Economic Grants & Partnerships

Please note that the 2023/24 Grants and Partnerships Program is currently undergoing a review.

A prosperous city

Townsville City Economic Grants and Partnerships provide funding and in-kind support to help deliver a strong and innovative economy for Townsville.

Economic Grants and Partnerships Priorities

To apply for a grant or partnership, your initiative will need to align to one of the following four priorities:

  • Business and Investment Attraction - Support the establishment of new operations in Townsville.
  • Innovation Incubator - Build capacity in the Townsville region to support the development of start-ups and incubator facilities.
  • Tourism and Events - Establish new tourism experiences or strengthen existing services and events to increase visitation and expenditure in the Townsville region.
  • Enliven the CBD through activation, events, and placemaking in public spaces.

We encourage any application for funding that clearly supports any of these priorities.

These priorities are part of the Townsville City Council’s Corporate Plan. Priorities will change at Council’s discretion to ensure they support future community needs. Please read the Priorities Information Sheet to help gain a better understanding.

Purpose

To deliver a strong and innovative economy for Townsville with sustainable growth and support for local jobs and businesses.

Eligibility

An applicant must be a properly constituted not-for-profit organisation, or be auspiced by such an organisation.

  • You must reside and/or primarily provide services within the Townsville Local Government Area (LGA), or be able to demonstrate that the initiative is in the public interest of residents of the Townsville LGA.
  • You must be free of debt to Townsville City Council.
  • You must have successfully acquitted any previous grants from Townsville City Council.
  • You must hold current Public Liability Insurance to the value of $20,000,000 per claim.

Venue Hire Fee Waiver

Venue Hire Fee Waiver refers to the waiver of hire fees for Council owned venues and opens spaces. You may apply to have your Venue Hire Fees partially or fully waived via our online Venue Hire Fee Waiver Application.

Please note: this waiver covers Venue Hire Fees only and DOES NOT covers ‘hard costs’ such as staffing, waste and other Council services.

If you are seeking a Venue Hire Fee Waiver, it is important to check venue availability and to obtain a quote before proceeding with the application as this information will be required in the application form. To obtain this information, contact the Venues Team directly via email - venues@townsville.qld.gov.au or call 13 48 10.

How to Apply

Please read the grant guidelines and assessment criteria help sheet prior to preparing your application.

Apply Now

The online application system allows you to save, develop and print out your application before you submit it.

For more information please phone Council Grants and Partnerships Team on 13 48 10 or email communitygrants@townsville.qld.gov.au

Assessment Timeframes

Applications will be checked for eligibility then assessed by Subject Matter Experts from within Council. For applications seeking over $5,000, recommendations for funding will be presented to Full Council for approval.

Grants $5,000 and under:

  • Apply at any time.
  • Once an application is lodged and is deemed eligible and complete by Council, the assessment time period of 4 weeks will commence.
  • Please note that the initiative you are seeking support for must not commence sooner than 2 weeks after the stated assessment timeframe.
  • Your initiative cannot commence within 6 weeks of your application being deemed eligible by Townsville City Council Grants Team.

Grants $5,001 - $25,000:

  • Apply at any time.
  • Once an application is lodged and is deemed eligible and complete by Council, the assessment time period of 8 weeks will commence.
  • Please note that the initiative you are seeking support for must not commence sooner than 2 weeks after the stated assessment timeframe.
  • If recommended for funding, the application will be presented to Full Council for approval. Please be mindful of Council meeting dates when submitting your application.

Partnerships $25,001 - $50,000:

  • Apply at any time.
  • Once an application is lodged and is deemed eligible and complete by Council, the assessment time period of 8 weeks will commence.
  • Please note that the initiative you are seeking support for must not commence sooner than 2 weeks after the stated assessment timeframe.
  • If recommended for funding, the application will be presented to Full Council for approval. Please be mindful of Council meeting dates when submitting your application.

Acquittals

Successful applicants will be required to submit an Acquittal within 28 days of the completion of their initiative, unless otherwise stated. Acquittals must be completed using their logon/account for the SmartyGrants portal.

Grants and Partnerships Awarded

If you would like information regarding Community Grants and Partnerships that have been awarded since 01/02/19 this can now be accessed on Townsville Dashboards under Your Council using the Community Grants and Partnerships tab.

You can also access the more detailed dataset in the Open Data Portal.

If you have any questions in reference to this information please contact the Community Grants Team on 13 48 10 or email our Community Grants team.

Acknowledgment Requirements

Please refer to the Acknowledgment Requirements Guidelines for detailed information regarding correct usage of Council logo. Where possible the full colour logo should be used. If the collateral has a background other than white or is only produced in black and white then the mono version should be used.

Council funds local non-profit community groups and initiatives through our Community Grants Program. When a group receives a grant from us, they agree to acknowledge Council's contribution on materials produced to support their project. This acknowledgement, depending on the amount of funding received, may include logo presence on supporting publications, displays or signage.

Download Council Logos