Event Partnerships Program
Funding Guidelines
VERSION 2 - PUBLISHED NOVEMBER 2023

Gold Coast-the ultimate events destination

Gold Coast Marathon

CONTENTS

Building the ultimate events destination	05
Definitions	07
Event Partnerships Program purpose	08
Timeframes	11
How to apply	12
Eligibility criteria	15
Assessment criteria	17
Assessment and outcome advice	18
Partnership requirements	20
Planning, bookings and permits	23
Other funding programs	24

Experience Gold Coast proudly acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land on which our events are held, the Kombumerri and Yugambeh Language Group families of the Gold Coast.
We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging, and recognise their continuing connections to the lands, waters, wildlife and extended communities throughout South East Queensland.

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Experience Gold Coast (EGC)
is a controlled entity of the City of Gold Coast (City) established to curate an inspiring and diverse portfolio of events, delivering a whole-of-city strategic approach to major event acquisition, management and delivery.
EGC delivers a number of owned events each year and an event funding program known as the
Event Partnerships Program.

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Gold Coast Open

BUILDING THE ULTIMATE EVENTS DESTINATION

VISION
As a leader in delivering and supporting major events, EGC will define the Gold Coast as one of the most sought-after destinations to present an event, attend an event, and participate in an event.

STRATEGY

MISSION
EGC will curate and support a vibrant, world-class portfolio of major events, inspired by our city’s lifestyle, first-class facilities, location and reputation.

EGC will strive to position the Gold Coast as a leading events destination. A city that welcomes, enables, and celebrates event tourism, and provides seamless, fun and easy event experiences for all.
EGC will garner recognition for event excellence and become the destination of choice for event organisers and attendees – positioning the Gold Coast as the ultimate events destination. This will be achieved through the following strategic pillars:

Global recognition
Continue to secure, deliver and attract major events which provide positive outcomes nationally and internationally.

Leader in collaboration
and partnership
Continue to collaborate, share best practice and actively seek opportunities.

Deliver dynamic results
Continue to deliver growth, beyond return on investment, while sourcing broader insights and refining EGC’s framework.

Offer diversity
Curate a year-round, city-wide portfolio of events, which offers diversity in genres, locations and audiences.

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SWELL Sculpture Festival

Alejandro Propato | Permanent Sunrise

DEFINITIONS

TERM	DEFINITION

City	City of Gold Coast.

Charity event

Community event

An event where the primary purpose is to raise funds, goods, services or the profile of a charitable organisation/s.

An event targeted primarily at residents of the Gold Coast or a small interest group with free or minimal entry charges.

Economic value	New expenditure into the Gold Coast generated by an event.

EGC

Experience Gold Coast.

Event Partnerships Program

The major event attraction and acquisition program for the Gold Coast, where funding is invested in major events to secure, grow or retain their delivery on the Gold Coast.

Existing event	An event that has been held previously within the Gold Coast LGA.

Funded event

An event that receives funding from EGC through the Event Partnerships Program.

LGA

New event

Local Government Area.

An event that has never before been held within the Gold Coast LGA.

Out of region	Any location outside of the Gold Coast LGA.

Return on investment (ROI)

Performance measure used to compare the return to EGC, or the Gold Coast, against the funding provided (i.e. $1.1M economic value divided by $15,000 funding = 73:1 ROI).

Visitor or visitation

Referring to event attendees that have travelled from outside the Gold Coast LGA to attend an event.

Event owner

The party that owns the rights to deliver an event and enters into a funding
agreement with EGC.

Funding agreement

An agreement executed between the event owner and EGC, and other parties
where relevant, when an event funding request is successful.

Major event

Events that generate strong economic, reputational and/or strategic outcomes
in accordance with the Event Partnerships Program’s criteria.

Unique attendees

The number of individual people that attended an event whether for a single
day or multiple days.

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EVENT PARTNERSHIPS PROGRAM PURPOSE

EGC’s Event Partnerships Program offers support to major events planned for the Gold Coast that attract overnight visitation and align with EGC’s vision, mission and strategy.
Through the Event Partnerships Program, EGC aims to:

secure, attract, and invest in major events that are new to the Gold Coast

invest in existing major events to support their growth and/or retention on the Gold Coast

adopt a partnership approach for all events supported through the Event Partnerships Program to drive mutually beneficial outcomes for the Gold Coast and the event owner

maximise EGC’s investment into an event by leveraging any associated benefits as prescribed in the funding agreement or as they arise.
Events are supported based on their eligibility and alignment with assessment criteria.

TYPE OF SUPPORT
EGC provides cash funding through the Event Partnerships Program. Funding must be spent in support of the event and may be required to be used for a specific purpose, to be negotiated between both parties and specified in the funding agreement.
The level of funding is limited by EGC’s budget. No applicant is guaranteed funding, nor can any applicant be guaranteed to receive the full amount requested.
For clarity, EGC does not provide in-kind support on behalf of itself or the City of Gold Coast.

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TIMEFRAMES

The Event Partnerships Program is open for applications year-round for events to be held no earlier than nine months after the application is submitted.
Event owners seeking an investment of
$100,000 (ex GST) or more are strongly encouraged to apply 12 months in advance of the event.
If your event is due to be held within the next nine months, or has already been announced, please contact the Event Partnerships team via collaborate@majoreventsgc.com prior to submitting a funding request.

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HOW TO APPLY

Applications can be made by submitting a completed version of the application form available here to collaborate@majoreventsgc.com.
In addition to the application form, applicants are requested to provide a range of supporting documents where relevant such as:

comprehensive event budget that demonstrates a confirmed financial model for delivery of the event

event marketing and communications plan event program

event site plan event ticketing plan

previous post-event and/or economic impact reports.

Funding requests can be made for singular or multiple years.
If applying for a multi-year partnership, the application should outline how this will support the event’s strategic direction and outcomes.
Funding requests must be submitted by the event owner.

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ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

Funding is provided for sporting, lifestyle and cultural events to be held within the City of Gold Coast Local Government Area (LGA).
To receive funding through the Event Partnerships Program, event owners must meet all of the following criteria before entering into a funding agreement with EGC:

  have an Australian Business Number (ABN)
 not be applying as an individual or sole trader  have appropriate insurance to stage the event
 own the rights to host the event on the Gold Coast.

The following types of events are ineligible to receive funding through the Event Partnerships Program:

 a business event, tradeshow, conference, teaching program / lecture, open day, PR opportunity or industry event
 a religious or political event

 a training camp, masterclass, sport trial or coaching event

 a charity event, not precluding eligible events that incorporate a minor fundraising element
 an event that has received funding through the City’s Community Event  Grants Program
 a community event

 an event forecast to achieve less than 500 unique attendees  an event that does not attract overnight out of region visitation
 an event that does not deliver either economic or media outcomes

 an event that is not open and accessible to the general public, unless approved by the Board of EGC based on significant outcomes aligned with Event Partnerships Program’s purpose.

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Pacific Airshow Gold Coast

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
EGC considers each funding request against a range of criteria. The key criteria include:

Economic value
Event-specific economic benefits to the city.

Strategic alignment
Alignment with the strategic objectives of EGC and the City, and those of the event, including future growth outcomes and business planning.

Social and local impacts
Community benefits and consideration to accessibility, inclusivity and environmental
sustainability.

Media value
Profile and reach of the event across media and broadcast channels.

As part of the assessment, EGC also considers factors such as your organisation’s capability and capacity, the financial viability of the event, and your ability to accurately provide forecast and post-event data regarding attendees, economic outcomes and media reach.
No favourable consideration will be given to an application submitted by an applicant where lobbying the Mayor, Deputy Mayor, Councillors, or the Board has taken place.

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ASSESSMENT AND OUTCOME ADVICE

All funding applications are assessed by EGC’s Event Partnerships team, and then reviewed by EGC’s executive leadership team.
Depending on the recommended level of investment, applications will receive final approval from EGC’s executive leadership team, the Board, or the Council of the City of Gold Coast. EGC will contact you if any further information is required at any stage of the assessment process.
From time to time, EGC may share the content of a funding application with officers from City of Gold Coast or Tourism and Events Queensland where it is relevant to do so during the assessment process.
Typically, it can take up to eight weeks to receive an outcome on your application depending on the level of investment requested. EGC will liaise with you to provide an indicative outcome date where possible.
All applicants, both successful and unsuccessful, will be advised in writing of the outcome of their application.

All funding decisions are final.

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PARTNERSHIP REQUIREMENTS

FUNDING AGREEMENT
All successful applicants will be required to enter into a written funding agreement with EGC that sets out terms and conditions, key deliverables and benefits. Funding recipients are expected to proactively coordinate and deliver the benefits set out in the agreement, which may include:

promotion of the Gold Coast as a destination in association with the event

opportunities for representatives of EGC or the City to participate in all event- related media activities

speaking or presentation opportunities ticketing and hospitality

signage and branding

inclusion of relevant logos on event-related materials.

All funding agreements will also include a payment schedule that sets out the timing and milestone requirements of your payment/s. Depending on the level of investment, EGC may include a performance-based payment as a portion of the total investment. Each payment will have a set of milestone requirements the event owner will need to meet prior to providing an invoice, such as:

event status report covering a registration/ticket sales update, operational update, programming update and more

marketing and media plan or update

specific measurable targets if a performance payment is included.

EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT
EGC requests that you withhold from publicly announcing your event until outcome advice is provided and, for successful applicants, the funding agreement has been executed so that representatives of EGC or the City can participate in the announcement.

POST-EVENT REPORTING
All events that receive funding through the Event Partnerships Program are required to submit a post-event report and supporting documentation. EGC may also ask you to conduct an attendee survey to support your post-event data, or may ask you to cooperate with a third party researcher engaged by EGC to conduct research on an element/s of your event.

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PLANNING, BOOKINGS AND PERMITS

EGC is unable to assist with bookings at
City-owned venues or event permits on public land.
Prior to submitting a funding request, event owners should secure a venue booking and commence work to secure any necessary permits and approvals.
Learn more about delivering an event on the Gold Coast here.

Other resources
City of Gold Coast offers an online events toolkit to help ensure your event is a success.
Tourism and Events Queensland’s (TEQ) Queensland Events Guide is also a comprehensive resource providing advice on the complete lifecycle of planning, delivering and evaluating an event.

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OTHER FUNDING PROGRAMS

Events and activities ineligible for funding through the Event Partnerships Program may wish to consider other funding programs delivered by the City of Gold Coast or other parts of Experience Gold Coast.

City of Gold Coast offers a range of community funding programs and business incentives and investment programs for events, projects and other activities.

Funding and support for business and industry events is available via the Gold Coast business events team.

HOTA (Home of the Arts) offers various opportunities for artists and arts organisations such as commissions, residencies and more.

Experience Gold Coast Education offers corporate sponsorship for events and programs related to the Gold Coast’s education and training sector.

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Contact us
To discuss any queries regarding the eligibility of your event or the application process, please contact us via email at collaborate@majoreventsgc.com or phone 1300 035 189.

For The Love