Rockingham City approves nearly $180k in community grants

City of Rockingham councillors have unanimously greenlit almost $180,000 in community grant funding to 10 organisations for 2023-24.

The council approved a total of $175,950.40 which will go to various programs, events and initiatives.

Among those to receive funding is the Rotary Club’s Rock the Boat Film Festival and Rockingham Golf Club’s maintenance shed.

The Rock The Boat Film Festival was launched in 2022. It was an opportunity for people to share their stories on the big screen and was considered a huge success.

It will receive city sponsorship for the next year.

Cr Lorna Buchan said there had been a stringent evaluation process and “because of the size and amount” of funds that go into the selected community groups, each application was comprehensively “assessed by staff at the city”.

She said none of the funding amounts recommended by city officers were changed and commended the staff’s dedication to each report.

“The finances of any community organisation is a challenge given the bills you have to pay… to put infrastructure capital in is an expense that’s going above and beyond community organisations,” Cr Robert Schmidt said.

The next round of community grants will be announced in October.