000
A series of four gigs that explore intergenerational opportunities for artistic collaboration between artists and bands who live in or are connected to the Shire of Nillumbik.

Hurstbridge Primary School

Reusable catering at Wattle Festival school zone | $4,940
The Wattle Festival Hurstbridge Primary School zone aims to be 100 per cent zero-waste with reusable catering supplies for community and commercial food vendors. This will drastically reduce the amount of single use catering items and raise awareness of the positive steps our community can take in the area of waste.

Imagine Reevolution

Community Connection Project | $5,000
Imagine Re-Evolution is a grassroots community program to reach and reconnect young people aged 12-25 who are disconnected from community, education, family and each other. This activity in Eltham will build Imagine Re-evolution’s volunteer capacity to engage in community events and promote access for a diverse Nillumbik audience including schools, homeschooling groups, volunteers, and community organisations.

Nillumbik Chinese Seniors Association

Double Ninth and Mid-Autumn Festival 2025 | $5,000
Celebrating the cultural diversity of Double Ninth (29 October) and mid-autumn (6 October) with seniors. Contribute to traditions and diverse perspectives. All ages are invited to participate to connect with their community and see generations unite, fostering meaningful intergenerational connections.

Nillumbik Climate Action Team

Community Resilience Mapping Workshops | $2,017
Pilot of two workshops designed to aid the exploration and understanding of the Nillumbik community's risk to, and understanding of, potential climate impacts. It is designed to help residents identify risks and ensure good climate resilience strategies to help keep community members safe.

Nillumbik Reconciliation Group

Barak Bushlands Reconciliation and Tree Planting Celebration | $5,000
A community reconciliation event with a ceremonial tree planting to celebrate William Barak, Wurundjeri people and culture to acknowledge the legacy work of Friends of Barak Bushland, which over 21 years ago planted over 20,000 plants in Barak Bushland Eltham.

Nillumbik Repair Café (auspice SHIFT - Sustainable Hurstbridge: Ideas for Transition)

Community sewing machines at the Nillumbik Repair Cafe | $2,634
The Nillumbik Repair Cafe will purchase two sewing machines for community members to use at monthly events. People without a machine can mend their own items, complete small sewing projects, and get on-the-spot advice from our repairers.

Northern Gujarati Association of Melbourne

Navratri - Indian Festival of Music & Dance | $5,000
Navratri means nine nights of dancing from which the most visible is a group dance called Garba, a folk dance where people of different backgrounds, and skills join and form concentric circles wearing traditional attire. Performed at Diamond Valley Sports and Fitness Centre to bring communities together, pass on the culture to the next generation, and also remain inclusive.

Operation Newstart Northern

Operation Newstart Nillumbik | $5,000
An eight week innovative re-engagement program offered to eight young people aged 13-17 living in Nillumbik, who are deemed to be at significant social and educational risk. The program is a strength-based program that utilises wilderness therapy practice and experiential learning to promote personal development and positive mental/physical health.

Plenty Valley Community Radio

Christmas Hills Festival 1979 'Lost Tapes' Community Radio Series | $4,950
Recently rediscovered lost tapes of the 1979 Christmas Hills Festival, featuring Nillumbik associated artists, Men at Work, Captain Matchbox, Rueben Tice, Captain Rock, Robbie Greig, Skyhooks and others, will underpin a six-week series of radio programs and 'podcasts', revealing how artists helped ‘Save Christmas Hills’ from the proposed Watsons Creek dam.

Rotary Club of Eltham

Art Show | $5,000
The Art Show will exhibit 3D and 2D works, featuring paintings from local artists who live in Nillumbik or are connected with Nillumbik's artistic heritage. Works will be connected with the historical legacy of the early forefathers of Nillumbik art. Being exhibited over 10 days at the Eltham Community and Reception Centre, the grant will be expended on display boards and signage.

The Learning Cooperative

Connected by Rhythm | $5,000
Connected by Rhythm empowers young musicians from the Learning Co-operative to lead performances and interactive percussion workshops alongside the Nillumbik community. Delivering two workshops per term, students will guide participants in creating rhythms with marimbas, tablas, and boomwhackers, using the universal language of music to inspire joy, connection and community across all ages.

Unwind & Recharge

Caring Touch – Safe, supportive touch and massage guidance for carers and care recipients | $5,000
Workshops to teach carers safe, supportive touch and gentle massage methods, highlighting the importance of safe, supportive human touch in caregiving and community health. Accessible in-person and online, the project aims to reduce stress and improve the wellbeing of Nillumbik carers and care recipients, including older adults, people with disabilities, First Nations peoples, and people from LGBTQIA+ communities.

Walking Football 4 Health Victoria

New Walking Football for Health programs for women and people living with a disability | $4,978
A new Walking Football for Health program at Diamond Valley Sports and Fitness Centre will offer two free, weekly, low-impact football sessions designed for women and people with disabilities. Each session will provide a fun, social and supportive way to stay active, build confidence and connect with others in a welcoming community environment.

African Party

Wayapa Wuurrk Early Years Program | $4,963
Connection with natural elements through the traditional lens of First Nations and neuro diverse/divergent knowledge and wisdom in this sensory, movement, music and arts based program. Sessions will be conducted across a variety of venues in Nillumbik to provide families with easy access, including Allwood Neighbourhood House, and Eltham and Diamond Valley libraries.

Ale Prunotto (writer and researcher)

Write to Move | $4,950
A six-week parkour and creative writing program for LGBTQIA+ youth aged 18-25. Participants will learn parkour in a supportive environment at Alistair Knox Park, before undertaking creative writing activities at Eltham Library that respond to themes explored in the movement sessions. The program will provide a space to explore place, movement, and identity.

Allwood Neighbourhood House

Music for Mamas | $5,000
Music for Mamas provides expectant and new mothers a space for connection, learning and exploration of the role of music to support their transition through Matrescence. Taking place at Allwood Neighbourhood House over four sessions, spaced at every two months, participants will enjoy a performance and discussion with musician and mother Claire Tonti and education from Dr Elizabeth McLean a Registered Music Therapist.

Allwood Neighbourhood House

The Bridge | $4,950
The Bridge will be a roving community-led performance in Nillumbik, where the audience will move around to watch the story play out in different areas around Allwood House where the actual historical events took place. Performed after dusk using projected images, dramatic sound effects and lighting, it tells the story of Henry Hurst’s encounter with bushranger, Robert Burke, that defines the Hurstbridge township. The Bridge will reflect on the bridges between human beings that are formed in communities across the world.

Bushfire Resilience

Bushfire Resilience Community Bushfire Preparation | $4,940
Experts will develop web-based tools for residents to assess their risk and prepare their homes, properties, animals and loved ones for the real threat of bushfire. The online resource hub will provide webinars, excerpts, interviews, transcripts, topic specific video clips, and viewer comments providing 24 hour access to Nillumbik residents.

Carry & Connect

Purchase of Equipment for Community Usage | $5,000
Purchase of an enclosed waterproof trailer, a weight-bearing sled and additional weights, to improve the capacity of Carry & Connect who provide local participants an opportunity to exercise through walking approximately 2-4kms, in Eltham or Research, whilst carrying sandbags, hand weights, pulling sleds or whatever manner of challenges provided that week.

Christmas Hills Primary School

Christmas Hills Primary School 150th Year Celebration | $4,931
2024 marks the 150th year of Christmas Hills Primary School, and they are marking this significant occasion by hosting a celebratory, family friendly event open to the community. There will be live music, face painting, children's entertainment, a petting zoo and indoor jumping castle and a historical display.

Clean Energy Nillumbik

Expert Eco Chats | $4,000
Expert Eco Chats consists of 12-15 sustainability experts at Edendale Farm, offering 20 minute appointments to Nillumbik residents with the expert of their choice, covering topics such as how to make homes more comfortable and cheaper to run, how to electrify homes, and which projects to tackle first.

Country Fire Authority

Subsidised Listening Sets |$5,000
In an attempt to reduce risk on high fire danger days, Arthurs Creek and Strathewen residents require access to every possible form of information relevant to them and their community. A digital listening set allows residents to listen to fire-fighters radio traffic in the local fire brigade area. Listening sets will be dispersed to households geographically in these areas, who will relay information on their phone tree to inform neighbours of precautions.

The Creative Co-Operative

Eid in Eltham 2025 | $4,999
Celebrating Ramadan 2025 with diverse festivities from 49 countries worldwide, inviting local communities and visitors to join a vibrant Eid celebration at Eltham Square, marking the holy, spiritual month of Ramadan. Experience culture, food, art, henna over community spirit for an inclusive celebration at this cherished event.

Eltham and District Woodworkers

Annual Exhibition and Festivities | $5,000
Promoting the joy and skills of woodworking to diverse audience, this free exhibition at Eltham Community and Reception Centre, will feature displays, demonstrations of techniques, and host children to make toys which they can then take home.

Eltham Redbacks Football Club

EmpowerHer | $3,120
EmpowerHer is a mental health project for female players, to promote well-being, raise awareness, and offer resources. It will include workshops, individual support, and initiatives to enhance mental resilience, empowering girls to excel in sports and life.

Em for Music Magic

Childrens Weekly Music | $3,262
Children will embark on a musical adventure at Allwood House in Hurstbridge with free weekly music sessions for local 0-6 year olds. Delight in 40 minutes of singing, instrument exploration, and dancing, fostering a love for music.

Hurstbridge Jazz Club

Think Global, Play Local | $5,000
A series of four gigs in Hurstbridge that will explore the connections between local jazz artists and global perspectives. Drawing on jazz traditions from around the world, this series will celebrate a range of emerging voices in jazz music as well as feature established artists with connections to Nillumbik.

Imagine Re-evolution

Mellow Mornings at the Imaginarium | $5,000
Mellow Mornings is a transformative project designed to address the needs of young people experiencing anxiety or resistance towards school, offering a nurturing environment to recalibrate and ease into their day. Mellow Mornings at the Imaginarium in Eltham will work with items destined for landfill and reimagine them into something new. The program is aimed at Nillumbik youth who have difficulties getting to school aged 12-18 years old.

Montsalvat

Gathering and Sharing the Archives: Half a Century of Montsalvat Festivals and Events | $5,000
A project engaging with the community in researching diverse archives, to uncover, assess, conserve, catalogue, describe and provide public access to the ephemera of posters, flyers, programs and videos from half a century of festivals, events and performances, organised by or held at Montsalvat since 1970. Materials will be shared via social media and a public archive link on the Montsalvat website.

Nillumbik Literary Festival

Nillumbik Literary Festival | $4,161
Welcome to Nillumbik Literary Festival, where local stories come to life. Join us at historic Allwood House for a captivating weekend of author talks, creative writing workshops, storytelling and much more. Be inspired to discover all this vibrant community has to offer.

Northern Gujarati Association

Navratri 2024 - Indian Festival of Music & Dance | $5,000
Being performed at Diamond Valley Sports and Fitness Centre, Navaratri is one of the largest Indian festivals and aims to bring the community together and pass on this culture to the next generation. Join them in the popular Garba group dance - a folk dance where people of different backgrounds and skills join and form concentric circles wearing traditional attire.

Operation Newstart Northern

Operation Newstart Nillumbik | $5,000
Challenging outdoor adventure activities to re-engage young people in Nillumbik deemed to be at significant educational risk, aged 14-17. Outdoor activities such as surfing, hiking, mountain biking and caving promote personal growth in line with evidence-based adventure therapy practices. Local agencies such as Healthability Reconnect, Headspace, Youth Services and Eltham Leisure Centre will partner to co-deliver the program at sites across Nillumbik.

Plenty Valley Cricket Club

Pathways for Girls in Community Cricket | $3,990
A partnership between Plenty Valley Cricket Club, Diamond Valley Cricket Association and North-East Metro Cricket to grow participation of girls in cricket - engaging schools and community cricket clubs in delivering Cricket Blast programs, and delivering junior coaching academies and mentoring, aimed at increasing girl's participation and pathways in cricket.

Research Preschool

Messy Play Open Day | $237
Nillumbik families are invited to come and discover Research Preschool and enjoy a range of age-appropriate sensory activities at this weekend open day, which includes a two hour play-based session for young people (aged 1-5) and their parents/caregivers.

Rotary Club of Diamond Creek

Community Lunch | $5,000
As the cost of living increases individuals and families are finding it hard to make ends meet, and the Rotary Diamond Creek Pantry is giving out food to over 70 local families every week. Recipients and other Nillumbik community members will be invited to this free community lunch to provide an opportunity and meal to mix socially.

Rotary Club of Eltham

2024 Rotary Eltham Art Show | $5,000
This 2024 show will present 3 Dimensional artworks (sculpture, ceramics, jewellery, glass and woodwork sourced from across Victoria. Funding will contribute towards equipment hire and curator and judge fees. A gala opening and public viewing will be held at the Eltham Community & Reception Centre.

St Margaret's Anglican Church Eltham

Emergency Food Relief | $2,000
Provision of emergency food relief across Nillumbik. Including food parcels distributed across Nillumbik to recipients identified by HealthAbility and local schools, stocking the St Margaret's food pantry which is open at all times for emergency food supplies, and delivering Christmas hampers to individuals, families, and Odyssey House.

The Veggie Empire

Growing Connections | $4,699
A series of free Social Seeding events at Veggie Empire's Greensborough urban farm and nursery, to bring together Nillumbik community members living with intellectual disability and a passion for gardening. The events will mark the beginning of an accessible propagation group addressing social isolation in a casual and fun farm setting co-founded by individuals with disabilities.

Victorian Skateboard Association

Promoting Nillumbik Skateable Spaces | $5,000
Promoting Nillumbik Skateable Spaces aims to significantly increased skateboarding participation and community connection in Nillumbik by engaging children, youth and families at the Eltham, Hurstbridge and Diamond Creek skate parks, as well as pop-up skate space locations with partner schools and orgs in the Green Wedge to maximise reach.

A Fitting Connection

Apollo Parkways Celebrates Community | $5,000
The Apollo Parkways Community come together to celebrate the amazing and diverse community, support local businesses, and celebrate the end of the year.

Allwood Neighbourhood House

Have-a-Go Hurstbridge | $5,000
Project for members of the community to connect with others during the evening and on the weekends when community services are generally limited. Providing a minimum of 12 skill-building activities designed to be fun, enjoyable, and educational.

Banyule & Nillumbik Local Learning & Employment Network

Local Employers Forum | $5,000
Employers Forum that will expose secondary students from Nillumbik schools to various local employment opportunities by engaging with employers to inform and inspire students about the world of work, career pathways and employment prospects in their sector.

Banyule & Nillumbik Local Learning & Employment Network

Stories From My Life 2023 | $5,000
Stories From My Life is an intergenerational program that offers secondary students the opportunity to learn about the life and career background of a local older person.

Copperline News

Write Like a Journalist | $4,500
Series of workshops encouraging local residents to learn the skills to contribute to high quality journalism in our start-up community newspaper, Copperline News.

Diamond Valley Community Support

Action on Poverty Month | $5,000
Hosting a month of community events to mark Anti Poverty Week including markets and fundraising events, raising funds and awareness of the lived experiences and realities of poverty in the local area.

Eltham and District Woodworkers

Annual Exhibition | $4,688
Promoting the joy and skills of woodworking to diverse audience at Eltham Community and Reception Centre, displaying works, and demonstrating techniques. Providing approximately 400 children with the toys they have helped make.

Eltham Toy Library

Diversity and Inclusion at the Eltham Toy Library | $1,500
Eltham Toy Library Diversity and Inclusion community project targeting families with young children who are based in Nillumbik. Project includes open play-based sessions centred around toys that promote diversity and inclusion, as well as toys specifically designed for children with disabilities.

Embraced

Residence | $5,000
Intergenerational songwriting program offering six artists a residency to create new music inspired by, in collaboration with and at times performed together with aged care residents. Musicians will work individually to develop songs and co-design collaborative sessions with older adults, culminating in six in-house showings and a collective finale.

Friends of Nillumbik

Community Showcase - the Next Step | $5,000
Three gatherings of community groups and residents to showcase the voluntary work being achieved, share information and workshop collaboration between groups to generate new projects which will benefit the community including our environment.

Healthy Soils Australia

The Vital Role of Soil in Producing Healthy Food and Combating Climate Change… | $5,000
Four events focusing on key speakers and activities for the urban and rural sectors in the Nillumbik area, who are keen to understand the role of regenerative agriculture in developing land resilient to drought and floods, and building healthy soils.

Hurstbridge Jazz Club

The Nillumbik Sound Series | $5,000
Spring series of four events presenting distinctive Nillumbik based jazz artists as they explore their own unique sound. Supported by emerging youth talent, this series aims to give voice to the artistic and aesthetic voices within jazz that live in our community.

Hurstbridge Men's Shed

Using Power Drills for Women - Making Habitat Boxes | $2,830
Working with local environment groups to identify habitat needs and prefabricate habitat boxes for assembly. Women will be invited to workshops where they will learn how to use power drills, make habitat boxes and learn about how to support local biodiversity and animal habitat.

Jessie Page

Lies and Deceit in the World of Orchids | $2,000
Installation of native orchids depicting the bizarre and fascinating process of pollination. Viewers will enter a world of larger-than-life-sized orchids and their insect pollinators all constructed from wood, silk and paper. This will be a full sensory experience that will transport viewers to another world.

Joanne Griggs

Easel Access | $3,780
Nillumbik artisan facilitated weekly art group to encourage young people with disabilities to develop confidence, knowledge and skills as visual artists. Genuine fun study to expand safe social connection and pride amongst peers as the group will eventually show and sell in the Montsalvat studio.

Lions Club of Eltham

Lions Gazebo for Community Use | $3,370
Purchase of a large 3x6m marquee for use at Lions Club events, and to lend to local community groups. Application elevated above several scored higher as high value and attractive community project.

Montsalvat - ClayTalk

Montsalvat - Birribi Community Youth Project | $5,000
Art therapy through using clay and ceramic workshops for disadvantaged youth in the local community. Supporting community networks where Clay Talk, Montsalvat and Birribi collaborate to deliver meaningful and positive outcomes for young people in need of purpose, direction and new opportunities.

Nillumbik Climate Action Team

Climate Awareness Month | $4,222
This project will run over three or four weekend days (Saturday or Sunday) for a calendar month (provisionally March 2024). The aim is to promote community awareness of climate and environment issues through a series of presentations by notable people in the field.

Nillumbik Historical Society

Learning to Listen | $2,200
Comprehensive oral history workshop for various volunteers from historical groups who are members of the Yarra Plenty Heritage Group Network, and training to develop skills to assist with setting up and conducting an oral history project, from technical requirements and ethics, to interview techniques and transcription.

Nillumbik Repair Café

Repair Cafe Skill-sharing Workshops | $1,620
Hands-on skill sharing workshops for local residents topics such as bike maintenance, clothing repairs, car and mower maintenance and fixing household objects.

Northern Gujarati Association of Melbourne

Navratri - Indian Festival of Music & Dance | $5,000
Navaratri is one of the Indian main festivals. The most visible is group dance called Garba - a folk dance where people of different backgrounds and skills join and form concentric circles wearing traditional attire. They aim to bring the community together and pass on this culture to the next generation.

Plenty Historical Society

Our Place in Plenty | $5,000
Living focal point display in the Plenty Historic Church with documents, photos and other items telling the story of Plenty, involving community groups, clubs and individuals.

Poetry @ Chrissy Hills

Poetry@Chrissy Hills | $720
Interactive bi-monthly series of six poetry sessions, encouraging participants to share their poetry with a supportive audience. Led by a featured reader, sessions provide participants opportunities to engage with established poets, with an emphasis on participation and having fun with poetry.

Slovenian Association Melbourne

SRRA Community First Aid Training | $4,135
Opportunity for people of all ages to participate in an informative, social and educational day obtaining a First Aid Certificate. This will help develop confidence and knowledge that will empower our community so we can successfully provide a community safety initiative opportunity.

St Andrews Primary School

St Andrews Community Twilight Games | $5,000
Community evening playing various sporty games on the oval including egg-n-spoon races, tug-o-war, boot toss, three-legged races, egg toss, sack races, BBQ and additional festival activities.

Strathewen 10th Anniversary Working Group

Strathewen Community Memorial Interpretive Signage | $5,000
Partial funding to design and install Interpretive Signage at the Strathewen Community Bushfire Memorial.

Susie Raz

On Whose Shoulders We Stand | $4,436
Project addressing gender inequality in the arts by paying homage to the courage and commitment of Australian female artists of the 20th century who persisted despite a lack of role models and support, and who still go largely unrecognised by current art history books and major art galleries.