General News
19 October, 2023
Quick Response Grant changes to Ready Now Policy
CORANGAMITE Shire Council have voted to replace the popular Quick Response Grants Program with the new Ready Now Grants Policy.
CORANGAMITE Shire Council have voted to replace the popular Quick Response Grants Program with the new Ready Now Grants Policy.
Councillors approved the change in policy, with the Quick Response Grants Program being in place for more than a decade.
Shire community development officer Garry Moorfield said following consultation about the purpose and operation of the Quick Response Grants program 12 propositions were presented to council.
He said the new policy was “targeted and focused on community benefit, and more impactful in supporting community groups and activities where small grants can make a difference”.
“The Quick Response Grants program is broadly considered worthwhile and has supported the work of Corangamite Shire community volunteer groups for more than a decade,” Mr Moorfield said.
“However, the notion of providing a ‘quick response’ to emerging circumstances which might not be easily planned for is not generally observed in practice.
“While recent administrative changes have had a small impact on the operation of the program, applicants continue to source materials and services from outside of the municipality, request funding for projects or activities that have already commenced or apply for materials and services that could be better described as recurrent items.”
The new Ready Now Grants policy includes:
A redefinition of the purpose of the program to focus on volunteer-based community groups;
Ensuring the definition of community group and volunteer status harmonises with council’s Community Grants program;
Tightening the definition of eligible expenditure;
Removing the reference to wards;
Providing examples of what will not be funded;
Emphasis on local purchasing; and
Providing a new process for receipt, evaluation and award of funds.
Mr Moorfield said grant applications processed in any given month would be reported to council at the last monthly meeting unlike the Quick Response Grants program where applications were submitted to council for determination.
“On this basis the policy requires a delegation to the chief executive officer to approve the awarding of grants,” he said.
Councillor Jo Beard welcomed the new policy.
“We’re always trying to make it better; we’re always trying to make it fairer and probably a bit more accessible for our community groups,” she said.
Cr Beard said a review of the policy had shown there were “a lot of gaps” in the previous program.
“For me personally I’m really pleased to see that there is this community focus; but that hasn’t been around what the project is and the people applying for the project or the grant – it’s also about how we purchase the goods to get the project done,” she said.
“I for one have always been a massive advocate of we need to support our local businesses because when you look at participating sporting groups they are the ones that are sponsors of the clubs, they are the ones that are usually putting money back into these community groups.
“So I’m glad to see there is an element of focus on local purchasing.”
Cr Nick Cole said the new policy was just “minor tweaks” of the Quick Response Grant Program.
“This is just tweaking at the edges to make it a bit more user friendly,” he said.
Cr Beard encouraged community groups to reach out to council with questions on how to apply for funding under the new policy.
“I think this new policy means we now need our community groups to make sure they get familiar with it and before you go to the effort of applying for grants, have a look at the policy and don’t be afraid to give our council staff a call and have a chat,” she said.