community services · Orange City Council
Orange council shifts small donations program to four rounds a year
Orange City Council has changed its Small Donations Program so community groups will apply in four rounds a year from 2026/27, with a governance review ordered at the same meeting.
Orange City Council has changed its Small Donations Program so community groups will apply in four rounds a year from 2026/27, after a 7-3 vote at its ordinary meeting on 17 February in Orange.
The council resolved that each round will allocate a quarter of the annual budgeted amount. It also asked staff to review Strategic Policy ST32, Donations & Grants.
The review is to implement the four-round structure and strengthen governance, consistency and value-for-money outcomes. Council wants it to cover assessment processes, reporting arrangements and clearer application standards.
Those standards include clearer expectations on the level of detail applicants must provide about community benefit and intended outcomes, plus cost estimates or quotes where reasonably available.
Council also wants assessment settings that support comparable and efficient decision-making. And for cash funding requests outside chief executive officer delegation, up to the $2,500 category limit, applicants must address council directly on the benefits to the community before the application is determined.
The change ends the open-ended monthly style of applications and replaces it with fixed funding windows. Local groups will need to plan around council’s timetable from the 2026/27 financial year.
The donations motion was one of several business items considered in Orange on the night. Council also backed work on solar farm locations and controls in the Orange LGA, asked for a report on blue-green algae closures at Lake Canobolas and Gosling Creek Reserve, and supported a Sun Safety Expo in Orange in mid-2026 for World Skin Health Day.
Council also asked staff to work with Mr Mark Britt on a community-led and community-funded delivery model for the pump track project.
Cr Mallard declared a non-significant non-pecuniary interest in the solar farm item because he is an investor and member of a co-op that holds shares in a solar farm project in the area.
Staff will now implement the revised donations program and carry out the review. Council will also consider the pump track report, the transport recommendations and a deferred contract report at its 3 March 2026 meeting.
Reference minutes
Source: Orange City Council ordinary meeting minutes, 17 February 2026.
Key facts from the minutes
- Orange City Council amended the Small Donations Program on 17 February 2026.
- The program will run in four application rounds per financial year from 2026/27.
- Each round will allocate a quarter of the annual budgeted amount.
- Council asked for a review under Strategic Policy ST32, Donations & Grants.
- The review must address assessment processes, reporting, application standards and value-for-money outcomes.
- Applications for cash funding outside CEO delegation up to the $2,500 category limit must be put directly to council.
- Cr Mallard declared a non-significant non-pecuniary interest in the solar farm item.
Why it matters
- Local clubs, charities and other community groups will have to apply on a fixed council timetable instead of monthly. The new review also adds more detail to the way small grants are assessed and handled.