Grant/Funding Information
GRANTS NOW OPEN:
Active Club Program - opens 6 February 2010 and closes 10 May 2010.
The Active Club Program provides financial assistance to South Australian not for profit community-based active recreation and sporting organisations to develop and expand the services they provide. For guidelines and application form go to www.recsport.sa.gov.au or contact my office on 8832 2455.
Community Benefit SA - opens Monday 26 July 2010 and closes on Monday 23 August 2010.
Community Benefit SA assists disadvantaged individuals, families and communities by providing one-off project funding to incorporated, non-government, non profit, charitable and social welfare organisations
Recreation and Sport Volunteer Scholarships—nominations for all categories will open early 2010.
- Wendy Ey Memorial Coaching Scholarships for Women
- Sport Coaching and Officiating Scholarships
- Individual Sport and Recreational Volunteer Scholarships
- Sport and Recreation Associations Volunteer Scholarships
For guidelines and application form go to www.recsport.sa.gov.au or contact my office on 8832 2455.
Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Scholarships - awarded to outstanding but disadvantaged students, usually from a rural or regional area, who have been offered a full-time place at an Australian university or college campus. Grant applications for 2010 close in January next year. www.bendigobank.com.au
GRANTS! Now that I have your attention, let’s talk about grants. Much of the contact made with the Goyder electorate office is for assistance with grant funding programs available to community organisations. Many find the task of finding suitable funding initiatives and applying for them a daunting task but I hope that the following information will provide a helping hand and make the task a more pleasant experience.
What’s New! Recently the Hon Jennifer Rankine MP, Minister for Volunteers, announced changes made by the Government to make the process of grant applications and approvals for community organisations simpler. This follows on from changes made in 2004 after a State Government review of grants, when the threshold of grants with exemption from more stringent accountability requirements was increased from $1,000 to $5,000. This was done to reduce the bureaucratic burden on volunteer organisations and has been increased again from $5,000 and $10,000.
Letters of Support. Anyone who has completed a grant application knows that providing evidence of community support is generally required. This could be from stakeholders in the project, the local Council or your State and Federal members of Parliament. My office is happy to provide community organisations with letters of support to accompany their applications and provide the following information to assist:
• Get in early! Letters of support are usually highlighted at the end of the application and are only thought of at the end of the process and close to the deadline. When you receive your application package make contact with those you require letters of support from straight away, this saves you having to rush around at the last minute and is appreciated by those being approached to prepare a letter for you.
• Be clear on the project that you are seeking funding on and have all relevant information on hand when requesting your letter of support. Generally you will be asked to provide an overview of your project, how the project is going to benefit the club and/or wider community, general club information and what fundraising efforts have been made to contribute to the cost of the project.
Where do I go to find grants? Finding grants can be like finding a needle in a haystack if you don’t know where to look but there are many ways to search for grants, such as:
• Keep your eye on the newspapers. Details of funding rounds are generally advertised in papers such as The Advertiser, YP Country Times and the Plains Producer.
• The internet holds a wealth of information and there are many websites dedicated to providing details of the hundreds of funding programs available:
• Your local Council. Many Council’s provide funding to community organisations through a funding program or by special application. Contact your local Council for details.
• Yorke Regional Development Board (YRDB). The YRDB works to develop the economy of the Yorke Peninsula and Adelaide Plains. The YRDB provides a number of services to local business, industry and the community to help develop and grow our natural advantages. Contact your local Economic Development Officer for information and assistance with grant applications – ph. (08) 8821 1099.
• Flinders Region Area Consultative Committee (FRACC). FRACC was formed in 1999 to build working partnerships between community, business and government to find local solutions to local social, economic and environmental development issues. Contact FRACC on (08)8645 0011, www.fracc.com.au or fracc@fracc.com.au for further information on how they may be able to assist your organisation.
• Your Federal and State Members of Parliament. The offices of your Federal and State members are available to provide information and assistance with grants and are only too happy to help.
o Federal electorate of Grey – Mr Rowan Ramsey MP, ph. 1300 301 742.
o Federal electorate of Wakefield – Mr Nick Champion MP, ph. 1300 780 170.