Council & Bell Bay Aluminium announce COVID-19 Business Resilience, Recovery and Stimulus Grants Program
05 Jul 2020
Media Release
George Town Council is pleased to announce the launch of its Community Care and Recovery Grants Program developed in response to the impacts of COVID-19 on the George Town Municipality.
The first series of grants is in partnership with Bell Bay Aluminium and focusses on Business Resilience, Recovery and Stimulus. Designed to assist small to medium-sized businesses in the municipality to recover and adapt to the impact of the pandemic, eligible businesses can apply for grants ranging from $1000 up to $7500 in a grant pool of $100,000.
George Town Council Mayor, Greg Kieser said, “The business grants program is expected to assist and stimulate economic growth and offer community support and assistance to help our municipality return to normal as quickly as possible. The program is another component of Councils significant investment to assist our community to recover.”
I am also delighted to announce that Bell Bay Aluminium has contributed $50,000 to the Business Resilience, Recovery and Stimulus Grants, matching Councils funding of $50,000. It is a testament to industry partners such as Bell Bay Aluminium that we have been able to work together to develop a program of such value to assist small to medium-size businesses in the municipality that have been affected by the pandemic.”
The A$50,000 partnership between Bell Bay Aluminium and George Town Council is one of a number of major investments, the smelter is supporting in Northern Tasmania as part of a US$25 million commitment Rio Tinto has made to support communities around the globe during the COVID-19 pandemic and recovery, through its Partnership to Progress program.
Bell Bay Aluminium general manager Shona Markham said, ”As an industry partner and an active member of the George Town business community, it is very important that the smelter is able to support smaller local businesses across a range of industry sectors in our region who have been impacted by COVID-19.
No industry has been spared from the impacts of the pandemic so it gives me great pleasure to be able to work collaboratively on this initiative with the George Town Council and support the business community to recover in this way.”
Applications are now open. For more information on the Community Care and Recovery Grants Program guidelines and applications forms:
Business Resilience, Recovery and Stimulus Grant Guidelines and Application
Primary Media Contact
Shane Power
General Manager