A spice retailer, an electric bike company and an indigenous career and employment agency are among seven local small businesses to share in almost $130,000 worth of small business grants from the City of Melbourne.

Lord Mayor Robert Doyle said the City of Melbourne’s Small Business Grants program had been the launching pad of many thriving small businesses in Melbourne.

“Small businesses form the backbone of our economy – an incredible 83 per cent of all businesses in the City of Melbourne are small businesses employing under 20 people,” the Lord Mayor said.

“In the 14 years that they have been on offer, we have seen how vital the City of Melbourne Small Business Grants have been in helping people establish and grow their own businesses.

“These grants also put Melbourne on the map as being a start-up capital for innovative business.” Recipients in this round are made up of three start-up, two business expansion, one export entry and one business support services grants.

The grant recipients include spice retailer:

Gewurzhaus who will receive $30,000 to start up a Lygon Street store where customers can smell, see and ‘self fill’ their selection of spices into specially crafted spice bags.

Nanocycle will receive $27,270 for a unique battery and motor control it has designed to convert bicycles into electric bikes. Nanocycle Pty Ltd has developed a technology which consists of a proprietary Battery Management System for Lithium Iron Phosphate DC battery packs. This patented technology has an inclination sensing power controller which allows substantial deduction in battery size and subsequent weight reduction up to four times comparable to competitive products.

Indigenous Careers and Employment, which has strong links with the indigenous community has been granted $23,063 to develop a website to connect indigenous candidates to potential employment opportunities.

Full list of recipients:

• Business for Millennium Development (B4MD) (Expansion) – $30,000
• Gewurzhaus (Start-up) – $30,000
• Indigenous Careers and Employment (Start-up) – $23,063
• Nanocycle  (Start-up) – $27,270
• Marekai Events (Expansion) – $5,500
• Melbourne General Practice Network (Business Support Services) – Up to $10,000
• Linus Information Security Solutions (Export) – $4,035

Future Melbourne (Economic Development and Knowledge City) Committee Chair, Councillor Carl Jetter said the grants were expected to help generate a turnover of more than $2.6m.  “The money we invest in grants doesn’t just benefit small business, but puts money back into our local economy,” Cr Jetter said.

These grants are also set to create a number of new employment opportunities over the next 12 months so as you can see the benefits of this funding are far-reaching.  “Small business grants also put Melbourne on the map as being a key business start-up capital for innovative business,” Cr Jetter said.

Applications for the 2010-11 Small Business Grants will open on 19 July and close on 13 August.

]]> http://www.government-grant.com.au/2010/07/small-business-grant-recipients-melb-2/feed/ 0 http://www.government-grant.com.au/2010/06/small-business-grant-recipients-melb/ http://www.government-grant.com.au/2010/06/small-business-grant-recipients-melb/#comments Mon, 31 May 2010 22:30:20 +0000 Government Grant Guru http://www.government-grant.com.au/?p=1567 The City of Melbourne has a Small Business Grants program with two rounds each year. They encourage and support businesses located or intending to locate in our municipality. The grants help new, creative and different business activities contribute to a thriving, competitive business environment.

The Small Business Grants program has several categories: start-up grants; business expansion; export; and business support. The City of Melbourne has announced some of the businesses that were successful in last year’s funding round:

• Melbourne Canine Hydrotherapy Centre received a start-up grant for establishing a new hydrotherapy centre in Melbourne for dogs. Hydrotherapy can be used to aid recovery from musculoskeletal surgery and provide non-weight bearing exercise for dogs with debilitating diseases such osteoarthritis.
• AGTC Consulting is a boutique consulting firm that specialises in the provision of biometrics technology services  to a broad range of companies, research institutions and industry associations. AGTC received a  grant to expand the business.
• Studio Periscope is a boutique studio that offers a range of integrated design solutions. This business received a small business grant in the business expansion category. With the aid of the grant Studio Periscope will create ‘The traveller’ – new packaging that enables one or two bottles of wine to be safely posted around Australia and overseas, potentially with the sender’s branding.
• Buro North received a grant in the business expansion category to expand their range of eco-friendly ‘Christmas trees’ to include outdoor versions. Buro North have given consideration to environmental impact in making the trees, through their choice of materials, minimising waste and using a low-energy production technique.
• Melbourne Private Tours provides high-end travel experiences and tours. In 2009 Melbourne Private Tours received a small business grant in the export category. They will be exporting two new tours: ‘Melbourne inside and out’ and ‘A city based on Indigenous produce’, aimed at the US, Hong Kong, Singapore, Italy, Spain and German markets.
• Moving Data received an export grant to deliver telephony and broadband services to the rural consumer. Moving Data is expanding its services to new markets including New Zealand and Vietnam.

City of Melbourne’s Community Services grants are open for projects taking place in 2011. Community Services grants are available to organisations seeking to undertake projects that align with Council priorities.

The City of Melbourne works to ensure Melbourne is a city for people – a great place for people to live in and visit. This means the City of Melbourne seeks to provide useful and affordable services, promotes the health and safety of its community, and creates opportunities for community members to enjoy city life together.

The City of Melbourne’s Community Services Grants program creates more opportunities for our community to join in and enjoy city life. Our grants support community organisations whose work contributes to Melbourne’s safety, health and happiness.

Community Services Grants are available to organisations with projects that support the City of Melbourne’s goals and objectives, as detailed in the Melbourne City Council Plan 2009-2013.

Eligibility

To be eligible for a Community Services Grant, you must:

• be a not-for-profit constituted body, such as an incorporated association, or be sponsored or auspiced by one
• be located within, or offer a project within, the City of Melbourne municipality, primarily for the City of Melbourne community (minimum of 20 per cent of the participants must be City of Melbourne residents).

Exclusions

Community Services Grants are not available for:

• commercial activities and organisations
• fundraising activities
• completion of an accredited course of study (except for organisation volunteers doing a course such as a food safety course)
• organisational operating costs such as funding for permanent staff members, insurance and utilities (only applicants to the Active
• Community Participation category can apply for operating costs)
• interstate or international travel costs
• projects that duplicate existing services and programs
• projects with a sole religious purpose
• applications submitted by an individual (unless auspiced by an organisation)
• competitions, prizes, and award exhibitions
• ongoing activities or projects that rely on recurrent City of Melbourne
  funding (except within the Active Community Participation category).

Assessment criteria

The City of Melbourne’s Community Services Grants program assessment panel will assess each application using the criteria outlined below. To give your application the best chance, ensure the information you include in your application ad

dresses these criteria.

What will the project achieve? (30 per cent weighting)

• Are the project’s aims and outcomes clearly outlined?
• Is the project well planned and achievable with clear timelines?
• Does the project strengthen the local community; build capacity of the organisation or local community members?
• How sustainable is the project? (Environmental sustainability, project
  sustainability and others as relevant)
• How is the project evaluated?

Does the project reflect City of Melbourne’s future directions? (20 per cent weighting)

• Does the project support the key directions outlined in City of Melbourne’s strategic documents or the themes identified in these guidelines?

• Does the project align with the Council Plan?

Community need (20 per cent weighting)

• Is there a clearly identified need for this project?
• Does the project fulfil this need? How is this project an effective response to the issue or need?
• Have local people, participants, members or service users been
  involved in identifying this need?

Access and equity (15 per cent weighting)

• Does the project target a particular sector of the community?
• Is the project and organisation accessible and inclusive?
• Does the project address issues of disadvantage?
• Does the project respond to special and unique circumstances?

Budget (15 per cent weighting)

• Does the budget reflect the scope of the project?
• Have other funding sources been identified?
• Is the project financially viable and demonstrate sound management?

Some grant categories include additional eligibility and assessment criteria. All applicants must address all relevant assessment criteria within their applications.

Essential attachments

Applicants must provide the following:

• proof of not-for-profit status such as an incorporation number
• a certificate of currency for public liability or other relevant insurance, or a risk assessment document identifying risks associated with their application and explaining how these risks will be managed.

To see the types of projects that have received funding in the past visit 2010 grant recipients.

Applications close on 25 June 2010

The Small Business Grants program provides financial assistance to small businesses currently located or intending to locate in the City of Melbourne.


Key objectives

The key objectives of the Small Business Grants program is to:

• increase diversity in the city by supporting the establishment of new and creative small businesses
• assist existing innovative businesses that are introducing innovative services or products as part of their expansion phase
• encourage and support businesses to enter and expand into new overseas markets (that is, export)
• support member-based organisations within the city.

Am I eligible for a small business grant?

• Are you located within the City of Melbourne boundaries or are you planning to relocate within the municipality?
• Do you have 20 or fewer employees?
• Do you have an Australian Business Number (ABN)?
• Does your proposal enhance the city’s reputation for innovation, business vitality and environmental sustainability?
• Does your proposal demonstrate solid market potential?
• Does your proposal create employment opportunities and increase the level of business investment?
• For exporters, does your proposal increase the overall value and volume of exports from the city?
• For member-based organisations, does your proposal deliver significant tangible outcomes for your members?
• Have you completed a marketing analysis and have you conducted a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis?
• For business expansion or export grants, do you have a complete, up-to-date set of financial statements?

Start-up grants

The start-up grants are designed to assist with the establishment of new and innovative small businesses that will increase the diversity of the city’s business community.

In addition to the general eligibility criteria, applicants in this category must also:

• be able to demonstrate ‘business readiness’ (that is, the product / service is financially viable and supported by a sound and comprehensive business plan)
• be able to commence the proposed business promptly following the approval of the grant.

Grants of up to $30,000 are available. Only one grant will be made to an eligible business.


What can I claim?

The start-up grant supports the following categories of expenditure directly related to establishing a business or as part of a business expansion process:

• the costs associated with improving the façade and fit-out of business premises
• the costs associated with the development or enhancement of a business website
• the costs associated with purchasing IT equipment for the operation of the new business or as part of the business expansion activity
• the costs associated with purchasing specialised equipment / software that is directly related to the operation of the new business or as part of the business expansion activity
• expenditure items that are not listed above but that can be demonstrated as significantly crucial for the start-up / expansion of a specialised business.
• General operational expenses including rent, utilities, training, marketing, networking and staff remuneration are not considered.

How are applications assessed?

Each application will be assessed against the Small business grants objectives and application criteria. An assessment report is prepared for consideration by an external independent review panel (IRP). The IRP will consider the conforming applications on a competitive and merit basis and make recommendations to specific council committee for approval. Applications that offer the most valuable contribution to the achievement of the program objectives will be offered grants.

Preference will be given to:

• a small business that is able to demonstrate ‘business readiness’
• a business that does not duplicate an existing activity / service currently available within the city
• a business that can demonstrate measurable economic contributions to be made on the achievement of the program’s objectives (that is, intended business investment, jobs creation and gross turnover)
• a business in the City of Melbourne’s key target industry sectors.

The City of Melbourne’s key target industry sectors are advanced manufacturing, biotechnology, finance and business services, environment services, creative industries, higher education, information and communication technologies, hospitality and retail.

Application forms will be available online from this date. Applications close at 5.30pm on 12 March 2010.

The key objectives of the Small Business Grants program is to:

• Increase diversity in the City by supporting the establishment of new and creative small businesses;
• Assist existing innovative businesses that are introducing innovative services/products as part of their expansion phase;
• Encourage and support businesses to enter and expand into new overseas markets (i.e. export); and
• Support member based organisations within the City.

Categories

There are four categories of grants:

• Start-up
• Business Expansion
• Export Entry
• Business Support Services

Grants of up to $30,000 are available under the Start-up and Business Expansion categories. Export entry grants are provided on a dollar-for-dollar basis of up to $10,000 for export initiatives. Business support groups (ie member-based organisations) are eligible to apply for a grant of up to $10,000 under the Business Support Services category.


Who can apply

Small businesses currently located or intending to locate in the City of Melbourne. Member-based organisations located within the City may be eligible to apply for a ‘business support services’ grant.


Applications open:  14 September 2009
Applications close:  23 October 2009