Letters of Support

In general, a letter of support expresses Council’s recommendation of a project, event or activity which has clear benefit to the local community or environment, to receive funding from an entity other than Council.

The content of a letter of support depends on the details of the request.

A letter of support is not needed if you are applying to Council for a grant or funding opportunity that is offered by Council.

To request a letter of support from Council, please read through the following instructions and then contact our Economic Development Officer.

In your request, let us know:

• The name of the organisation requesting the letter of support
• The name, position and contact details of the person from your organisation making the request
• What the project/event/reason for the request is including:
  • a brief description of the project, event or reason for the request
  • when and where it will happen if the grant or funding is for a project or event
  • what will be purchased if the grant or funding is for goods
  • who will be involved in the project/event if relevant
  • what resources the project/event needs if relevant
• Why the project is needed by the community and who or what will benefit
• The name of the organisation or funding stream you are applying to
• The value of the grant or funding you are requesting
• The date that you need the letter of support

When Council receives a request for a letter of support, we consider if your project, event or grant request aligns with Council’s goals as outlined in our guiding documents, including our Council Plan 2025-2029, Health and Wellbeing Plan 2025-2029 and any other plans and strategies that are relevant to your request.

To strengthen your request:

• Explain how your request aligns with Council’s current plans.
• Look at the “objectives and strategies” and “priorities” in the Council Plan or Health and Wellbeing Plan that are relevant to your request.
• If you believe your request sits better with a different Council goal or objective that isn’t stated in the Plans, please let us know as part of your request.
• Attach any documents that support your request. For example, project outlines, site maps, details of the grant or funding opportunity, or whatever is relevant to your request.Contact our Economic Development Officer if you have any questions by phone 03 5232 9400 or by email.

We prefer to receive your request in writing. When you are ready to send us your request, please send it to us by:

email or

Post to: PO Box 283, Colac, VIC, 3250, or

Hand deliver to:

• Great Ocean Road Visitor Information Centre at 100 Great Ocean Road, Apollo Bay, 10am to 5pm seven days a week (except Christmas Day and Good Friday), or
• Colac Otway Shire Council Customer Service at 2-6 Rae Street, Colac, 8.30am to 5pm Monday to Friday (except Public Holidays)

No, not all requests are met. Council writes letters of support at our absolute discretion.

We assess requests on a case-by-case basis and can only assess requests where we have enough time and information to be able to make a decision about writing the letter.

Further, Council is not required to provide contextual information about a refusal to write a requested letter of support.

While we don’t guarantee that we will be able to give you a letter of support, we do want to encourage local organisations to access funding that benefits our community and environment.

To increase the likelihood of Council agreeing to write a letter of support:

• Give us with plenty of time to assess the request and to seek further information if needed
• Follow the instructions in the “How to request a letter of support” part of this page as much as you can (we understand that every situation is different and not all parts of the instructions will apply to you)
• Be clear about how your request for funding aligns with Council’s goals 
• Contact us if you have any questions by phone 03 5232 9400 or by email