General grants

Closing dates for grant rounds for 2010 will be Wednesday 31 March and Tuesday 31 August.

You must discuss your project proposal with the Grants and Legal Information Manager at least 6 weeks before the closing date.

• What is the general grants program?
• Who can apply for a Law and Justice Foundation grant?
• How do I apply for a general grant?
• How much can I apply for?
• Discussing your grant proposal with the Foundation
• How are grants assessed?
• What are the grant assessment criteria?

What is the general grants program?

General grants are financial grants over $5,000 and are allocated by the Foundation's Board of Governors. The next intake for Board grant applications closes Wednesday 31 March 2010.

Confidential external review of Board grant applications is sought and the comments of external reviewers are made available to the Board to assist it in its consideration.

The application cycle for Board grants is approximately 18–20 weeks.

Who can apply?

Preference will be given to applications initiated at the community level or with substantial community input. Individuals and organisations that do not have an ABN can not apply. We welcome joint applications from more than one organisation, although the application needs to be auspiced by a single organisation.

The Foundation will not fund the following:

• Individual academic research
  The Law and Justice Foundation will not fund individual research or study to obtain a degree or diploma.
• Private consultants
  The Law and Justice Foundation is unlikely to fund projects for which the application is made by a private business or consultancy. However, applicants may subcontract private consultants to undertake part of their project provided this is identified in the funding submission and approved.
• Interstate and international applicants
  The Law and Justice Foundation receives its income from the NSW Public Purpose Fund and is obliged to ensure its grants benefit the people of NSW. The Foundation will not fund projects that primarily benefit residents of other states or countries. However, the Law and Justice Foundation may fund part of national projects if the Foundation-funded component of the project primarily benefits the people of NSW.
• Core funding
  The Law and Justice Foundation does not provide core funding, that is, funding essential to maintain an organisation, or capital expenditure for overheads related to the ongoing activities of an organisation. However, we will provide pilot funding funding to establish a service for a new initiative. Consideration will be given to the prospects of obtaining ongoing funding from another source.
• Travel costs
  The Law and Justice Foundation will not fund grants for travel to individuals.
• Conferences
  The Law and Justice Foundation does not sponsor conferences or conference attendance except in exceptional circumstances.
• Retrospective grants
  The Law and Justice Foundation will not make a grant to cover expenditure incurred before the decision on the application.
• Litigation
  The Law and Justice Foundation will not make a grant to fund litigants.
• Lobbying
  The Foundation will not normally fund lobbying activities.

How do I apply for a General Grant?

When applying for a general grant, follow these steps:

• Check whether your organisation and project meet the Foundation's eligibility requirements
• Refer to grant criteria
• Discuss your project proposal with the Law and Justice Foundation
• You must use this application form which is available for download in RTF format. It should be completed electronically:
  
  
  Grant Application Form (2.2 Mb)

• Note application form requirements, e.g. budget, number of quotes
• Complete the application form and send to:

Grants and Legal Information Manager
Law and Justice Foundation of NSW
GPO Box 4264
Sydney NSW 2001
FAX: (02) 9221 6280
EMAIL:

How much can I apply for?

General grants are capped at $50,000. You should include all necessary expenses to enable the project to be completed successfully. The Board of the Foundation will assess whether the funds sought match the requirements of the project, and whether the potential benefits are in proportion to the amount sought.

If your application is under $5,000 (GST inclusive) you can apply for a small grant. Small grants can be applied for at any time and take approximately 8 weeks for a decision to be made.

Discussing your project proposal with the Foundation

You must discuss your project proposal with the Grants and Legal Information Manager in the early stages of project planning, before preparing an application and at least six (6) weeks before the closing date. You are likely to be asked to submit a draft application at least four (4) weeks ahead of the closing date. As well as providing information about the grants program and discussing your proposal with you, the Foundation may be able to assist you with identifying other organisations, resources and research in the area. For example, we may be able to assist you in identifying potential suppliers of a publishing service or in developing research methodologies and evaluation strategies. Check Plain language law search to see if there are existing resources.

Providing assistance does not mean that a project will be funded. Decisions about which projects will be funded are made by the Board.

The Foundation has prepared the following resources to assist organisations wishing to apply for a grant:

• Reaching target groups
• Legal information resources
• Quality Publishing Guidelines
• Finding a publisher
• Testing a resource
• Marketing and distributing a resource
• Online publishing

How are general grant applications assessed?

All general grant applications are considered by the Foundation's Board of Governors. Applications are assessed against a range of eligibility requirements and grant criteria. The Foundation may request additional information from you after you have submitted your application.

All applications are subject to a confidential external review process and the comments of external reviewers are made available to the Board to assist it in its consideration.

The application cycle for general grants is approximately 18 to 20 weeks.

What are the grant assessment criteria?

The Law and Justice Foundation evaluates grant applications using the following criteria:

• Is there a clearly identified aim for the project
• Does the project meet the objects of the Law and Justice Foundation?
• Is there an identified need for the project?
• Is there a clearly identified target group?
• Is this the most appropriate strategy to meet this need?
• Have other organisations in the field been consulted?
• Does the project duplicate existing initiatives?
• Are there appropriate promotion and dissemination strategies?
• Is there an evaluation strategy?