Funds to provide social equity programs to targeted groups in the Bathurst community will be made possible thanks to a $22,500 donation by Charles Sturt University (CSU).

Mitchell Conservatorium executive director Graham Sattler said the funding boost is “enormously important”.

“This funding will assist us in providing a number of programs, largely social equity programs,” he said.

“They are not typical Conservatorium programs, but programs with a broader community benefit.”

Thanks to the funding boost, the Conservatorium will partner with Bathurst’s University of the Third Age (U3A) and OCTEC to roll out musical programs for these sectors of the community.

“Both the Conservatorium and CSU are really keen to reach out and contribute to community development,” Mr Sattler said.

“I have a particular passion for community development which is a great thing and we are building some of these programs.”

Mr Sattler said the Conservatorium receives just 20 per cent of their funding from the State Government, so “most of what we do has to be user pays”.

“The money from CSU gives us some padding to provide social equity programs that, by definition, can’t pay for themselves,” he said.

While funds were welcomed by the Conservatorium, the amount from CSU was slightly down on previous annual grants of $25,000.

CSU head of campus Col Sharp said the university has “less certainty in our income over coming years” and because of this they were forced to review their level of commitment into the future.

“It’s a slight decrease, but when you look at things, we’ve provided great support over a number of years,” he said.

“[Mitchell Conservatorium] has been an area we have supported in the past and we’ll do what we can within our capacity in the future.”

Mr Sharp said CSU’s funding body, the Community University Partnerships Program, will “open up access to broader range of groups in the future”.