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City of Melbourne at night

Dusk till Dawn Activation Grants Program

  • Applications Open: until 16 December, 2022
  • Grants: $10,000 – $100,000

As part of the $200 million to support the reactivation of Melbourne city at night is the $2 million Dusk til’ Dawn Activation Grants Program which provides grants of up to $100,000 for after-dark activities in the city of Melbourne.

The D2D Program (Dusk till Dawn) is intended to encourage organisations and businesses to boost economic activity and provide activations through entertaining and interactive activities that invites and attracts people to the location that is targeted by the activation.

Key Requirements

Support Material

Supporting material is an important part of the application process and are reviewed as part of the process.

Applicants should consider the quality of support material over quantity, by only including material that is relevant and strengthens their proposal.

Support Material should include:

  • Certificate of Currency (a minimum $20 million public liability insurance is required)
  • Certificate of incorporation or registration of business name
  • Skills and qualifications of key business personnel
  • Financial statements (including Budget, P&L, Cash Flow and Balance sheets) including evidence of other funds required to deliver the activation
  • Examples of marketing, PR or other evidence to support your application.

What is eligible for funding?

The Dusk till Dawn Activation Grants Program has a total funding pool of $2 million. Every proposal is eligible for up to $100,000 when they meet the below key principles:

  • Proposals can be for the implementation of free or ticketed activations that will increase public and private realm activity and drive visitation to the City of Melbourne
  • Applications that involve more than one business collaborating to achieve delivery of proposed activation.
  • Applications that have an acceptable level of investment to be put forward by the applicant. I.e. not rely 100 per cent on Council funding to deliver.

What companies are eligible for funding?

Applicants to the Dusk till Dawn Activation Grants Program (D2D) must meet the following eligibility:

  • Have a valid Australian Business Number (ABN)
  • Currently have or can obtain current public liability and professional indemnity insurance policies
  • Hold all relevant permits such as; liquor licensing, food safety permits, outdoor events.

Is this grant competitive or entitlement based?

Competitive. Your application will be assessed among other applications by a judging panel.

How can I increase my chances of winning this grant?

By engaging an accredited government grants consultant, such as Avant Group.

Competitive grants often require significant business case development and project analysis to support the application, this may include detailed presentations supporting the project’s merit, projected sales, cost-benefit analysis and more.

As part of your engagement with Avant Group, your account manager will assess the required documents and will provide the following as needed to support your grant submission.

Grant application writeup including a detailed presentation illustrating how the grant funding will contribute to your project, how the funding will contribute to the project’s budget, a project milestone plan, delivery timeline, impact on employment if applicable and a breakdown of the management and leadership team for the project

  • Industry analysis presentation
  • Competitor Analysis Presentation
  • Marketing and Sales Analysis Presentation
  • 3-5 year Cashflow Forecast
  • 3-5 year Balance Sheet Forecast
  • Cost-Benefit Analysis of Grant Funding
  • End-to-end grant application including information collating, analysis and application writing
  • CAPEX (Capital Expenditure) cost-benefit analysis
  • Stakeholder relations and Risk Mitigation Plans
  • Any other relevant forecasting that will support your application

How can I get help with my application? Or know if I’m likely to win funding?

Avant Group offers a no-obligation assessment of your eligibility for funding and will assess your likelihood of a successful grant application.