Small grants

• What is a small grant?
• How do I apply for a small grant?
• Discussing your grant proposal with the Foundation
• What are the grant criteria?
• Who can apply for a small grant?

What is a small grant?

Small grants are grants of $5,000 or less (GST inclusive) and can be allocated by the Director of the Law and Justice Foundation. The aim of the small grants program is to provide financial assistance to organisations planning projects that meet the Foundation's objects. The program is designed to provide fast trunaround time and quick outcomes.

How do I apply for a small grant?

Small grants can be applied for at any time, and decision making takes approximately eight weeks.

When applying for a general grant, follow these steps:

• Discuss your project proposal with the Law and Justice Foundation
• Obtain an application form from the Foundation. You must use this application form.
  The form is available for download in RTF format and should be completed electronically:



Grant Application Form (2.150 Mb)

• Note application requirements for the grant you are seeking (e.g. consultation requirements)
• Check whether your organisation and project meet the Foundation's eligibility requirements
• Refer to the grant criteria
• Complete the application form and send to:

Grants Manager
Law and Justice Foundation of NSW
GPO Box 4264
Sydney NSW 2000
FAX: (02) 9221 6280
EMAIL:

Discussing your project proposal with the Foundation

We encourage you to discuss your project proposal with the Grants Manager at the early stages of planning, before preparing an application. 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, in some cases we may be able to assist you in identifying potential suppliers of a publishing service. We also may be able to assist you with developing research methodologies and evaluation strategies.

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

What are the grant criteria?

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

• Does the project contribute to the achievement of the objects of the Law and Justice Foundation?
• Is there an identified need for the project?
• Is this the most appropriate strategy to meet this need?
• Is there a clearly identified goal for the project?
• Is there a clearly identified target group?
• Have other organisations in the field been consulted?
• Does the project duplicate existing initiatives?
• Is the project cost effective?
• Is there a wider applicability beyond your local area?
• The proposed outputs are achievable and assessable
• Is the budget realistic and appropriate?
• Are there appropriate promotion and dissemination strategies?
• Is there an evaluation strategy?

Who can apply for a small grant?

No organisation is excluded from applying for a small grant. Preference will, however, be given to applications initiated at the community level or with substantial community input. We welcome joint applications from more than one organisation, although the application needs to be auspiced by a single incorporated organisation.

• Academics/Academic research
  The Law and Justice Foundation will not fund 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. Applicants may subcontract 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 for bodies established to provide services, or funding essential to maintain an organisation. We will provide funding to establish a service (eg. pilot funding, feasibility study, strategic plan) only if there is a clear and demonstrable outcome for the period funded, and there are strong prospects of obtaining ongoing funding from another source.
• Travel costs
  The Law and Justice Foundation will only make grants for travel to individuals who can clearly demonstrate substantial and sustainable benefits to the wider NSW community resulting from the experience gained. No application for travel will be accepted for which a decision is necessary in less than four weeks from receipt of application. For all interstate and overseas airfares the Law and Justice Foundation will only contribute to the cost of an economy class ticket.
• Conference organisation
  The Law and Justice Foundation does not sponsor conferences. It may assist in subsidising conference organisation costs within NSW as an underwriting loan (repayable from conference income) if the conference is covering an area of law for which there is a significant need for discussion and debate and particular groups of attendees to the conference are unable to pay conference fees. While the Law and Justice Foundation may fund the travel expenses of a speaker to speak at a NSW conference, it will not fund speakers' fees.
• Conference attendance
  The Law and Justice Foundation will only make grants to cover conference attendance if: the conference is covering an area of law for which there is a significant need for discussion and debate; the applicant's employer is unable to pay conference fees; the applicant can clearly demonstrate the substantial and sustainable benefits to the wider NSW community resulting from the experience gained.
• Income generating projects
  If your project is likely to generate income, it is likely the Law and Justice Foundation will make a grant as an underwriting loan, and will require repayments to be made to offset the original grant. If the expected income does not eventuate the Law and Justice Foundation will not require the loan to be repaid.
• Major capital expenditure
  The Law and Justice Foundation will not fund major capital expenditure for overheads related to the ongoing activities of an organisation.
• 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 litigation.