The Coalition awarded almost $1.4bn in grants through its regional development program in the lead-up to the election, with about half of the funding not subject to a competitive tender process.

The spending included grants made through the Stronger Communities program, a political slush fund that gives every lower-house MP $150,000 to spend on small community projects costing between $1,500 and $20,000. Almost $100m has been paid out under the scheme since it was first announced in the 2015 budget.

Figures from the finance department obtained by Guardian Australia show that the value of regional development grants surged in the nine months before the 18 May election, with the $1.4bn figure more than quadruple the amount granted in the corresponding period the year before.

The key battleground states of Victoria and Queensland – seen as crucial to the Coalition’s re-election chances – were the biggest beneficiaries of the spending, receiving $422m and $331m respectively.

Of the $1.4bn in grants awarded, about $600m was awarded through an open and competitive tender process, with the remainder awarded under a targeted or “non competitive” process.

This included $120m paid out under the department’s drought communities program, with projects prioritised in affected areas of New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia.

In total, more than 3,000 individual grants were paid out over a nine-month period, ranging from $235m for Victoria’s north-east rail line to $650 for St Roch’s Catholic Glen Iris School in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs for students to plant indigenous plants.

Taxpayers also forked out $1,400 for the department to sponsor its own employees to take part in the Canberra Times Fun Run, which it said would “increase the profile of the event to raise awareness and vital funds for the Heart Foundation.”

The total of $1.4bn spent across more than 3,000 grants compares with just 560 individual projects valued at $291m paid out in the same nine-month period in the preceding year.

Grants recommended by individual MPs under the Stronger Communities program included millions of dollars spent shoring up support among ethnic and religious groups, with local sporting clubs also popular for the hand-picked projects.

More than 700 of the SCP grants were for less than $5,000, with the federal government buying dozens of barbecues, iPads and lawnmowers.

In the key marginal seat of Corangamite, which the Coalition lost after it was made notionally Labor in a redistribution, $10,000 was awarded to the Anglesea yacht club for the upgrade of showers and toilets, $10,000 for camping equipment for a new scout group and $13,000 for the Drysdale bowling club.

Taxpayers also spent more than $2,500 on croquet hoops and balls for a northern Tasmanian croquet club, while in NSW the federal government paid for an inflatable jumping castle and marquee at a cost of almost $14,000.

The Catholic church was also a beneficiary of the SCP funding, with St Declan’s Catholic church in Penshurst receiving $3,000 for new chairs and flooring, St Anthony’s Church in Hanwood receiving $3,000 for a new air conditioner, and St Joseph Catholic School in Atherton in Queensland receiving $20,000 towards a new playground.

A spokeswoman for deputy prime minister, Michael McCormack, who is also the regional development minister, defended the large amount of grant funding awarded without a competitive tender process.

“The Australian government uses a variety of methods to identify and assess projects to be funded under its regional programs,” she said. “All projects funded under regional programs are subject to value-with-relevant-money assessments to ensure public resources are used in an efficient, effective and economical manner, including meeting all published eligibility criteria for the relevant program.”

The minister’s office also suggested the funding was weighted to the second half of the government’s term, because “commencement of programs at the start of a new term of government often result in projects being delivered in the second half of a government’s term”.