News

Quick Turnaround Grants
Funds for 2003–4 exhausted

3 December 2003

STRONG DEMAND FOR THE REGIONAL QUICK TURNAROUND
Grants Program has led to the expenditure of all available funds for the 2003–2004 year within only three months.

The Quick Turnaround Grants Program is an allocation of $25,000 from the Regional Arts Fund to provide urgent assistance for professional development and projects in regional NSW which are ineligible for funding under any other funding program. The program is administered by Regional Arts NSW, with a guaranteed turnaround for decisions of 48 hours (hence the name, ‘Quicks’). Applications for grants of up to $1,000 under the annual program opened in July, with grants made on a first come, first served basis.

Regional Arts NSW has awarded a total of thirty five Quick Turnaround grants for 2003–2004 to twenty two groups and thirteen individuals for a wide range of projects and professional development activities including attendances at conferences and festivals, artist fees for workshops and other arts project development, in a wide range of art forms.

The Northern Rivers is the most represented in the list of successful
grant applications, with twelve applicants benefiting from funding in that region. There were also seven successful applicants from the Mid North Coast, six from the Far West region, two each from the Eastern Riverina, Orana and South East regions, and one each from Albury Wodonga, the Central West and the North West regions.

The unprecedented demand for this unique grants program lends strong support to arguments for the need to ensure the continuation of the Regional Arts Fund (see story, here).