Uptown Grant Program

The Uptown Grant Program aims to enable the development of districts into unique going-out destinations by supporting formally aligned groups of businesses in a local area (District Teams) to collectively work on enhancing their district's offering and building consumer engagement with their district.

The Program aims to:

• increase coordination and collaboration between businesses in distinct geographical areas
• support business models that allow for partnerships, including major events, brands and government
• increase the marketability of unique districts with distinct products developed
• increase consumer awareness and engagement with districts.

Round 1 and 2 of the Uptown Grant Program was open to District Teams across Greater Sydney, with Round 3 expanding to include the Central Coast, Lower Hunter and Greater Newcastle, and Illawarra-Shoalhaven.

Uptown Grant Program - Round 3

The NSW Government committed a further $5.5 million in funding to support Round 3 of the Uptown Grant Program.

Round 3 of the Program provided the following funding opportunities:

• New Applicants – from $100,000 (excl. GST) to $200,000 (excl. GST) of seed funding to eligible District Teams to coordinate their district and for consumer engagement.
• Previous Recipients – from $50,000 (excl. GST) to $100,000 (excl. GST) of funding for previous Uptown Grant Program recipients that are working to self-sustainability and growing consumer engagement.
  • Districts that have already received two rounds of Uptown Grant Program funding will be required to co-contribute a minimum of 20% of the requested funding amount in additional funding.

Applications for the Uptown Grant Program – Round 3 closed on 29 January 2025.

Read the guidelines for New Applicants (PDF 3.7MB) and Previous Recipients (PDF 3.25MB), and review the FAQs for additional information.

Uptown Grant Program - Round 2

The NSW Government committed a further $6 million in funding to support Round 2 of the Uptown Grant Program.

Round 2 of the Uptown Grant Program provided the following funding opportunities:

• up to $200,000 (excl. GST) but no less than $100,000 (excl. GST) of seed funding to eligible District Teams to coordinate their district and for consumer engagement.
• $100,000 (excl. GST) of funding for previous Uptown Grant Program recipients that are working to self-sustainability and growing consumer engagement.

Applications for the Uptown Grant Program - Round 2 closed on 18 March 2024. 

For more information on the requirements of the second funding round, see Uptown Grant Program Guidelines Round 2 (PDF 4.37MB).

Download the booklet of the Round 2 funded Districts (PDF 22.28MB). 

Uptown Grant Program - Round 1

Round 1 of the Uptown Grant Program offered up to $200,000 (excl. GST) in seed funding to eligible District Teams to establish and coordinate their District and for consumer engagement.

Applications for the Uptown Grant Program - Round 1 closed on 9 March 2023.

For more information on the requirements of the first funding round, see Uptown Grant Program's Guidelines Round 1 (PDF 1.29MB).

Download the booklet of the Round 1 funded Districts (PDF 7.73MB)

Discover how the Uptown Program helped unlock capacity, connection and transformation across Greater Sydney’s 24-Hour Economy in the Uptown Program Evaluation Round 1 (PDF 3.97MB).