Grants of $10,000 and a further $5,000 were awarded in 2016 to support the Goulburn Regional Conservatorium’s Goulburn Strings Project, a musical education program for beginner strings students at Goulburn Public School. Many of the students involved have disadvantaged backgrounds and/or face extreme learning and behavioural challenges related to ADHD, autism spectrum and foetal alcohol syndrome. The Goulburn Strings Project has seen a measurable and marked improvement in outcomes for the children involved and their parents.
https://www.thegrc.com.au/goulburn-strings-project
A grant for $10,000 was awarded to Moorambilla Voices in July. Moorambilla Voices is great initiative that connects talented kids in rural and remote areas with some of Australia’s finest composers, musicians, choreographers and regional artists. The program draws young people from around 70 schools across a region which represents the most isolated and disadvantaged area of NSW.. More than one third of participants are Indigenous. The grant supports their Moorambilla Arts Pathways (MAP) initiative which provides senior Moorambilla Voices participants with one-on-one mentoring relationships.
https://moorambillablog.wordpress.com
Established in 1913, WEA (Workers’ Educational Association) Sydney’s mission is to provide adults with stimulating and varied educational activities which develop their knowledge, understanding and skills.The SMSA has awarded a grant of $9,900 to WEA Sydney to assist with relocation of classes during the redevelopment of their adjoining site and in recognition of the close relationship between our two organisations.
http://www.weasydney.com.au
Established in 1890, the Julian Ashton Art School is Australia’s oldest continuous fine art school. Based in The Rocks, their former students include Sir William Dobell, John Olsen, Brett Whiteley, Thea Proctor and many other prominent Australian artists.
http://julianashtonartschool.com.au
The Scholars for 2017 (awarded in November 2016) are:
Pitt Street Poetry is a specialist Sydney-based poetry publishing house founded in 2012 to publish contemporary Australian poetry and selected reprints of modern Australian classics. Their published poets include such well-known names as Chris Wallace-Crabbe, Luke Davies, Peter Goldsworthy, Geoff Page, John Foulcher and Ron Pretty, plus leading lights of the new generation such as Anthony Lawrence, Melinda Smith, Jakob Ziguras and Eileen Chong. The grant will support the production and promotion of new books of Australian poetry.
http://pittstreetpoetry.com
The National Council of Women (NSW) is a non-government umbrella organisation with broadly humanitarian and educational objectives that celebrated its 120th anniversary in 2016. The $3,000 grant has been used to fund National Council of Women (NSW) Australia Day Award scholarships for young women who are excelling in their studies.
http://www.ncwnsw.org.au
The 2016 recipients (to be presented in January 2017) are:
The SMSA continues to provide discounted rates for venue hire for qualifying Not-For-Profit and volunteer organisations. This has been a long-standing tradition which benefits both the SMSA and the organisations involved.
In years past, the Board of the Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts gave sums of money to the University of Sydney, the University of Technology, Sydney and the University of Western Sydney, providing an endowment for prizes to be awarded annually at these Universities.
The following prizes were awarded for work in the 2015 academic year and presented in 2016:
In 2016, the Grants Committee was dissolved and the Governance Committee assumed oversight of the School’s grants, donations and prizes.
The Governance Committee reviewed and considered several grant applications during the year, assessing each application to ensure it fulfils the criteria set out in the Grants Policy and aligns with the School’s values and objectives.
The Board approved the following Grants on the recommendation of the Governance Committee.
SMSA (Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts)