Grant update and help required

Grant update and help required

Hello folks,

We are moving along nicely with the $100k grant for the next phase of the Parklands upgrade which is a novice trail, skills area and 2 flow trails (all on the highway side of the park) but we need some help with the following points.

“Community Engagement” (We need letters of support)
The grant applications require us to consult with the relevant community groups, businesses and individuals and get letters of support saying they endorse this Parklands project and why. I’ve already sent emails to schools, scout groups, Rotary, Sunshine Coast tourism and Airport and the Nambour business alliance asking for their support. So if anyone has any ideas or knows of someone who would write a letter of support then let us know or get them to send the letter to info@bushrangers.org.

“Co-contribution” (We need money or material/service donations)
The grants require us to co-contribute to the grant so to get the full $100k grant we need to contribute $25k. Contributions do not have to be in cash but can be “in-kind” contribution such as donating professional services or materials. It use to be that us volunteering our time and labour to trail care was enough but now it has to be “professional” labour so unless you are a professional trail-builder we can’t count that time/labour anymore.

This is what we are doing so far

• Applying for a smaller local council grant which will satisfy the co-contribution prerequisite of the state government grant
• We can now accept tax-deductible donations to the club through the Australian Sports Foundation (https://asf.org.au/organisation/bushrangers-mountain-bike-club/)
• We are looking into sourcing donations from QPWS and local business (e.g. quarries, timber yards, hardware shops, hire shops, individuals in relevant professions).
• Sponsorship (We’ll make another post about this point later as it may be a fundamental change to the club and we should talk about it).

So if you have any ideas or offers of help please let us know at info@bushrangers.org. We have until the end of August to get things sorted.