APPLICATIONS FOR 2023-24 GRANTS ARE NOW CLOSED

2023-24 Volunteer Grants – Families and Communities Program

The Goldstein Community has a strong culture of community spirit and service. I am very pleased to announce that the ‘Volunteer Grants’ are available for community organisations in 2023-24.

Volunteer Grants support the work of local community organisations with a focus on the inclusion of vulnerable people and promoting participation in volunteering.

There is $66,225 available for Goldstein not-for-profit organisations whose workforce consists of at least 40% volunteers.

Grants of between $1,000 and $5,000 will be available to eligible not-for-profit community organisations to support the efforts of their volunteers. The grants can be used to buy small equipment for volunteers, or for the reimbursement of volunteer fuel, transport, or training costs, or to purchase items that help promote awareness of volunteering opportunities.

This grant will require applicants to submit –online–an Expression of Interest (EOI) to my office which will be assessed by a local committee. Successful EOI applicants will then be invited to submit a formal application to the Department of Social Services.

Purpose: Volunteer Grants are about strengthening communities by increasing participation in volunteering. The objectives of Volunteer Grants are to:

help community organisations to support the efforts of Australia’s volunteers
help community organisations to support the inclusion of vulnerable people through volunteering; and
encourage, support, and increase participation in volunteering.

Grant funding can only be used for eligible activities or items such as:

small equipment that will assist the volunteers in their role
transport costs of volunteers with a disability
fuel costs incurred by volunteers
training for volunteers
background screening checks of volunteers
promotion of volunteering opportunities
adapting practices to support volunteers’ safety.

Eligibility: To be eligible to apply you must be an organisation that has been nominated by my office, receive an invitation to apply through GrantConnect and:

be a legal entity,

be an unincorporated association that agrees to the primary contact on your application entering into an agreement on behalf of the Unincorporated Association.

This means that if your grant application is approved, the primary contact will assume all legal liability and become personally liable for the delivery of the funded activity, expenditure of funds and any other associated obligations arising from the grant agreement validly executed.

have a minimum of 40% of volunteers working for your organisation
be a not-for-profit organisation
have an Australian Business Number (ABN) or be willing to provide a Statement by Supplier Form (reason for not quoting an ABN). Please refer to the Australian Tax Office website for further information
have an account with an Australian financial institution in the name of the organisation applying.

To be eligible you must be one of the following entity types:

Indigenous Corporation
Company*
Corporate State or Territory Entity
Non-corporate State or Territory Entity
Non-corporate State or Territory Statutory Authority
Cooperative
Incorporated Association
Statutory Entity and
Be willing and legally able to enter into a grant agreement with the Commonwealth (refer to section 10.1 of the grant guidelines).

* Company is a company incorporated under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth)

NOTE: If you apply as a legal entity and are found, through compliance checks, to be an unincorporated organisation, you will be contacted. You will be asked to confirm that either the first or second contact on the application form, or an alternative person connected to your organisation, are legally authorised and willing to assume legal liability.This contact will become personally liable for the delivery of the funded activity, expenditure of funds and any other associated obligations arising from the grant agreement validly executed on behalf of the organisation. Alternatively, you will be given the option to withdraw from the grant opportunity.

An organisation only can apply for one Volunteer Grant. Where an organisation works across more than one electorate, and has been nominated by more than one MP, it only can apply for a Volunteer Grant in one electorate.

Local branches of larger umbrella organisations (for example, Scouts Australia, St John Ambulance Australia) are considered to be organisations in their own right, for the purposes of one application per organisation. For example, two different St Johns Ambulance sub-branches located and operating in different areas and operating as entities in their own right are considered organisations.

How to apply: Read the grant opportunity guidelines, and make sure that your organisation and activities are eligible, then complete the online expression of interest form.

If your EOI is approved, you will be invited to complete a detailed formal application through an online portal which will be processed by the Department of Social Services.

Download 2023-24 Volunteer Grant Guidelines HERE

Submit your expression of interest HERE:

TIMELINE

Expressions of Interest open – 25 July 2023
Expressions of Interest close – 4 p.m. 7 September 2023
Assessment of EOIs – 8 September – 28 September 2023
Successful applicants invited to apply for a grant – 6 November 2023
Applications close – 24 November 2023
Assessment of Applications – December 2023 – March 2024
Approval of outcome of assessment process – April 2024
Negotiations and award of grant agreements – April 2024
Notification to unsuccessful applicants – April 2024
Earliest start date of project – May 2024
Activity completion date – 30 June 2025

If you have any questions please contact my office by email at: Zoe.Daniel.MP@aph.gov.au or you can phone my Electoral Office on 9557 4644

Thank you to all our local community organisations for all the amazing work you do.

Zoe