Apply for a Multicultural Festivals and Events Grant

Wherever you live in Victoria, you are bound to be swept up in one of your local community’s fantastic festivals, cultural celebrations or events. Whether it’s the enchanting beauty of a traditional dance, a smorgasbord of delicious food or a lively street celebration, Victorians embrace and celebrate our multiculturalism every day.

Promoting cultural diversity and participation

One of the key roles of the Victorian Multicultural Commission is to encourage everyone to embrace our shared multicultural identity and expand our understanding of what it means to be a Victorian.

Cultural and religious events are often underpinned by a strong sense of tradition, offering the opportunity to preserve and share customs from generation to generation. Sharing these traditions with the wider Victorian community in turn promotes unity, understanding and harmony.

Funding to support festivals and events

Each year, we’re proud to support the Victorian Government in the assessment process for the Multicultural Festivals and Events Grants Program.

This year, the Victorian Government has announced more than $1.3 million in funding under the 2019-2020 Multicultural Festivals and Events Program. Grants available are up to $75,000.

We spoke to Alba Chliakhtine, Chair of Victorian Immigrant & Refugee Women's Coalition, about their experience with the Multicultural Festivals and Events Program.

For the last four years, the Victorian Immigrant & Refugee Women's Coalition (VIRWC), have received funding through the program to hold their Mosaic Festival ­– a celebration featuring the multicultural women of Victoria.

“Receiving funding through the grants program has allowed VIRWC to create an event that brings women from all multicultural backgrounds together – enabling them to network, collaborate and build up each other’s confidence, to be bolder,” said Ms Chliakhtine.

“Without the funding it would be very difficult to hold our event. The funding enables us to engage women from diverse backgrounds to assist us to bring the festival to life. This in turn contributes to longer-term outcomes for women and their families – building capability and the opportunity to gain new employability skills such as negotiation, project and event management,” she said.

Applications are now open

We strongly encourage all Victorian not-for-profit organisations holding cultural and religious events between January and June 2020 to apply for funding. Rural and regional organisations and smaller or emerging cultural or religious community groups are particularly encouraged to apply, as a portion of the funding is allocated specifically to these groups.

As this round of funding is for celebrations scheduled for January to June 2020, some of the events that could be funded include:

• Lunar New Year
• Holi
• Easter
• Purim
• Nowrouz
• Cultural Diversity Week
• Harmony Day
• Eid Al Fitr
• Refugee Week
• and many more…

All events need to be open and accessible to the wider Victorian community.

You can also contact the Community Grants team directly:

Phone: 1300 366 356

Email: multicultural-festivals.events@dpc.vic.gov.au(opens in a new window)

Image: Victorian Immigrant & Refugee Women's Coalition, Mosaic Festival.