Woolgoolga SLSC understands the greatness of grants after securing over $400,000 to assist in building their new Surf Club.
The old Woolgoolga surf club was in a state of disrepair and was also located on the wrong side of the erosion control line. This meant the club house not only had to be rebuilt but also had to move.
President of Woolgoolga SLSC for 21 years, Les Pepper, recognised a new club would mean a significant cost. With assistance from Surf Life Saving NSW, the Federal Government, the local Minister for Lands and Surf Life Saving Australia’s Grant Seeking Unit (GSU) the new Woolgoolga SLSC is only 6 months away from opening.
“Without the GSU and the hard work of two of our retired members we couldn’t have done it,” said Les.
The GSU is a a national grant research and writing support unit for Surf Life Saving entities across Australia. The team at the GSU are professional grant writers and their service has benefited many clubs throughout the state.
Les found out what grants were available through memos and the SLSNSW website.
“We started to write the grants ourselves, it was a nightmare and they were very complicated. Then we decided to get in touch with the GSU team and spoke to them about what we wanted to do.
After contacting the GSU, the process was really straight forward. We filled in the forms and sent them to the GSU. They polished them up using the right lingo and then sent them back for us to review. When everyone was happy, the GSU made the submission on our behalf.”
Les said he would definitely recommend the GSU to other clubs, “The grant application process can be very confusing and the GSU removes the confusion. It’s the best thing you could ever do. You supply the information and they do all the hard work. Susan and her team are just great.”
More information on the GSU and Grants that are currently open are available on the SLSNSW website.
Thursday 22 August 2019