Victorian Government Community Shade Grants
Maybe you’ve heard it before, or maybe it’s new to you. Let’s take a look at the Victorian Governments Community Shade Grant Program and run over what you need to know.
Technishelter is proud to have been supporting and supplying marquees alongside Canopy Outdoor since the program was first established in 2015. Since the commencement of the first round, the Victorian Government has awarded 1,325 grants totalling 12 million dollars! That’s an incredible achievement of getting high quality shade to our local communities.
Why The Community Shade Grant Program Was Established
Did you know that Australia has one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world, with two out of three Australians being diagnosed by the age of 70. It’s the most common cancer diagnosed in Australia, and together with the hard work of SunSmart’s marketing campaign - Slip, Slop, Slap - and educating Australians, they’ve helped reduce the number of Australians being diagnosed.
In addition to SunSmart’s original campaign of Slip, Slop, Slap, they have now added a further two steps to the campaign, Seek and Slide.
Seek Shade - whether that’s natural shade or portable shade, and Slide On Sunglasses for eye protection. You can read more about it on the CancerVic website which has great resources.
To further assist the local communities within Victoria, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) administers the shade grant program with the aim of reducing the UV radiation in public spaces by increasing the shade available to local community groups, paired with additional sun protective items and practices.
Who Can Apply For The Community Shade Grants Program
The program is separated into two groups who are eligible to apply:
| Grant Type | Applicable For |
|---|---|
| Community Shade Grants | Community groups Sports clubs Scouts and guide groups Local councils Kindergartens Early childhood education and care services |
| School Shade Grants | All Victorian schools are eligible to apply |
Organisations must be not-for-profit and registered as either an incorporated association, company limited by guarantee, non-trading/non-distributing co-operative, Indigenous corporation or local government entity. These examples are not limited to the above, for further clarification contact health.vic.
What Is Available Within The Community Shade Grant Program
Depending on which grant program you are eligible for, the program provides funding for:
| New permanent shade Repair or replacement of existing permanent shade Natural shade Portable shade (where we come in!) Sun protective items |
Grants are available up to $25,000, being covered in 4 separate categories. So depending on the band you have chosen, you could have your new portable shade fully funded by the Victorian Government Community Shade Grant.
Portable shade are items such as marquees, umbrellas and tents. They are a great solution to many community groups who require flexible shade throughout the year and at different local community spaces.They are easy to use, easy to transport and reliable shade solutions to the Australian climate.
Should your group like to brand your portable shade, you can customise with your branding and logos at an additional cost, however please be aware that this is not funded by the community shade grant program.
Speak to our advisors about creating a separate quotation which once awarded a community shade grant, your organisation will need to self fund the customisation chosen.
When Is The Next Round Of Community Shade Grant Opening?
The Shade Grants Program Round 6 will open in mid-2021. You can enter your details on the Shade Grants Program website to register your interest when the next round is opening.
What a great time to get yourself educated on portable shade, we’ve got lots of easy reads, ranging from what you need to know before buying a marquee through to how to show your marquee some TLC to keep it in tip top condition.
Our hot tip - have a read of previous rounds applications to get an idea of what questions and information you will be required to submit. Nothing like using the 5 P’s (prior preparation prevents poor performance) to get the best head start in starting the discussion with your community group on how a portable shade will assist your group coming together in a safe environment.
How Can A Technishelter Marquee Help Your Community
Technishelter has been created around servicing our customers that demand the most life and performance from their marquees. The Circulex frame, NextUV material, and printing are all selected to customers that prioritize quality / longevity / strength over anything else.
All Technishelters come with the Brand Promises where we promise the shelter will keep you cool, you’ll stay dry, you’ll feel safe and just as importantly, you’ll look good. Ensuring that you and your community can enjoy more time connecting with each other than worrying about your shelter.
We strongly believe that we as a community and as a collective can make change, that’s why we are so dedicated to continued research and development of our Technishelters.
What You Should Know About Portable Shade Fabrics - UPF vs UVE
You’ve probably heard of UPF50+ before, it's very standard when referring to sunscreen and clothing, and even within the portable shade industry. Moving forward, ARPANSA (they are the primary authority on radiation protection and nuclear safety) will now be classifying portable shade products with a UVE rating.
UVE - Ultraviolet Effectiveness refers to the fabrics effectiveness at providing shade for sun protection. The recommendation is to purchase a shade product that provides the highest UVE rating, it’s given a “most effective” (95+) score.
Technishelter’s fabrics scored a 99, making our fabrics “most effective” at providing shade for sun protection.
Why the change? UPF refers to the ability to provide sun protection when that fabric or lotion etc is directly covering the skin, meaning as you move you’re still being directly covered by your UPF item. With portable shade, your direct sun protection will change throughout the day depending on the angle of the sun.
Example - if it’s 12noon and the sun is directly above the marquee and you are standing directly under the marquee, you’ll have sun protection from the shade. As the sun moves throughout the day, and on a clear day you’ll see the shade move on the ground, meaning if you’re not moving with the shade of the marquee, you’re not guaranteed sun protection.
Why Your Portable Shade Fabric Matters
We’ve been busy bees behind the scenes designing, testing, designing, and testing our frames and fabrics to ensure that you have the best possible products which live up to our Brand Promises program.
Recently we had our NextUV generation 2 fabrics tested by ARPASNA - both Technishelter and Canopy Outdoor have had all of our fabrics tested to ensure that we meet the highest safety standards, and our customers and community are protected while using our products.
ARPASNA has a handy buyers guide for those looking to purchase approved sun protection items - ranging from head to toe clothing and portable shade products.
Technishelter and Canopy Outdoor are proud to have had our fabrics tested and approved by ARPANSA. And with every new development we make to our fabrics, we continue to have them retested to ensure they are of the utmost quality.
Technishelter And The Community Shade Grant
We’ve been helping the local community since the community shade grant was established in 2015 by supplying quotations for portable marquees and addressing any questions and queries you might have to educate yourself on what is the best marquee for your community group.
There are a few things to look out for when buying a marquee, we’ve written a blog post on sustainability through quality which addresses the top 5 things which sets high quality marquees apart from the rest, and what you need to know before you buy a marquee which addresses your needs as a consumer and helps you to identify what product will be right for.
Additionally, we are only a phone call away should you want to know more about our range and how we can assist you in your future application!
