Updates to Grants for 2025

Why are Grants Changing?

In response to student feedback, Arc Clubs is proud to announce that we have secured additional funding for our grants programs in 2025!

In response, we sought to make small yet impactful improvements to the grants system to make Clubs at UNSW better funded, more resilient and increase independence.

Whilst we know that change is always scary, these changes will immediately increase funding to events that you already have planned, and go even further should you choose to make minor adjustments to your planning.

We believe these changes will be a positive step forward for student life at UNSW. That being said, we believe in a process of continual improvement and will be reviewing the effectiveness of the new system over the year and encourage all Executives to provide us with feedback of what works and what needs adjusting in our Clubs End of Term Surveys.

Summary of Changes

The following grants have been updated:

  • IMPROVED | Activity Grants (Adding profit incentive changes)
  • NEW | IDEA Grants (A bonus to Activity Grants)
  • UPDATED | Asset Grants (Added Training Grants)
  • RETIRED | Training Grants (Rolled into Asset Grants)

Changes to Activity Grants have been back dated to the 1st of January 2025.

👇 You can find the full details and examples below 👇

​How are Grants Changing?

The following changes will be back dated to the 1st of January 2025.

Activity Grants

Events run BOTH on-campus and off-campus will receive:

$2 per attendee up to 200 people for all events that make a profit or break even.

$1 per attendee up to 100 people for all events that make a loss.

  • PLUS 50% of expenses up to breakeven*

Activity Grants have been adjusted to a model that incentivises Clubs making a profit at events, whilst still providing a safety net for Clubs that fall short.

You can find a few examples of these changes below!


*For events that make a loss, the current ‘50% of expenses up to breakeven’ is a TEMPORARY measure as Clubs adjust to this new system.

This portion of the grant will be reduced to 40% on the 25th of May 2025 and then returned back to 35% on the 7th of September 2025.

Introducing IDEA Grants

IDEA stands for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, & Access and is part of Arc’s commitment to visibly championing diverse students. This spans from representation in volunteering and marketing collateral to leadership opportunities for students from marginalised groups.

These grants are an ADDED BONUS on top of Activity Grants provided that you meet the criteria.

Grant Calculation

25% on top of Activity Grant total if event makes a profit or breaks even

10% of top of Activity Grant total if event makes a loss

Grant Criteria

IDEA Grants will be assessed on the degree to which the event meets one or multiple of the below criteria:

1 - A celebration of pride, tolerance and acceptance of diverse communities of people, along with their intersecting diversity, Or;

2 -  Is a learning integrated social cohort building activity on topics like consent, care, socio-economic disparity, compassion, love and affection, historical injustice & inclusion and community building, Or;

3 - Platforms and champions the voices of First Nations communities, Neurodiverse communities and Gender Diverse communities

Asset Grants

Asset Grants have been expanded to include First Aid and Responsible Service of Alcohol Training.

This means Training Grants will cover up to 50% of the cost of the certificate completed. Training Grants will now be submitted via the Arc Membership Portal.

How will this affect my Club?

To help illustrate how these changes will improve your funding for 2025, we have put together a couple of examples!

EXAMPLE | Back to Term BBQ!

A classic. If your Club spent $200 on the ingredients, and handed out the sausages to the 100 attendees for free ($0 income), this is how the changes would impact your funding.

Current SystemNew System
Attendance Grant ($1/Att.) = $100
Attendance Grant ($1/Att.) = $100
Expenses Grant (35% of $200) = $70Expenses Grant (50% of $200) = $100 
Total Grant ($100 + $70) = ⬆️$170Total Grant ($100 + $100) = ⬆️$200
Total Expenses = ⬇️$200Total Expenses = ⬇️$200
Net Income = -$30 (Loss)Net Income = $0 (Breakeven)

In this scenario, Clubs are better off by $30 AND avoided losing money on their event.


Now take the same example, but instead your Club sold each attendee a sausage for $2.50 each, meaning you made $250 in sales revenue.

Current SystemNew System
Attendance Grant ($1/Att.) = $100Attendance Grant ($2/Att.) = $200
Expenses Grant = N/A - Profit MadeExpenses Grant = N/A - Profit Made
Total Grant = ⬆️$100Total Grant = ⬆️$200
Total Sales Revenue = ⬆️$250Total Sales Revenue = ⬆️$250
Total Expenses = ⬇️$200Total Expenses = ⬇️$200
Net Income = $150 (Profit)Net Income = $250 (Profit)

As you can see in this simple example, by adding a small fee for goods the Club is significantly better off. 

EXAMPLE | End of Term Ball

Now for a more complicated example.

The Nicolas Cage Appreciation Society has just held a very successful ball: ‘National Treasure: NCAS Ball’ held off-campus in Darling Harbour. NCAS is a Gold Tier Club.

They had 120 attendees at the event and spent $20,000 hiring the venue. The event was ticketed and made $19,400 in ticket revenue. Below is an example calculation of the grants received after the event.

Current SystemNew System
Attendance Grant ($1/Att. CAPPED at 100) = $100Attendance Grant ($1/Att. CAPPED at 100) = $100
Expenses Grant ($600 to Breakeven) = $600Expenses Grant ($600 to Breakeven) = $600
Total Grant = ⬆️$700Total Grant = ⬆️$700
Total Sales Revenue = ⬆️$19,400Total Sales Revenue = ⬆️$19,400
Total Expenses = ⬇️$20,000Total Expenses = ⬇️$20,000
Net Income = $100 (Profit)Net Income = $100 (Profit)


Again, let’s take the same event but this time, the Club charged just $8 more for tickets, meaning that they generate $20,400 in ticket revenue.

Current SystemNew System
Attendance Grant ($1/Att.) = $120Attendance Grant ($2/Att.) = $240
Expenses Grant = N/A - Profit MadeExpenses Grant = N/A - Profit Made
Total Grant = ⬆️$120Total Grant = ⬆️$240
Total Sales Revenue = ⬆️$20,400Total Sales Revenue = ⬆️$20,400
Total Expenses = ⬇️$20,000Total Expenses = ⬇️$20,000
Net Income = $520 (Profit)Net Income = $640 (Profit)

EXAMPLE | Pride Ball

Now let’s add in the IDEA Grant.

The event was reorganised to be a Pride Ball AND made $20,400 in ticket revenue (More details of the activity would be required in practice but for the sake of an example):

Current SystemNew System
Attendance Grant ($1/Att.) = $120 Attendance Grant ($2/Att.) = $240 
Expenses Grant = N/A - Profit MadeExpenses Grant = N/A - Profit Made
Total Activity Grant = ⬆️$120Total Activity Grant = ⬆️$240
N/AIDEA Grant Bonus (25% of $240) = ⬆️$60
Total Sales Revenue = ⬆️$20,400Total Sales Revenue = ⬆️$20,400
Total Expenses = ⬇️$20,000Total Expenses = ⬇️$20,000
Net Income = $520 (Profit)Net Income = $700 (Profit)


Frequently Asked Questions

I submitted a grant in January - Do I get more money?

YES - These changes have been back-dated to the 1st of January 2025. Any grants submitted in January will be paid out under the new system.


I'm a bit confused... Where can I find help?

You can get in contact with the Arc Clubs Team using the contact methods below! 👇

Arc Clubs Team

P:02 9065 0930

E:clubs@arc.unsw.edu.au

H:10am to 5pm

A:Level 2 Basser Steps, Gate 5 on High St, UNSW

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