Grants and Sponsorship Explained

Sunshine Coast Council offers various funding opportunities for businesses and non for profit organisations. Funding may be available to support your event via a Major Event Sponsorship or a Community Grant.  

Major Events Sponsorship

Major Event Sponsorship priority is to ensure maximum return on investment is achieved from the funds available and supported applications will need to demonstrate a strong alignment to the outcomes of the Major Events Strategy.

Sunshine Coast Council’s strategic criteria for sponsoring Major Events predominately focuses on the economic impact return of the event which includes number of visitor nights from outside the region and the local spend by visitors.

To find out more about the sponsorship criteria and application dates head to Major Events Sponsorship Program | Sunshine Coast Council

Community events (non-sponsorship)

Council has funding available to support Not for Profit community events via a range of funding programs.

Major and Minor Grants

Major and Minor grants support not-for-profit organisations to deliver one-off projects, events, and activities with broad community benefit. Funding is available from $2,000 up to $15,000 for eligible organisations and community events.

Commemorative and Festive Event Grants

Funding is also available for community-led Christmas, New Year, Australia Day, Anzac Day, and Remembrance Day community events. Festive and Commemorative Events grants support costs associated with delivering the following community-led event types only:

• Festive Season Events - Christmas, New Year (31 December/1 January) and Australia Day
• Anzac Day and Remembrance Day.

Applications for funding for all other types of events can be submitted in the major or minor grant rounds under the category most relevant to the focus of the event.

Other Funding Opportunities

Additionally, there are many external funding opportunities to assist in delivering your event. We appreciate that any potential funding can be an important revenue stream for events. The Sunshine Coast Council Funding Finder – is a free program that allows you to search for available grants and funding for your events, businesses, and projects. Council’s Grants website has information on how grants work, application writing tips, workshops and other funding opportunities.