Monday, 15 February 2016
MEMBER for Northern Tablelands Adam Marshall is calling on local environmental groups to apply for State Government funding to support their work with communities to conserve the environment.
Mr Marshall said a total of $1.8 million in funding was now available under the 2016 Lead Environmental Community Groups (LECG) Grants Program.
“The program offers grants to support new or existing education or capacity building activities that develop the community’s knowledge and participation in protecting the environment,” Mr Marshall said.
“The grants will deliver long-term funding to eligible groups over a three year period – 2016, 2017 and 2018 – reducing the need for orgainstaions to apply each year.
“The investment aims to use the community reach of peak environmental groups to develop and widen community environmental skills and knowledge, to help deliver activities that improve the environment of the Northern Tablelands.
“In the 2015 round of LECG funding, 15 projects were awarded a total of $600,000. This included grants to such organisations as Landcare NSW, Keep NSW Beautiful and WIRES to deliver a broad range of community education and engagement activities across NSW.”
The program offers grants under two funding streams for organisations of different sizes:
- Stream 1 for larger non-government organisations seeking funding between $20,000 and $80,000 each year (maximum of $240,000 in total over the 3 year funding period)
- Stream 2 for smaller groups seeking less than $20,000 each year (maximum $60,000 in total over 3 years).
To be eligible for the grants, applicants must be a non-government, not-for-profit organisation, with a full-time presence in NSW and have the protection and enhancement of the environment as one of their primary objectives.
These organisations are usually either the peak community representative of a specific field of environmental activity across NSW or an umbrella organisation providing the full spectrum of activities expected of a peak environment organisation within NSW.
Further information and applications forms are available at www.environment.nsw.gov.au/grants/Lead.htm
Applications close on Friday, 11 March 2016.