Available all year round, our Quick Response Grants are specifically designed to help community broadcasters to stay on air when the unexpected happens and also take advantage of valuable opportunities that may not coincide with our grant rounds.
The latest quick response grants include requests for support relocating a station, replacement of transmitters, repair a power pole and setting up core emergency back-up infrastructure.
todayscountry94one (2CCM) – station relocation
todayscountry94one is an award-winning country music community radio station located in Gosford on the central NSW coast. Last year their landlords told them they would need to find new premises for the station. 2CCM applied for support to relocate to their new studios which ended up being next door to the local seniors’ community radio station 2SNR Five-o-plus.
CBF Quick Response Grant: $30,000 helped with their relocation costs.
98.5 FM 4YOU – new transmitter
Rockhampton’s 4YOU is a popular local station broadcasting around the clock to the community living within a 100kms radius of this central Queensland town. In 2020, their transmitters were damaged in a severe storm. Unfortunately, their insurance didn’t cover the transmitter replacement and, as with most of the sector, their savings were severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Donations from the community allowed them to hire a temporary transmitter so they could continue broadcasting until they purchased a replacement.
CBF Quick Response Grant: $14,327 paid for a new transmitter.
92 River FM (2NCR North Coast Radio) – power pole repair
In early January this year, Essential Energy told Lismore-based 2NCR to urgently repair a private power pole at their transmitter site. Mandated under the Electricity Supply Act 1995, the work needed to be completed within a short timeframe. Despite being on the transmission site for over 30 years, it was the first time 2NCR were told the pole was their responsibility. The urgent nature of the work, and the fact that available funds were being used to carry out major repairs to their main broadcast console, put the station in a difficult situation.
CBF Quick Response Grant: $2,100 paid for an electrician to repair the pole.
ARDS Yolgnu Radio – rerouting signal during outages in remote areas
ARDS Yolgnu Radio is one of the key information sources for First Nations communities across North East Arnhem Land, Palmerston and Darwin. The station is also an emergency broadcaster for the region. Following two recent significant communication outages in region, the Northern Territory Government decided Yolngu Radio needed back-up options so they could keep broadcasting during emergencies. Yolgnu were asked to contribute to the cost of rerouting their signal as part of a larger government transmission upgrade project.
CBF Quick Response Grant: $24,749 provided matched funding to establish back-ups for their signal during emergencies.
Photo: Yolŋu Radio team Shani Martin and Andrew Grimes working on the Cyclone Trevor messages broadcast to remote areas of Arnhem Land in March 2020.