A new fund will help people bring more events to Richmond's CBD, with organisers able to access up to $1500 in matched funding.
Richmond Unlimited wanted to support more events in town, but with limited resources to organise them itself, it looked for another way to help make them happen.
Business district co-ordinator Maria Ingram says the organisation's focus is creating a vibrant town centre.
“Richmond Unlimited is tasked very much with vibrancy… and making the CBD feel like a vibrant, lively place to work, live, and be in space.
She says the idea is that they could provide assistance to other people to put on events within the CBD.
“So that you get this wider variety of things going on, different niches, different groups, different people doing different things.”
The result is the new Vibrancy Fund, which offers matched funding of up to $1500 for events held in the CBD.
“If you put on an event in the CBD, we can match fund up to $1,500 for your event.”
Matched funding doesn’t just have to be your financial contribution, it can be time, financial or lots of different things, Maria says.
She can see opportunities for exercise classes, pop-up events, busker festivals, live music, community activations, magic shows, dancing, barista competitions and even speed-puzzling competitions.
“It's just about bringing life and vibrancy into their space and making it feel like a nicer place to be.”
The application form is available on the Richmond Unlimited website, and Maria says the organisation will help applicants give their events the best chance of success.
Applications will be assessed against criteria including impact, audience and partnerships. However, she says Richmond Unlimited will work with organisers whose plans may not initially meet all the requirements.
“It's not like you apply for money and we just go ‘no we're not going to do that’, we will work with you to try and get you in the best position to get your event off the ground and going because we want it to happen, so we're really keen to hear everyone's ideas and try and inspire some creativity within the groups and businesses here.
“We're really excited about the opportunities that are out there. The options really are endless.”
