Helping hand for Kimberley community projects

Grants of up to $10,000 are now available to support and empower local communities in the Kimberley under the WA State Water Corporation’s long-running Kimberley Community Grants Scheme.

In partnership with the Lions Club of Broome, $666,000 has been awarded to 118 not-for-profit organisations since 2016 for projects that uplift, empower and connect communities across the Kimberley.

Funds come from the sale of Rhodes grass hay for fodder, grown using recycled water from the Broome North Water Resource Recovery Facility (wastewater treatment plant) – an environmentally sustainable way to reuse large volumes of treated wastewater.

In 2024, 13 projects shared in nearly $80,000, including Broome-based Society for Kimberley Indigenous Plants and Animals. It received $5,000 towards a new central native plant nursery to grow both its climate-resilient plants and its membership.

More than $660,000 awarded to 118 not-for-profit organisations since 2016.

“In the nine years since the Kimberley Community Grants Scheme began, it has helped fund some incredibly important projects that make a genuine difference to communities across the region,” Water Minister Don Punch said.

“This year, the total amount awarded will go past $700,000 – all of which comes courtesy of the sale of fodder grown from recycled water at Water Corporation’s Broome North facility.

“It’s an excellent example of a sustainable, circular economy and reflects the fact that wastewater is no longer something to be wasted.”

Applications for the 2025 round of the Kimberley Community Grants Scheme are now open and close Friday, 9 May 2025. For more information and to apply, visit watercorporation.com.au/kcgrants.