The Chinchilla Race Club will benefit from a $60,000 grant for the completion of their Public Facility Shade Enhancement Project.
The funds come thanks to the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal’s Tackling Tough Times Together Grant, and will be put towards the construction of five shade sail structures, aimed to increase the community comfort for on-course patrons.
The Tackling Tough Times Together Grant is a drought support grant available for a range of grassroots, community-led initiatives that directly and clearly benefit local communities.
Speaking on the importance of the grant, Chinchilla Race Club Secretary Kirtie Mitchell said the infrastructure will add immeasurable benefit to the club’s facilities going forward.
“We applied for the grant on the back of feedback from our members and the community, and we are trying to future-proof the club by upgrading our facilities where possible,” Mitchell said.
“Because of where we are situated, we were getting a lot of rain and a lot of heat so we looked at it from a health and safety viewpoint as well.”
There will be two shades set up over the bar and its viewing areas, as well as a structure for the mounting yard and over the children’s playground.
“The shades will make the whole area more family-friendly, and allow us to hold a number of private functions and weddings as well – it means we can utilise the space we have far better than we previously could,” Mitchell said.
The structure is on track to be delivered by the end of October, in time for the club’s next race day on November 7.
“We’ve had some tough times with the draught being in a rural area, so it means everything to the club to receive this grant,” Mitchell said.
“I really think it’s going to draw the community back out to the club and really reinvigorate people and hopefully bring in some new memberships.
“I want to thank Tackling Tough Times Together, everyone on our committee who took the time to help pull our application together, all of our sponsors, our members who supported us throughout, and the community for their feedback.
“It’s a fantastic outcome for our club and I would absolutely encourage other race clubs to apply.”
Applications for the next round of the Tackling Tough Times Together Grant are now open, and must fall under one of the below branches of the Project Activity Evaluation Tree:
- Building Community Resilience;
- Developing Organisational Resilience and Capacity;
- Enhancing Environmental Sustainability;
- Fostering Cultural Vibrancy;
- Lifelong Education and Training;
- Economic Strength or;
- Improving Community Health and Social Wellbeing.
Round 19 of the scheme will close October 22 for the first 2 tiers of funding of up to $20,000 and $60,000.
For clubs looking to apply for $150,000 or more, applications must be submitted by December 15 as a part of Round 20.
Click here to apply for the Tackling Tough Times Together Grant and to find out more information.