Obtaining and Managing Funding

Because community organisations provide services to vulnerable people with little or no income, few will ever be able to be "sell" their services to "customers" as a private business would. Instead, most organisations will rely on funds from government agencies, philanthropic donors or fundraising to ensure they are able to provide the assistance people need.

This section of the OIK features information on securing funding from potential funding agencies, and also support in using the Standard Funding Agreement that is used by the ACT Government to provide resources to community service organisations.

In this section you will find information on:

• Securing Funding
• The Standard Funding Agreement (ACT Government)
• Useful Web Resources

Securing Funding

It would be nice if governments, businesses and individuals saw the fantastic and important job community organisations do, and simply walked into our organisations and gave us the resources we need to do our work. Since this is very rarely the case, organisations have to ask for resources, and find the best opportunities and methods of doing so. Here are some resources to help you:

• Writing Successful Funding Proposals
• The Philanthropy Alternative
• Philanthropy and Fundraising Web Resources - An extensive list of other web-based resources to help you secure funding
• Template: Resources and Partnerships Worksheet (Word document: 39KB) - A tool for clarifying your needs and options
• Template: Promoting your Project Worksheet - (Word document: 39KB) - A tool for ensuring you have some basic information to provide potential contributors

The Standard Funding Agreement

When the ACT Government introduced the Standard Funding Agreement, ACTCOSS provided support to community organisations in using it. The following resources provide an explanation of the agreement, and some background information provided by the presenters at our seminars on the topic:

• The Standard Funding Agreement: Main body - Complete with annotated comments to explain important sections
• Annotated Schedules to the Agreement:
• Schedule 1: The Parties to the Agreement
• Schedule 2: The Services
• Schedule 3: Reports and Reviews
• Schedule 4: Funding Amount and Payment Schedule
• Schedule 5: Assets
• Schedule 6: Special Conditions, including the attachments
• Community Perspectives on the Funding Agreement - Merri Andrew and Charlie Pahlman (ACTCOSS)
• Procurement and Government Policy - Bob Venables (ACT Treasury)
• Sub-sector Funding Plans - Sarah King (Department of Disability, Housing and Community Services)
• Is the Standard Funding Agreement a Contract? - Nick Seddon (Blake Dawson Waldron)

Useful Web Resources

• There are many resources on funding available through the Community Funding Centre maintained through ourcommunity.com.au

This website does not constitute legal advice. ACTCOSS does not warrant or guarantee the currency, accuracy or completeness of information contained on this website. For further information, read our disclaimer.