Regional Arts Development Fund

Support for Creativity and Culture

Through the Regional Arts Development Fund (RADF) program, Arts Queensland provides partnership investment that enables local councils across the State to deliver artistic outcomes, grow employment opportunities for creative and cultural workers, and engage communities to deliver on the priorities as described in Creative Together: 2020-2030

The Regional Arts Development Fund (RADF) Guidelines 2024/2025 gives you all the information you need on how to apply, what's eligible, and what comes next.

The 2024/2025 competitive rounds have now closed.

To preview the application form and apply to the Rolling Round please click here.

RADF Grant Categories

There are two RADF Grant Categories 2024-2025

Creative Projects (Rounds 1 and 2)

To support projects that improve arts and cultural outcomes in the Gympie region through the development/presentation of new arts or cultural projects and/or through increasing opportunities for participation in and/or appreciation of arts and culture within the Gympie region.
Maximum $8,000
Up to 80% of the total project costs.
Minimum applicant contribution 20% toward the total project costs.

Creative Capacity and Professional Development (Rolling Round)

To support arts organisations, artists, and arts workers to build on established creative and professional practice and/or share their skills and knowledge with the local arts and cultural community.
Maximum $2,500
No co-contribution required.
Creative Capacity and Professional Development funding can be used to attend or present professional development / workshops; attend conferences, events, or exhibitions where a professional development benefit can be demonstrated; or other capacity building or professional development activities.

Key dates

We appreciate that preparations for Tropical Cyclone Alfred have impacted many of us this week. Consequently, the deadline for Community Grant and RADF applications has been extended by one week. The closing date for Community Grants and Regional Arts Development Fund applications is now midnight Sunday 16 March.

Application round	Opens	Closes	Outcome advised by:
Round one	5 August 2024	15 September 2024	31 October 2024*
Round two	27 January 2025	Updated: 16 March 2025	30 April 2025*
Rolling Round	5 August 2024	30 June 2025 or when funds expended	Up to 6 weeks after application receipt**

* Notification of application outcome may change depending on Council meeting dates

** Applications will be assessed in the first week of every month therefore timeframe of notification of outcome will vary depending on application date.

Who can apply?

An incorporated not-for-profit community organisation.
Applicants with an auspice arrangement with an organisation as above.
Businesses or enterprises that provide creative or cultural services.
Individuals over 18 years of age (applicants under 18 years of age must nominate an auspice organisation to administer the grant on their behalf).

In addition, applicants must:

Hold $20M public liability insurnace and other forms of insurance relevant to the project (E.g Volunteers Insurance Workers Compensation Insurance.
Have no outstanding debt with Council .
Have acquitted any previous Council Grants within the approvl acquittal timeframes.

What projects are eligible for RADF funding?

Projects must:

Be based in, or provide direct benefit to, the Gympie Region.
Employ at least one profressional artist or cultural worker, whether emerging or established (Creative Profressional Development projects with a personal development outcome may instead be delivered by a profressional artisit or cultural worker).
Have a creative and developmental outcome.
Not have commenced or occured before the notification date of the funding round.

Assessment Criteria

Projects must:

Respond to one or more of the Strategic Outcomes as set out in Council's Arts and Cultural Strategy (2023-2028).

First Nations Arts and Culture is Recognised, Celebrated, and Embraced.
Our Local Creative and Cultural Sector is Valued and Thriving
Our Community is Actively Engaged as Participants, Advocates and Co-creators
Our Places and Spaces are Buzzing with Creative Activation
Our Regional Identities and Diverse Natural, Built, and Cultural Hertiage are Acknowledged, Protected and Shared

Respond to all the criteria provided by Arts Queensland:

High Quality
Strong Impact, and
Sustainable Value.

For more information on Arts Queensland Criteria please refer to the Arts Queensland website: Regional Arts Development Fund

While you’re there, check out the case studies from previous RADF projects for a better idea of what a RADF project can look like.

Refer to The Regional Arts Developement Fund (RADF) Guidelines 2024/2025 for more information on category specific assessment criteria.

Frequently Asked Questions

Eligible RADF applications are assessed by an external panel that includes stakeholders with expertise in arts and culture / the specific artform or category. This is important to remember when you are writing the application: the assessors won’t know you or your work. Be very careful to put everything about you and your project into your application and don’t assume the assessors have access to previous projects or applications.
Yes, you will need public liability insurance. This protects you and your business, as well as helping to show the RADF assessment committee that you are well organised and able to deliver your project. Public Liability Insurance doesn’t need to be expensive: here are three options you might like to look into as a starting point.
- Flying Arts Alliance Members + Affiliates - Flying Arts Alliance
- NAVA Insurance :: NAVA (visualarts.net.au)
- Duck for Cover Duck for Cover - Rates for Individuals.
The best grant applications demonstrate solid community support. A great way to do this is by asking a community organisation or a community leader to write you a letter of support. Tip: start early – don’t leave it to the last minute! You can send the community organisation/leader a draft letter to make it easier for them to support you, but make sure you give them at least two weeks to get it back to you.
This will largely depend on your project but remember that for the assessors a big part of assessing your grant application is figuring out if you have the planning, administrative and financial skills to support and deliver a project. You can demonstrate this with a good budget, up-to-date insurance, and showing your planning skills, with project plans and so on. Read the guidelines and any supporting documents carefully to make sure you are giving the assessors everything they need.

Some tips:
- Make sure your budget is well-planned and well-supported with quotes or payment rates etc. Don’t leave any vague bits. Remember you will need to acquit your grant against this budget so make it as accurate as you can.
- Make sure you have a good project / event plan that also clearly identifies if your project is one stage of a bigger project
- Make sure the file names for your support material clearly identify the name of the project and the type of support material.
- Make a list and be sure you attach everything that has been requested – insurance certificates, financial statements, quotes, etc.
- Make sure the key information is in your application form, and don’t hide essential information in your support documents – they are there for support only! Make it easy for the assessors to read your application, and don’t depend on them reading all your attachments.
Start by reading the grant guidelines and any documents the guidelines instruct you to read. This will tell you whether your project and the grant are a good match, but it also tells you what questions to answer, and what terms to use. You can find the RADF grant criteria in the 2024-2025 GRC Regional Arts Development Fund (RADF) Guidelines July 2024.

At the top of this page you can click on the link to preview the application form. If you follow this link you will find you can also download a preview of the form. Having a copy of the questions is a great resource when writing your application!

Next is your elevator pitch – work on a 30 second introduction to your project for someone who doesn’t know you or your work. Tell them the who, what, why, and how of your project – and why they should fund you. This will help you with describing your project in the application form..

Last but not least, it’s a good idea to attend a grant writing information session or contact your RADF Liaison officer. The Arts and Culture team offer one-on-one 30-minute information sessions to help you navigate through the process. You can email radf@gympie.qld.gov.au to register for a session now.
We understand that the development or delivery of projects may be impacted by a variety of factors both within and outside of the grant recipient’s control. When this happens the RADF Liaison officer is here to help. Contact the RADF liaison officer as soon as practicable to talk about seeking a variation or extension. Requests for variations must be made in advance and need to be approved by council in writing, so get in contact as soon as you can.
You will need to submit an outcome report (or acquittal) approximately 4 weeks after your project finish date. To make it easy to fill in the report make sure you keep good records in a way that you can access easily when you need to. So:
- Take good photos all the way through your project
- Track your spending and keep your receipts and invoices
- Keep records of all your funding acknowledgments
- Track attendance and participation, and gather feedback where you can
- Make sure you label all your files with your project name etc.
In your acquittal you will need to:
- Share your outcomes and your learnings
- Share what changed since your application
- Provide data about participation
- Provide evidence of all project costs
- Share photos of your project
- Provide evidence of how you acknowledged your funding
Writing a good outcome report isn’t just about contractual obligations. A good outcome report will help you to write a good case study which will make a great case for support for your next grant application.