Successful grants

This is a selection of projects funded through our Content and Specialist Programming grants in Round 1, 2022/23.

Home Grown Season 1 (Channel 31 Melbourne and Adelaide)

Fruiterer Thanh Truong takes us on a cultural and culinary journey following locally grown produce – from the region where it is grown, to the market where it is sold, and finally into the hands of a local cook Each episode of Home Grown features a fruit or vegetable that’s the star of a traditional dish.

Roar! Youth Disability Radio (2CCC Coast FM 963)

Roar! Youth Disabiilty Radio is the only radio program on NSW’s Central Coast created for young people living with disabilities. This is a well-established program raising awareness, visibility and inclusivity for the disability in the region. It also provides a platform for youth living with disability to present and produce a radio program.

Business of Botanicals (First Nations Bush Foods and Botanicals Alliance Australia, Ngaarda Media and CAAMA)

In this podcast series, listeners will travel across the Australian landscape and explore First Nations cultures and people through a botanical lens. Business of Botanicals connects with Indigenous food producers, chefs, healers and consumers from all around Australia, sharing the stories of the bush food and medicinal plants they grow or use in their daily lives.

The Fling (NECCHi)

The Fling is a surrealist, dream-like short film about the search for love — when you’re a thing from another world. A mixed media, stop motion and pixelation animation that is an homage to John Carpenter’s 1982 film The Thing, but with a Queer twist. The film will be broadcast on Channel 31 Melbourne and Adelaide, and other online platforms.

Mackay football carnivals live broadcast (My105.9FM)

Two much-loved local sporting carnivals – the Mackay Indigenous Rugby League Carnival and the Kanaka Proud Cup – will be held in Mackay this year. My105.9FM will host the live broadcast and video stream for both events, ensuring these events reach the elderly and families who are unable to travel to the games.

Stories of Community Resilience (3ZZZ)

This anthology podcast series tells the stories of resilience in diverse communities using people’s own words and language. The project trains and supports new broadcasters to produce short episodes that are broadcast within current 3ZZZ and SYN programs. Episodes showcase how communities supported one another through the pandemic and other times of adversity.

Stick Together (3CR)

Australia’s only national radio program dedicated to union, social and workplace justice issues. In addition to a weekly wrap of union news, the Stick Together team bring you in-depth stories and interviews from the frontlines of the workers’ movement. The program, which is distributed nationally on the Community Radio Network, provides an important alternative to mainstream media reporting.

Tamworth Country Music Festival roundup  (3KND)

Melbourne’s Indigenous radio station 3knd is partnering up with remote radio stations to cover this ten-day country music festival over the next three years. Coverage will include outside broadcasts, social media and daily coverage, including the Golden Guitar Awards.

HERSTORY podcast: Season 2  (RTRFM and WA Women’s Hall of Fame)

HerStory showcases the unique achievements of women who have been inducted into the WA Women’s Hall of Fame. The series honours and remembers these women who have altered the course of WA history, and continue to shape the state today. This project also provides training, mentoring and support to young women working in community broadcasting.

See the grants allocations spreadsheet (Excel, 50KB). for the full list of grants allocated in Round 1, 2022/23.

This is a selection of projects funded through our Development & Operations grants in Round 1, 2022/23.

New studio space (Alive 90.5 FM)

Sydney station Alive 90.5 FM get lots of requests from the community to use their studio to create podcasts and make other recordings. Their two studios are in full use for live shows or pre-recordings. Converting an unused storage room into a third studio will give the station more flexibility to train new broadcasters in their monthly education and training programs, as well as being a community recording resource.

Production Coordinator salary subsidy (C44 Adelaide)

C44 are committed to providing genuine employment pathways for their First Nation interns. In the last year they have hosted eight interns who have worked on multiple projects including documentaries profiling First Nations and the chat show Mob Talks. With CBF funding, the station will recruit a First Nations part-time production coordinator.

Broadcasting workshop (Yolngu Radio)

Yolngu Radio will run a face-to-face broadcasting workshop for young adults living in the Northern Territory’s remote homelands. The station provides a critical service sharing news, emergency information, stories and entertainment to Yolngu people across the region. This project will teach participants how to use broadcasting equipment and encourage discussion about future career pathways.

Station relocation (3VYV Yarra Valley FM)

Yarra Vally FM have been leasing their single-studio station in a semi-rural location for the last 30 years. They now have the opportunity to relocate the studio to new premises at the Lions Club in Healesville. This will significantly reduce their rent and also provide space for a second studio where they can pre-record and post-produce community interviews. The location also means they will have greater access to local organisations and the community.

Salary subsidy for journalist (NIRS)

The National Indigenous Radio Service produces regular, high-quality news bulletins which are broadcast my many other First Nations community radio stations. They currently hire casual journalists which are expensive. With CBF funding they will be able to employ a full-time Indigenous journalist to source, produce and publish news stories, website articles, and daily news bulletins, and schedule news bulletins and programming.

Employ station manager (4TVR 92.3 FM)

The tableland Christian Radio Association will employ a station manager to deliver the station’s strategy which focuses on building community. The role will help build on previous investment in developing volunteers, increasing station presence through local outside broadcasts and expanding sponsorship opportunities.

Upgrade of Uninterruptable Power Supply (6SEN Capital 101.7 FM)

During a power failure Capital Community Radio relies on the Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS) configuration of batteries and controller to remain on air. The station’s Perth location near a national park and river leaves it exposed to natural disasters – events where the UPS is crucial. Despite regular maintenance, several batteries purchased 10 years ago will now be able to be replaced.

Studio mixer replacement (7DBS Coastal FM)

Coast FM’s current digital mixer, which has been in constant use for the last eight years, is no longer working. The station has investigated getting the unit fixed, but repairers have had difficulty finding replacement parts. CBF funding will help the station replace the mixer alleviating pressure on production in their Wynyard studios.

Community engagement and equipment upgrade (Triple BFM 89.1)

‘The Voice of the Barossa and Beyond’ will implement a series of community engagement strategies to raise the visibility of the station, grow the number of program presenters, increase station sponsorship, and diversify their program content so they are giving their listeners the best possible experience. They will also replace ageing technology.

See the grants allocations spreadsheet (Excel, 50KB). for the full list of grants allocated in Round 1, 2022/23.

Your feedback on our recent grant applicant survey helps us improve our processes and the way we support applicants.

In Round 1 2022/23, 35 people completed applicant feedback survey.

These are the key findings:

• The time taken to prepare and complete the application varied significantly. Most people spent between 1-12 hours on their application, but some took more than 20 hours.
• 86% of applicants found the application form very easy, easy or average.
• Respondents indicated that the Grants Support Team and resources provided were incredibly helpful in navigating the application process.
• A majority of applicants (57%) felt that we ask for the right amount of information.

Each grant round, our volunteer assessors look closely at your applications providing comments and scores.

We’ve listed some of the most common feedback about applications in our most recent grant round to help you when preparing future applications.

Content

Common areas where Content grant applications could be improved include:

• setting measures of success –  include the current situation and what you’d like it to look like/how it will have improved at the end of the funding period
• demonstrating the quality of content to be produced – include a demo, pilot or sample of a previous production that best demonstrates what you will produce
• identifying your audience – consider who your target audience is and how you can specifically create and promote your content to them
• providing a clear budget – this gives assessors important information so they understand what you need and are asking for
• demonstrating community support or need – explain how your project is meeting a need and/or has support from the community.

Development & Operations

Common areas where Development & Operations grant applications could be improved include:

• providing a budget breakdown –  list all costs associated with the project, particularly salary costs
• taking time to prepare your application – some applications appear to have been rushed and don’t include all the information we ask for
• demonstrating community need – clearly explain the community need or demand for your project
• demonstrating your commitment to the project – one way to show your commitment to your project is providing greater financial contribution from the station
• providing a fault log for equipment replacement – this clearly shows the need to replace equipment and better practice in equipment maintenance.

Common issues

The following issues, identified by our assessors in Round 1, were common in low scoring applications:

• lack of evidence to support application
• poor gender equity responses
• unclear budgets
• missing information
• applicants not addressing the questions.

Get in touch

Don’t forget, you can always ask for feedback on your application from your Grants Support Team member.

• Successful grants start with 5 key questions
• Top 10 tips for your CBF grant application
• Tips for preparing your yearly budget
• Other helpful CBF grant application resources
• Acknowledging the CBF in your promotions on websites, social, audio credits and publications.
• What does a grant assessor do?
• Other funding opportunities