Membership Activity Grant 2026-27

Welcome to the Merri-bek City Councils online grant application service, powered by SmartyGrants.

Membership Activity Grants 
Aims to support initiatives that help residents participate in community life and improve personal outcomes. Read the Guidelines for more information. Help Sheets Preparing your application and completing the budget can be viewed on Councils website. Contact us for any questions. communitygrants@merri-bek.vic.gov.au

Use this application form to apply for the following category: 
  • Membership Activity Grant - for groups (up to $3,000) 

Read the Guidelines for more information about this category. 

Membership Activity - for Groups
Supports up to $3,000 per year for 3 years This funding aims to help with ongoing costs for community groups that meet regularly to support the health and wellbeing of its members.

Funding will be prioritised for activities which support for residents from at least one of these communities:
   • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities,
   • Migrant and refugee communities
   • People with disability,
   • Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual plus, Transgender and gender diverse, Intersex, Queer, Asexual and Aromantic communities (LGBTIQA+),
   • Women,
   • Youth,
   • Seniors
   • Children.

Community groups must:
• Meet regularly within the Merri-bek municipality;
• Address Community Grants Objectives and Funding Priorities;
• Provide activities to members that support health and wellbeing, such as social or active programs;
• Provide evidence of membership and that it meets in Merri-bek.
• Must complete an acquittal every year to show how the organisation is operating.

Amounts groups can receive each year:
   • $2,000 for groups with up to 20 members ($1,500 if receiving other Council support)
   • $2,500 for groups with 21 to 60 members ($2,000 if receiving other Council support)
   • $3,000 for groups with over 60 members  ($2,500 if receiving other Council support).

Assessment timelines
~ The timeline for this grant is approx 4-6 weeks, once submitted and officers are comfortable all supporting documentation is appropriate for the application and funds requested, the application will be assessed against the criteria, and you will receive notification of the outcome.
~ If approved for funding support, you will be required to submit a funding agreement. Payment made in accordance with Council's payment terms, which is usually within 14 days of submitting the agreement
~ You may begin anywhere in this application form. Please ensure you save as you go.
~ For queries about eligibility, guidelines or questions in the form, please contact us on 9240 1111 during business hours or email the grants officer - communitygrants@merri-bek.vic.gov.au  and quote your application number.

IMPORTANT: Please read information below to assist you in completing your application online.

If you need help using this form, download the Help Guide for Applicants or check out Applicant FAQ's.

Navigating through the form

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Saving a draft

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You can also download any form, whether draft or completed, as a PDF. In the ‘My Submissions’ area of your account click on the submission number, then click the red PDF icon beside the form you want to download or, while filling out the form, click on the ‘Download PDF' button located at the top and bottom of the last page (’Review and Submit').

Submitting your form

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Once you have reviewed your form and corrected any errors you can submit it by clicking on the Submit button at the top or bottom of the screen.

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You can return to the My Submissions page of your account to view the submission status of the form.

Attachments

You may need to upload/submit attachments to support your application. This is very simple but requires you to have the documents saved on your computer, or on a storage device.

You need to allow enough time for each file to upload before trying to attach another file. Files can be up to 25MB each; however, we do recommend trying to keep files to a maximum of 5MB – the larger the file, the longer the upload time.

Collaborating on your submission

A number of people can collaborate on a submission as long as

1. you have created a SmartyFile Organisation and
2. only one person is working on the form at a time.

Ensure you save as you go.

Session time-out warning

For security reasons, your login session will expire after 20 minutes of inactivity. Saving your form or navigating to another page resets the timer.

You’ll be prompted 90 seconds before your session expires, with the option to extend your session or log out. If you don’t respond to the prompt in time, your form will be automatically saved before your session ends.

Even so, we recommend saving your form regularly – especially when working on longer responses – to avoid losing any work.