Yarra Ranges Council’s 2026 Annual Grants were approved at the Tuesday 28 October council meeting, set to fund arts, heritage, festivals, events and community development projects next year.
A total of $574,535.15 will be distributed to not-for-profit community groups from the pool of $150,000 allocated for festivals and events, $150,000 for arts and heritage and $275,000 for community development.
Lyster Ward councillor Peter McIlwain said in previous years, prior to becoming a councillor, he had been the recipient of several arts grants and is a strong believer in them.
“I made a sound installation down in Selby, it ended up now having been presented five times in different locations, one of which was the Yering Station, which won that year the Yering Sculpture Award, which at the time was a major art prize,” he said.
“We see this again and again and again throughout these kinds of projects, where the value coming back to Council is far exceeding what we spend…we’re getting return on investment, that’s easily four times what we’re putting in here, and probably greater in many respects.
“Particularly if you look at the kind of community outcomes that we get, some of which money can’t buy.”
A total of 100 grant applications were received, totalling over $935,000, and 75 of those were approved. The 75 approved applications requested just over $704,000 in total, so funding for some projects may be short of what was requested.
Walling Ward councillor Len Cox said the grants program enables people or groups who may not be able to afford to do something really useful in the community.
“It enables them, with some funding from Council, to achieve something which is a benefit to the rest of the community and if you ever look through this list we’ve got, there’s some great programs there that are going to be funded through this,” he said.
“The people and the groups that are doing these are doing something which they believe in, which they know something about, and which the Council wouldn’t do as well if it were left to the Council to do and in fact, they may not do it at all.
“I think this is one of the best programs Council runs, and I’m very, very proud to be able to support it.”
Here is a list of grants that will support projects for the Valley or the broader Yarra Ranges community:
Roderick Price has received $10,000 for his Yarra Ranges Sound Ecology Project, a live electroacoustic project which will capture the soundscapes of 55 Yarra Ranges townships through hands-on audio workshops.
$10,000 for gama-dji / emerge from sleeping, led by Dalys Mithen, Mandy Nicholson and Gulsen Ozer, a collaborative music project will create a series of short part songs (rounds) in Woi Wurrung and English and teach them to community choirs around the Yarra Ranges.
$6000 has been provided to Each to support its Rural Rainbows social group for Yarra Ranges LGBTQIA+ young people and allies.
And across the Dandenong Ranges a variety of organisations have successfully secured the Yarra Ranges Council’s Annual Grants program to support arts, heritage, festivals, and community projects.
In Belgrave, $10,000 has been granted for an Artist’s Garden at Blacksmiths Way as part of the 2026 Belgrave Lantern Parade.
Access Health and Community received $7000 for Belgrave Play and Connect, a partnership with Belgravia Leisure and Belgrave Tennis Club which offers free and low-cost activities such as family fun days, scavenger hunts, and social sports.
The Belgrave Food Garden also received $3850 to continue its workshops, working bees, and educational talks that encourage sustainable living and community connection.
The Belgrave Tecoma Township Group was awarded $7600 for the Youth Way Project, which will have a laneway transformed with artwork created by young local talents in collaboration with professional artists.
The Dandenong Ranges Literary Festival will return in October 2026 with a $10,000 grant to celebrate local storytelling, while the Ranges Academy of Performing Arts will have $9410 to deliver the Lantern and Light International Children’s Film Festival – to showcase young filmmakers from across cultures.
Upwey broadcaster 3MDR received $8500 to stage live gigs, broadcasts, and community events throughout the year, including Belgrave Survival Day and the Anzac Day dawn service.
Not too far, in Selby, $10,000 has been awarded to Selby Community House for A Historical Book Project Selby, which will capture the township’s history through stories and photos from locals, they also received $8000 for its Selby Youth Group 2026 Hangout Haven, a program that offers weekly meetups and outdoor adventures to help tweens and teens build confidence and connection.
In addition, Selby Community House will deliver SelbyFest in 2026 thanks to a $15,000 grant.
The popular free festival at Minak Reserve will feature music, art, food stalls, and workshops celebrating inclusivity and the environment.
The Save the Dandenongs League has also received $9803 to preserve 70 years of its history through an archival project.
Creative projects are thriving across other parts of the hills too, in Upwey, the Upwey Community Group was granted $5706 for the Upwey Archies 2026 portrait exhibition, where artworks inspired by the Archibald Prize will fill shopfronts across the town.
The Upwey Men’s Shed received $5000 to expand its membership and wellbeing programs, including exercise and first aid sessions to support physical and mental health.
In Monbulk, the Monbulk and District Community Opportunities Working Group (MADCOW) secured $5000 for an Intergenerational Project, which will link Monbulk College students with residents at Sylvan Glades Retirement Village to build mutual learning and social connection.
Kalorama groups also received support, with the Kalorama Collective, they received $6000 for its Kalorama Picnic and Christmas Movie Night, the two free events designed to bring communities who are still recovering from the 2021 storm together.
The Friends of Kalorama Park received $5000 for its Nature Connection program, which blends outdoor education, music, and environmental restoration.
The Dandenong Ranges Orchestra will receive $3000 to deliver its 2026 Concert Series to support composers and conductors in the Dandenongs through mentorship and live performance.
Similarly, the Dandenong Ranges Music Council was awarded $5000 to run Music for All, which offers free instrument tuition and lends to children facing disadvantage or disability.
In Olinda, the Combined Probus Club of Olinda will use its $3200 grant to fund pilates classes, website improvements, and new memberships aimed at strengthening community engagement, while the Olinda Community Pool Association received $7950 for Sights and Sounds of Summer, a lively program of poolside music and movie events.
Other initiatives across the Ranges include Mountain Men Inc, which was awarded $6000 to continue its regular wellbeing programs for men; Foothills Community Care in Ferntree Gully, which received $10,000 for a creative arts project to support mothers and children; Tecoma Uniting Church’s Voices From The Edge gained $6450 to stage an arts event celebrating marginalised voices; and the Mountain Gate Opportunity Shop in Tecoma received $5000 to launch an inclusive volunteering program for people facing barriers to participation.
The Repower The Dandenongs team also secured $5000 to stage the Repower Festival 2026, which’s a family-friendly celebration of sustainability and renewable energy.
And finally, rounding out the list, artist Mikhaela Ebony Bourke received $9724 to produce a ten-part community podcast in partnership with 3MDR, aimed at highlighting stories of resilience, creativity, and collaboration across the Yarra Ranges.
