Gannawarra Sporting Club Dinner a success
Published on 26 March 2025
Representatives from sporting clubs across the Gannawarra Shire gained an insight into how to write successful grant applications during an event held last night.
More than 60 people attended the second annual Gannawarra Sporting Club Dinner, held at the Koondrook Recreation Reserve.
Hosted by television host and sports presenter, Brihony Dawson, the evening doubled as the launch of the Gannawarra Fair Access Policy and provided the opportunity for community members to come together to connect and gain skills and knowledge to strengthen the Gannawarra sporting sector into the future.
“The Gannawarra is renowned for its sporting clubs and the role they play in supporting the health and wellbeing of our communities, so it was great to see many of these groups come together for this special networking event,” Gannawarra Shire Council Chief Executive Officer, Geoff Rollinson said.
ABOVE: The Gannawarra Sporting Club Dinner enabled representatives from numerous Gannawarra Shire-based clubs to socialise.
The highlight of the evening was a presentation from ‘The Grants Guy’, Keith Whelan, who provided practical and proactive advice for successful grant applications.
“With many clubs looking to improve their facilities in the coming years to meet modern standards and encourage participation to ensure sustainability, the need to seek grant funding for these projects will be pivotal,” Mr Rollinson said.
“Keith has provided the likes of Central Coast Mariners A-League soccer club, ACT Brumbies Super Rugby club and Cricket New South Wales with advice on developing successful grant applications, so for our clubs to receive this insight was valuable.”
The evening also marked the launch of the Gannawarra Fair Access Policy. Adopted in August 2024, the policy guides Council’s commitment to reduce the barriers women, girls and people of all cultures and socio-economic demographics experience in accessing community sports.
“Participation in community sport is often lower for women and girls and addressing barriers and creating inclusive opportunities are key to increasing participation rates,” Mr Rollinson said.
ABOVE: Gannawarra Sporting Club Dinner host, Brihony Dawson facilitated a question and answer panel featuring Sports Focus Community Development and Partnerships Lead, Laura Bradley (second from left), Sport and Recreation Victoria Regional Manager, Jesse Sherwood and The Grants Guy, Keith Whelan.
The evening wrapped up with a panel of industry professionals participating in a question-and-answer session about all things sport and recreation, grant funding and club support. This included a presentation from Sports Focus on the Gannawarra Sports Development Program which has supported three local clubs to develop action plans that address governance, sustainability, safety and club culture into the future.
“Having experts relating to grant writing, facility management and community partnerships in the room enabled club representatives the opportunity to ask questions that are of interest to their current needs,” Mr Rollinson said.
The Gannawarra Sporting Club Dinner was supported by Victorian and Commonwealth Governments under the Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA) as part of the Gannawarra Community Flood Recovery Program.
TOP: Sports Focus Community Development and Partnerships Lead, Laura Bradley (left), Mayor Garner Smith, Brihony Dawson, Keith Whelan and Sport and Recreation Victoria Regional Manager, Jesse Sherwood.