Economic Development Sponsorship Grant- Minor

The objectives of the Latrobe City Council Economic Development Sponsorship & Membership are to:

•  Recognise, protect and promote the region’s competitive advantages;
• Support existing industries;
• Demonstrate innovative approaches to diversification of the economy and the creation of new jobs; and
• Identify and Encourage new economic opportunities.

The grant programs provide an opportunity for applicants to develop projects that complement the key objectives.

The Latrobe City Council Plan is available online and applicants are encourages to review the relevant document/s prior to developing or submitting an application.

Council Plan 2017 – 2021

Latrobe City Economic Development Fund

Both are are available on the Latrobe City Council website.

This section of the application form is designed to help you, and us, understand if you are eligible for this grant. 

If you have any questions in regards to these eligibility criteria, please contact the Business Development  Officer:

• Phone: 0427 833 817
• Email: busdev@latrobe.vic.gov.au

Important things to know before you start

• Read the guidelines carefully. It is important to have a full understanding of the guidelines before you start completing the online application.
• Applicants are eligible to receive sponsorship funding once per financial year.
• A Certificate of Currency is required as proof of Public Liability Insurance (PLI).
• All previous Sponsorships from Latrobe City Council, where the acquittal is due prior to the closing of the current funding round, must be acquitted to a satisfactory standard. Unacquitted, or insufficiently/unsatisfactorily acquitted sponsorship funding will deem the current application ineligible.
• A project may be open to the whole community or target participation from different community demographics. Successful projects will either have broad community benefit, or achieve deep and meaningful outcomes with particular community members.
• Sponsorship must not be regarded as a recurrent commitment from Latrobe City Council. There is no guarantee a project will be funded in the future.
• Council strongly encourages groups to undertake joint grant submissions. Council acknowledges the community and financial benefits that accrue through collaboration and cooperation, and accordingly supports strong partnership projects which will effectively and efficiently respond to local community needs.

You will be asked to upload the following attachments when completing your application:

Mandatory:

• Current Certificate of Public Liability that will be used to cover the project;
• If your project has an auspice organisation, you will need to attach a letter from the auspice organisation indicating that they accept full financial accountability for the project.

You will also be given the opportunity to upload any additional documents you would like included with the application. 

Who is eligible to apply?

To be eligible to apply, applicants must:

•  Be a not-for-profit, properly constituted legal entity or be auspiced by such a body which is able, and willing, to accept legal and financial responsibility for the project;
• Be an education institution, industry association or training organisation;
• Be free of debt to Latrobe City Council and have no outstanding Acquittals from previous Latrobe City Council sponsorship applications;
• Hold appropriate Public Liability Insurance; and
• Be based within the municipality of Latrobe City or provide services or benefits primarily to the Latrobe City Community.

If you answered no to any of the above criteria, you are ineligible to receive funding.

Who is not eligible to apply?

• Government agencies or departments of State and Federal Government;
• Groups who have not acquitted previous grants provided by Latrobe City Council;
• Groups who have received Community Grant funding from Latrobe City Council in the same application round; and
• For profit private businesses and commercial organisations.

What will not be funded?

• Requests for the purpose of raising funds for other groups. Including fundraising projects with the primary purpose of fund raising for other organisations or individuals;
• Projects that deliver a religious or party political message where the purpose is to advance the organisation’s religious beliefs, irrespective of what those beliefs or positions might be;
• Projects or events at venues where there are gaming machine; unless there is no appropriate alternative venue and the applicant has considered the potential impact to participants;
• Retrospective costs. This includes reimbursement of costs already incurred and funding for projects which have already taken place or began prior to the application being approved by Council;
• Payment of debts or loans;  General operating expenses – funding will not cover expenses such as electricity, lease or rent payments, telephone, wages, salaries, project management costs etc. that are ongoing organisational expenses;
• The purchase of land;
• Repair of facilities damaged by vandalism, fire or other natural disasters where the incident should reasonably be expected to be covered by insurance;
• A project that is not open to the whole community or fails to target participation from different community demographics; and
• Applications for projects that engage in activities which promote discrimination, violence or antisocial behaviour

Sponsorship Conditions

Successful applicants will be required to:

• Enter into a Sponsorship Agreement and adhere to the conditions of the agreement. Additional funding conditions may be applied to your project during assessment;
• Expend the funds within 6 months of signing a Sponsorship Agreement, unless written approval has been given for an extension;
• Acquit the funds within 3 months of identified project completion, unless written approval has been given for an extension;
• Applicants who have an outstanding Acquittal form will not be able to apply for further funding;  Return any underspent and excess funding to Latrobe City Council when submitting the Acquittal Form;
• Notify Latrobe City Council of any significant changes to the project, to what was originally submitted, by providing written request for a funding variation. This includes requests for extensions of time to acquit the project;
• Seek the appropriate permits and approvals to deliver the project. Approval of funding does not constitute permission to deliver your project. It remains your responsibility to seek the appropriate permits and approvals to deliver the project;
• Provide Latrobe City Council with any additional information requested to assist in assessing your application;
• Acknowledge Latrobe City Council’s contribution on materials produced to support their project. This acknowledgement, depending on the amount of funding received, may include logo presence on supporting publications, displays or signage. You will be provided with copies of the Latrobe City Council, ‘Supported by’ logo and guidelines on its correct use when you receive your outcome notification.