Community Response Fund Criteria
Applicants to the Community Response Fund will need to meet either one or both of the following specific criteria depending on what they are applying for. They will also need to meet all general criteria.
Specific Criteria
Financial Crisis Funding: Applicants need to demonstrate how the additional funding will assist providers to remain viable and continue to deliver critical social services. Applicants must also show that they are experiencing severe financial difficulties as a direct result of the impact of the economic downturn on their funding (e.g philanthropic contributions and/or profits from investments have reduced significantly).
Demand Funding: Applicants need to demonstrate in their proposal how the additional funding responds to a significant increase in demand for services (e.g. increased waiting lists, increased referrals from other providers) that are a direct result of the economic downturn. Applicants that include an innovative approach to meeting service demand should provide evidence that it is a substantially new initiative, not the continuation of an existing one. Priority will be given to applications in which two or more critical social service providers have developed an innovative service response to needs associated with the economic downturn.
General Criteria
PLEASE NOTE ALL APPLICATIONS MUST SUBMIT THE LAST TWO YEAR’S AUDITED FINANCIAL ACCOUNTS
Applicants need to:
- be a not-for-profit community organization delivering critical social services directly to families, children, young and older people
- respond to issues arising from the economic downturn which affect families, children, young people and/or older people in the region or community
- provide evidence that the services for which funding is sought are a priority for the community as a whole and contribute to one or more of the critical social services priority areas listed above
- include information, that where appropriate, you have consulted with other community organisations, and are working together to encourage volunteering, collaboration and a shared approach to working in the community and/or sector
- have achievable goals, a viable budget and a timeframe that ensures that every dollar of public money is well spent
- confirm there is no capacity within your existing community networks to meet the needs for which funding is being sought
- acknowledge the emergency funding is in response to the pressures associated with the recession and that it is not ongoing baseline funding
- confirm the proposed grant holder organization has sound processes for financial management, as well as effective governance and management
- confirm your organisation has not lost other government funding on the grounds of performance or not meeting government priorities.
