Deadline: 4-Mar-25
The Community Broadcasting Foundation is requesting applications for its Content Grant Program to increase and diversify the voices heard in Australian media by supporting the creation of compelling content.
For producers, their Content grants help them tell important stories using creativity and perspectives not covered by mainstream media outlets. Their grants also provide them with opportunities for skills development and career advancement. For audiences, the stories brought to life in community media entertain, inform and educate. They can also be life changing – enhancing health and wellbeing by creating connection.
And for stations, Content grants provide the opportunity to broadcast new compelling content ensuring audience retention and engagement and providing an attractive proposition for sponsors.
Objectives
- The objectives of the Content grants are to support community media organisations to:
- Increase community participation and engagement in community media that is inclusive and accessible to all
- Amplify and reflect the voices, cultures and languages of Australia’s diverse communities
- Build audiences by supporting creativity, excellence and innovation in community media content production
- Expand partnerships to explore new forms of storytelling across topics and platforms
Focus Areas
- They support the production of audio, video and related content that is distributed by Australian community media organisations. They invest in the creation of content that:
- Improves access and equity, enhancing the diversity of programming choices for audiences.
- Contributes to a strong democracy by broadening the range of opinions, ideas and perspectives expressed.
- Is an active expression of diverse stories, arts and cultures.
- Advances the reputation of community media as a source of creative and compelling content including the content that showcases new ideas and innovative approaches to content creation.
- Is broadcast either locally or shared with broader audiences via multiple community stations, developing the sector’s national profile.
- Demonstrates multi-platform engagement, such as digital and/or analogue radio, digital TV, podcasts, vodcasts, social media, web-series, live events, art forms and online distribution is guided by the principles of self-representation, i.e. people telling their own stories. These stories feature perspectives and aspects of culture not adequately represented in other media, such as:
- Local stories by local content makers valued by local communities.
- Alternative views and community-focused content.
- Under-represented producers and/or participants in Australian media including women, young people, culturally and linguistically diverse people, people living in poverty, LGBTIQ+ people, and people with a disability.
- Projects that acknowledge the unique status of First Nations people as First Australians, and include people from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities as the drivers of projects; and adhere to the CBF First Nations Engagement Protocols.
Funding Information
- Content relevant to Ethnic communities
- Round 1: $1,330,795
- Content relevant to First Nations communities
- Round 1: $856,060
- RPH Programming relevant to people with a print disability
- Round 1: $92,590
- Other content
- Round 1: $1,170,585
Eligible Costs
- Content development and distribution costs directly associated with the production and delivery of a specific program or project, such as:
- Project specific wage support: presenters, producers, cast, crew, project management, technicians
- Program specific needs: research materials, music and copyright purchases, relevant project-specific insurance such as defamation insurance for a special broadcast event, travel, marketing, development resources, TV studio hire, venue hire, small equipment, equipment hire, catering, materials for set design, costumes and props, make-up, interpreters, subtitles and captioning, program specific training, phone/internet costs, program website costs, production support and facilities
- Organisational support: administration costs for funded projects (up to $1,000 per project).
Ineligible Costs
- Community TV Pilot programs.
- Ongoing specialist program costs (First Nations, Ethnic, RPH programs), which should be applied for using a Specialist Radio Programming application form.
- Operational costs, training, or equipment which can be applied for as part of a Development & Operations grant application.
- Subsidies for station salary positions.
- Costs incurred prior to 1 July 2025.
- Overseas travel.
- Costs that could be met by an organisation’s in-kind contribution, such as studio hire fees and administrative staff work time.
- Contingency costs.
- For organisations receiving Sector Investment funding, activities that address agreed outcomes as per a current Sector Investment grant agreement or address proposed outcomes in a current Sector Investment funding application.
Eligibility Criteria
- You can apply for a Content grant if you are a current or prospective community broadcaster who is producing content for broadcast by a recognised community media organisation.
- While the application process is open to any producer, the grant itself must be managed by one eligible organisation. They recommend you negotiate an auspice agreement with any auspice organisation you work with.
- Eligible organisations include:
- A community radio station
- A community television station
- An incorporated non-profit community media sector organisation
- A Remote Indigenous Media Organisation or Remote Indigenous Broadcasting Service
- An incorporated not-for-profit organisation producing content or auspicing on behalf of an independent producer with an agreement for distribution via a recognised community media organisation.
- Incorporated not for profit organisations are eligible where they are producing content or auspicing on behalf of an independent producer (the producer must have a distribution agreement with a recognised community media organisation).
Assessment Criteria
- Application prepared and submitted
- Application processed by Grants Support Team to ensure eligibility criteria are met
- Application assessed against the criteria listed below by at least five assessors, including at least three members of their Grant Assessor Team and two members of the Content Grants Advisory Committee (CGAC)
- CGAC will consider priority weightings applied to average score, scores and comments, and make funding recommendations to their Board of Directors
- Funding allocations finalised by their Board of Directors
- Grants Support Team advises applicants of funding decisions
Application Requirements
- Your entire Content Grant application will be considered by the CGAC on the basis of:
- Aggregated assessment scores, including priority weightings to be applied to regional and remote based organisations, excluding Remote Indigenous Media Organisations, (+ 5%) and organisations with an average annual income (over the past 3 years) less than $100,000 (+5%) (concurrent loadings may apply)
- The number of projects funded per organisation
- The total funding amount funded per organisation
- Balancing funding support between new ideas and established projects
- The total funding available in each round
- A balance of regional, remote, suburban and metropolitan organisations
- A balance across all states and territories
- A balance between local, multi-station and a national focus
- A balance of audio, video and online platforms
- A balance across a mix of communities of interest
For more information, visit CBF.