FOUNDATION GRANTS

The “N” Districts, Regions, Zones and Clubs are eligible to apply to the Foundations for funding assistance to complete their sight, medical and/or health related projects that are unable to be fully funded for other sources.  The types of projects most often seen are either to purchase equipment for sight, medical and/or health institutions or to purchase equipment for the group or individual use of members of the community who are handicapped, disabled or have infirmities.

The Foundations were never intended as a funding source of first recourse. Grant applications will have a greater chance of success where it is clearly demonstrated that a genuine effort has been made by the applicant to obtain funding towards the project from all relevant sources, including from their ‘activities’ funds. 

Each grant application is considered on its merits, however applications to fund building construction will not be considered.

Grant applicants must provide full documentation to support their case for funding assistance.  Any statement or claim of a medical or technical nature made by a grant applicant must be supported in writing by an independent and suitably qualified professional.

Completed grant application submissions should be lodged as early as possible so that they may be checked and any anomalies or deficiencies in the paperwork followed up and corrected, and thereby given the greatest chance of a successful outcome.

The deadline for the lodgement of grant applications so that they may be considered at the next meeting of the Board is by the first day of the month preceding the Board meeting, i.e. the first day of February, July or October. However, emergency grant applications for any amount and normal grant applications for amounts up to $3,000.00 GST exclusive should be lodged as soon as all the paperwork is in order, as they need not wait until the holding of a full Board of Directors meeting to be considered. 

Applicants are encouraged to consult and seek the advice and assistance of their District’s Foundation Directors when compiling their grant application submissions.

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PAYMENT OF GRANTS

Grant applicants must nominate an acceptable Grantee to receive the grant payment. Tax law requires that the Grantee must be a charitable entity with Deductible Gift Recipient endorsement from the Australian Taxation Office. However, the Grantee does not necessarily have to be the actual beneficiary of the grant.  In the case of equipment intended for another beneficiary, the Grantee must be prepared to act as such by placing the order with the supplier, paying any GST (which they can then claim back on their BAS), taking custody of the equipment, and making the equipment available to the actual beneficiary for as long as their need for it remains.

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SOURCE OF GRANT FUNDS

Grants are funded entirely from the income earned on the investment of capital accumulated over the years from the proceeds of the Foundation’s fundraising activities and the support of the “N” Districts and Clubs.

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HELPFUL HINTS FOR GRANT APPLICANTS

• The Grant Application Form is available upon request from Foundation Directors whose contact details can be  found in the Lions Australia MD 201 Directory under the five “N” District listings. The form can also be downloaded from the Foundations’ website www.lionssavesightfoundation.org.au.

• As a rule of thumb, Foundation grants are confined to funding assistance relating to projects of a sight, medical and/or health nature.

• The potential beneficiaries of grants are many and varied and the types of equipment that a grant can go towards funding are equally diverse.  The Foundations do not maintain a list of eligible grant recipients or a list of sight, medical and/or health related equipment or research projects that may attract a grant.

• Grant applicants must put their case and the application will be considered by the Directors on its merits in line with the Board’s policies and guidelines.

• Read and comply with the Grant Application Guidelines on page 4 of the grant application form and the notes printed throughout.

• Advise at least one of the four Foundation Directors from your District of your club’s intention to apply for a grant and seek their advice and assistance when completing the form.

• Seek further advice if there is a problem complying with any guideline and if still unable to comply provide a full written explanation.

• The information asked for in the application form should be viewed as a summary of the detailed supporting documentation accompanying the application form.  This is particularly so in the case of information of a medical or technical nature which must be verified in writing by an impartial and appropriately qualified professional.

• Where a grant application is for funding assistance towards the provision of equipment for the use of a needy individual or group of individuals, a written assessment of the needs of the individual(s) and a recommendation as to the suitability of items of equipment to cater for their needs must be provided from an impartial and appropriately qualified professional.

• Assessments and recommendations from manufacturers or suppliers of equipment alone are neither independent nor impartial and are therefore unacceptable.

• Three detailed quotes are required from separate suppliers for each item of equipment. The only exception to this requirement is where the assessment and recommendation report from the impartial and appropriately qualified professional specifies a particular item of equipment as being the only one that is suitable for the beneficiary or certifies that despite all reasonable efforts no other suppliers could be found.

• Tax law dictates that Foundation grants can only be made to a charitable entity with Deductible Gift Recipient endorsement from the Australian Taxation Office. This effectively disqualifies service clubs from being the direct recipient of a Foundation grant.  An acceptable third-party Grantee that comes under one of the listed classifications must therefore be nominated on page 3 of the form and their agreement obtained in writing to act as such. The Grantee must be prepared to order the equipment from the supplier, obtain the supplier’s itemised tax invoice for forwarding to the Foundation, receive the Foundation grant cheque, pay the supplier, take custody of the equipment, and make the equipment available to the intended beneficiary for as long as the need remains.

• It is not nearly as difficult or complicated as it may sound.  All it takes is some time and attention to detail. The reward is in knowing that a successful grant application will help persons less fortunate than ourselves.

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GRANT APPLICATION GUIDELINES