Business Support Grants of up to $5,000

Grants of up to $5,000 are available.

Banyule Council welcomes proposals from existing businesses that:

• assists them with moving online to sell products and/or services
• opens them to new markets
• increases brand awareness for business through
• innovative marketing initiatives that address COVID-19 impacts.

Examples of costs that Council will consider are:

• website design and development
• e-commerce platforms
• digital marketing and promotion
• purchasing of hardware and software
• cost of new packaging
• cost of online learning or mentoring to develop e-commerce skills
• online content development (web pages, mobile apps, audio and visual media)
• purchasing of relevant equipment and shop fit-outs
• branding development and implementation
• audio or visual media

Banyule Council welcomes proposals from new businesses to assist them to establish in Banyule.

Examples of costs that Council will consider are:

• brand development and marketing
• website design and development
• purchasing of hardware and software
• cost of equipment and packaging
• audio or visual media

Business Coaching and Development Grants of up to $2,500

Grants to encourage business growth and resilience through coaching, training and development

Costs associated with:

• Mentoring/coaching
• Business and strategic planning
• Marketing strategy development (i.e. branding strategies, social media/digital strategies, market research)
• Training and development courses/workshops

1. Read the COVID-19 Business Grants Guidelines – Round4 to ensure you are eligible.
2. Come up with a project idea in line with the criteria set out in the guidelines.
3. Contact an Economic Development Officer to discuss your project idea. To call us: phone 9433 7763. If you’d prefer to email: business@banyule.vic.gov.au. Only applicants who have discussed their request for funding will be eligible to apply.
4. Complete your application on SmartyGrants attaching your quote/s.
5. Submit your application.

Applications are now open and will close 11:59PM Thursday 6 May 2021

In this grant round businesses can only apply for one of the grants on offer. Unsuccessful applicants can reapply in future funding rounds. Eligible businesses can apply online at Smarty Grants.   

Applicants will be notified towards the end of June 2021

To be eligible to receive a COVID-19 Business Grant, applicants must:

• Own a business in Banyule.
• Hold a valid Australian Business Number (ABN).
• Employ 20 or fewer staff.
• Have all appropriate insurances, licences and permits to undertake the activity or operate the equipment funded by this project.
• Demonstrate market readiness for a new product/service.
• Not be subject to any legal impediment, including bankruptcy or liquidation.
• Agree to be listed as a business grant recipient on the Banyule Council and Banyule Business website with the potential to be promoted on social media (prior approval will be sought).

Banyule Council will not consider applications from:

• Applicants who have not contacted an Economic Development Officer to discuss their project idea before submitting their application.
• An employee of Banyule Council.
• An employee of Australian and local government agencies.
• Political organisations and trader associations.
• Community groups including schools and community organisations. (Please refer to Community grants available on the Banyule Council website).
• Unincorporated associations and branches.
• Businesses that have an adverse effect on public health, safety, the environment or heritage.
• Businesses that have not satisfactorily acquitted a previous Banyule Council grant or has existing funds owing to Banyule Council, such as rates.
• Businesses that have been a past recipient of a Small Business Grant or a COVID-19 Business Grant

Funding will not be provided for:

• Expenses that are considered ongoing costs to run the business such as rent, utilities and routine maintenance.
• Wages
• The purchase of buildings or property extensions.
• Personal expenses such as mobile phones (iPhones, Samsungs etc).
• Servicing creditors or personal debts.
• Annual business tax and routine accounting services.
• Retrospective funding for products/services.

• A Project Plan that describes resourcing, timelines, budget and evaluation. You may use your own format or download the Project Plan template here and attach it once completed.
• 2 x quotes for each item in your project
• For businesses that existed prior to 23 March 20202: financial documents demonstrating financial impacts of COVID-19 on the business i.e. Profit Loss Statement.
• For new businesses operating post 23 March 2020: financial documents demonstrating financial viability i.e. cash flow summary, balance sheet.

All applicants MUST contact an Economic Development Officer before submitting their application to discuss their project idea.

To call us: phone 9433 7763

If you’d prefer to email:  business@banyule.vic.gov.au.

Applicants are required to include quotes for all intended purchases and services. Quotes can be written, scanned images from catalogues or on-line stores, or a screenshot from a website and should be attached in your online application.

Business Support Grants – two quotes/estimates of expenses are required.

Business Coaching and Development Grants – one quote/estimate is required from a qualified consultant

For more information in relation to grants available for not for profit, please visit our community grants web page

For a list of service providers in Banyule visit www.rediscoverlocal.com.au 

Yes, there will another round of grants in the next financial year.

To view all the file formats you can upload into your application, click on this link.

The Economic Development Team want each applicant to submit the best application they can. As such we have documented below some common reasons why people and unsuccessful and suggestions to improve your chances of success.

1. Applicant fails to contact the Economic Development Team to discuss their project idea.

This is a requirement of each grant and if you have been unsuccessful applicant in a previous round you are still required to contact the Economic Development Team to discuss your project prior to submitting your Round 4 application. By contacting the Economic Development Team, we can review your previous application and provide guidance on where you scored lowly and suggest ways to improve your application.

2. The application lacks sufficient detail to demonstrate to the Advisory Panel what you are seeking grant funding for and how it meets the grant criteria.

Your grant application needs to illustrate to the Panel the assistance your seeking, how it meets the grant criteria and the benefits of funding your application over another business. You need to clearly outline:

• What your equipment/services you are seeking the grant funding for and why they are needed
• How your project will assist you to respond to the impacts of COVID-19
• Your project objectives and how you measure them

For example, if you are seeking grant funding for SEO services to improve your website’s visibility on search engines:

Have someone else read your application prior to submitting the application to ensure it is clear on what you asking Council funding for and that it is aligns as strongly as possible with the grant criteria.

3. The applicant does not provide the requested documentation.

As part of the grant application you MUST provide the below supporting documentation. Failure to provide these documents may result in your application being deemed incomplete and ineligible or scoring lowly with the Panel.

 4. A budget that doesn’t make sense or does not match supporting quotes.

Your budget should be itemised and each product or service you are seeking grant funding for must be listed. The Panel should be able to match each budget item to the preferred quote. If your total project budget is greater than the grant amount demonstrate how the shortfall will be funded. An example of a completed budget is below:

If you need to obtain a product or service from an international supplier and the quote is not in AUD you need to state the foreign exchange rate used to calculated your AUD costings.

5. Applying for services or products that have already been received/completed and paid.

The grant cannot be used to retrospectively fund the purchase of equipment or services rendered. If your project has already commenced, you will need to demonstrate that you are implementing it in a phases and that the phase for which you are requesting funding support has not commenced, and the suppliers have not been paid for services/equipment requested.

To encourage accessibility and innovation, applicants have the option of uploading a video or audio  file to respond to questions in Criteria 1.  Applicants can therefore choose to either complete a traditional written response to Criteria 1 or select to upload a video or audio file (such as an mp4 file) or copy a link (ie YouTube or Google Drive) in their application form.

Local business Nourishing Media in Greensborough helped us put together this video that explains what you should be thinking about when submitting a video application. Take a look.

How do I upload a video?

Using iPhone and YouTube

Note you can upload a video to YouTube and alter the settings so that it will only be visible to those with a link.

First you must create a YouTube Channel if you don’t already have one.

Read these simple instructions to create your YouTube Channel here

Once you have created your channel:

• • Open your YouTube Channel account
  • Click on content in the menu to the left of the screen
  • Click on upload videos
  • Click on select files or drag and drop your saved video file
  • Update the audience
  • Click Next
  • Click Next
  • Make your video visible to those with a link by checking the Unlisted box
  • Click Save
  • Copy the video link
  • Paste into your Smarty Grants Application