{"id":106219,"date":"2025-07-20T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-19T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/?p=106219"},"modified":"2025-07-18T15:59:41","modified_gmt":"2025-07-18T05:59:41","slug":"sports-focus-plays-on-thanks-to-600000-state-grant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/news\/sports-focus-plays-on-thanks-to-600000-state-grant\/","title":{"rendered":"Sports Focus plays on thanks to $600,000 state grant"},"content":{"rendered":"

BENDIGO-based Sports Focus has received a $600,000 grant via the latest round of the State Government’s Together More Active program.<\/p>\n

The funding is part of over $8.1 million pledged statewide this time around.<\/p>\n

The not-for-profit organisation supports and empowers sporting clubs across the region to be more safe, inclusive and welcoming spaces for the broader community to enjoy sport and recreation.<\/p>\n

Sports Focus’ business manager of more than 20 years Stuart Craig said the Together More Active program is its core funding that allows them to “open our doors.”<\/p>\n

“As opposed to project-specific funding, this allows us to operate as a business,” he said.<\/p>\n

“In the current environment, though we acknowledge that the value diminishes as our costs continue to rise, we’ve taken the allocation as being a win.<\/p>\n

“It’s a testament to what we’ve been able to achieve as an organisation over our 42 years – the outcomes we’re able to achieve through our strong partnerships with local government, health agencies, education, justice and the likes.<\/p>\n

“(Our) reputation across the community, not just the community sports sector, but in the broader community has held us in really good stead.<\/p>\n

“When we put our submission together, it went with 21 letters of support from a range of organisations and included the signatures of our four local members.<\/p>\n

“That was a great endorsement of what we’ve been able to do.<\/p>\n

“We’re only eight strong, so we’re a small team that fights above its weight when it comes to (what) we’re able to achieve through the funding we receive.”<\/p>\n

Sports Focus memberships 2025\/26 are now open to eligible organisations and associations. The $66 annual fee offers a range of benefits including information, advice and support to community sporting club volunteers.<\/p>\n

To apply, visit the Sports Focus website<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BENDIGO-based Sports Focus has received a $600,000 grant via the latest round of the State Government’s Together More Active program. The funding is part of over $8.1 million pledged statewide this time around. The not-for-profit organisation supports and empowers sporting clubs across the region to be more safe, inclusive and welcoming spaces for the broader […]<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":187,"featured_media":106221,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-106219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSports Focus plays on thanks to $600,000 state grant - Bendigo Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Sports Focus secures $600K grant to support inclusive community sports in Bendigo, enhancing programs through statewide funding.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/news\/sports-focus-plays-on-thanks-to-600000-state-grant\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sports Focus plays on thanks to $600,000 state grant - 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