From time to time the New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council receives applications for small grants from LALC members and the wider Aboriginal community.

In September 2007 NSWALC resolved to phase out the general public awareness grants component of the Community Benefits Scheme over the course of the 2007-08 financial year for a number of operational and financial reasons.

Chief among these was the fact that the financial cost of meeting small grants was being progressively shifted onto the self-funded land rights system through NSWALC.

NSWALC also found the cost and time of administering and acquitting the small amount of money available under its grants program to be prohibitive.

Council took the view that future grant applications should be channeled through Commonwealth and State Government department grant schemes which are, importantly, funded by all taxpayers.

There are a variety of grant schemes offered by the Commonwealth and State Governments that LALC Boards and members can access.

The Commonwealth offers hundreds of grant schemes from sport through to culture and heritage. Information on all of these is readily available through a GrantsLink website. The website can be found at www.grantslink.gov.au

The website helps you find funding available under a variety of grant programs "for individuals, businesses and communities to help you to develop solutions to local and national problems, fund ideas and initiatives or provide assistance in times of hardship."

It contains 56 links to a wide range of cultural and heritage grants and programs. These include such areas as the Community Heritage Grants (CHG) currently being offered by the National Library of Australia.

The CHG grants fund a variety of community, Aboriginal and multicultural groups with projects aimed at preserving and providing access to significant cultural heritage material. Grants of up to $15,000 are available for preservation projects and training through community based workshops. Information can be obtained at www.nla.gov.au/chg/

Numerous grant avenues are also available for sport and recreation through the Commonwealth Government.

The Australian Sports Commission provides a range of grants for individuals and organisations. Information on those can be obtained through its website at www.asf.org.au

There are also a large range of grant programmes funded by the New South Wales Government. The easiest way to access information on them is to visit the government website at www.nsw.gov.au and use the search facility for grants.

Financial assistance and grants are also available through NSW Sport and Recreation through the Department of the Arts, Sport and Recreation. These can be accessed through www.dsr.nsw.gov.au/grants/