DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN & YOUTH AFFAIRS NATIONAL LOTTERY GRANT SCHEME 2014

Transcription

1 DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN & YOUTH AFFAIRS NATIONAL LOTTERY GRANT SCHEME 2014 INFORMATION LEAFLET 1. Introduction The Department of Children and Youth Affairs has a National Lottery Discretionary fund in place which provides once-off grants to community groups and voluntary organisations with an involvement in the provision of services to children and young people. The Department strongly recommends that applicants read this information leaflet fully and the Frequently Asked Questions prior to making an application. 2. Statutory Basis The National Lottery Act Amount of Fund A fund of 910,000 is available for applications were received in 2013 totalling requests for funding in excess of 7.1m. Of these 128 were approved with an average grant amount of 3,900 per project. 4. Scope of the Scheme The scope of the scheme is for the provision of services to children and young people. Grants are generally awarded for once-off projects across a wide variety of areas such as the provision of equipment for youth clubs, youth cafes, scouts, summer camps, day trips for youth clubs/summer camps, play equipment for playschools/crèches and other once-off programs. In addition for 2014 the Department will also consider projects that focus on Children s and Youth Health issues. During 2014, priority will be given to projects and activities that involve: Culture, play and recreation. Children and young people led initiatives. Healthy Lifestyles for Children and Young people including innovative new projects aimed at emerging issues for children such as smoking, obesity, alcohol consumption, cyber bullying etc.

2 To provide marginalised groups with access to extra-curricular activity based projects. The DCYA National Lottery Scheme has a limited funding allocation and as such is being targeted in 2014 at projects which would not ordinarily be eligible under the other programmes operated by DCYA / DCYA agencies or other Government Departments. In such instances applicants are directed to the following programmes: DCYA Childcare Programmes for Capital Grant Funding. DCYA Youth Organisations and Services Capital and Current Grant Funding. Department of Health National Lottery Funding. Department of Transport Tourism and Sport National Lottery Sports Capital Funding. The above list is not exhaustive and potential applicants should satisfy themselves that an alternative appropriate source of funding is not available prior to submitting their completed funding request. Please note that funding is not available for ongoing running / staffing costs. 5. Level of Grant In 2014 the Scheme is mainly targeting small scale projects and therefore the level of grant awarded will typically be for an amount less than 20,000. In all cases applicants should ensure that proposals demonstrate how a meaningful and complete project can be progressed to completion with a grant of this scale. 6. Application Forms Applications must be made on the approved application form. This form can be downloaded from the Department s website or a copy can be requested directly from: National Lottery Grants, Freepost, Department of Children and Youth Affairs, Mespil Road, Dublin 4. Website: Fully completed/signed applications should be returned by post to the Department clearly marked National Lottery Grants and are to arrive no later than 12:30pm on Friday, 6th June, Please Note: Applications will only be accepted on the approved application form. The deadline for receipt of applications will be strictly enforced.

3 Applicants should submit two signed hard copies of the completed application form and include one copy of supporting documentation. Funding will be distributed in two tranches. An initial amount will be allocated in the first phase based on the applications received in June, with the remainder distributed later in the year. If necessary, a second round of applications may be announced. Any unsuccessful applications (after this first phase of funding) will automatically be included in any subsequent evaluation process for funding later in the year, so there is no need or advantage in submitting a second application, should further applications be invited. 7. Processing of an application An acknowledgement will issue from the Department on receipt of a fully completed application form. In this regard, applicants need to be aware of requirements regarding Tax Clearance Procedures and Charitable Status evidence set out below. Please note that incorrectly completed forms will be returned and will not be processed until re-submitted. A fully completed application will then be assessed and evaluated by the Department and forwarded to the Minister for her consideration. The Minister, taking account of the details of the application and the internal Departmental assessment, then makes the final decision. When an application is approved a formal letter of approval will issue. Applicants will also be informed if their application is unsuccessful. 8. Tax Clearance Procedures/Charity Status The Government s tax clearance procedures apply to all grants allocated. These procedures mean that organisations must give their tax number, the name of the tax office dealing with their affairs and must certify that their tax affairs are in order. If you do not already have a tax number, you can obtain one from your local tax office. Applications cannot be accepted from groups or projects which do not quote their tax number. Applicants should note that under Section 891b of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, the Department is required to furnish the Revenue Commissioners with details of payments made by them. In this regard, applicants should note that, if their application is successful, details of the grant will be automatically returned to the Revenue Commissioners. The following tax clearance procedures apply to all organisations receiving grants, except those that have a Charity (CHY) number. While it is envisaged that the level of grant awarded will typically be for an amount less than 20,000, applicants should note that for funding over 10,000 (inclusive of VAT) a valid tax clearance certificate must be supplied. If your organisation has been granted Charitable Tax Exemption from the

4 Revenue Commissioners, your CHY details will suffice. However, please also note the requirement regarding capital projects in paragraph 10 below which apply regardless of charitable status. 9. Application for Tax Clearance Certificates Applicants are advised that the application form (TC1) for a tax clearance certificate should be completed on-line on the Revenue Commissioners website. To facilitate all concerned, applicants are encouraged to agree, on the on-line application form, to the on-line verification of any certificate issued to them. The on-line verification facility can be found on Revenue s website at The facility is secure and can only be accessed with the permission of the applicant who holds the tax clearance certificate. The applicant gives permission to confirm his/her tax cleared status by quoting the customer number and tax clearance certificate number, which appears on the certificate. This allows public sector bodies to access the secure facility to confirm the position. On-line confirmation that an applicant is in possession of a tax clearance certificate can be accepted and there is no need for the applicant to produce the original certificate. Applicants who do not have access to the internet may request an application form from their Local Revenue District. The TC1 form is also available for downloading or printing from the Revenue website. 10. Payments which finance construction operations In addition to the requirements of the tax clearance procedures outlined above, there are additional specific requirements where payments which finance construction operations - as defined in section 530 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 (as amended) - exceed 650. In summary, each grant applicant will be required to provide the following details in respect of each contractor who will be employed on the grant-aided work: The name, address, tax reference number and tax district of each contractor. The tax clearance number of each contractor and relevant expiry date. There have been a number of changes introduced recently with regard to tax clearance provisions for construction work and applicants should consult with Revenue if in doubt. Additional details regarding revised procedures for Tax Clearance in respect of Public Service Contracts, Grants, Subsidies and similar type payments can be found on Department of Finance Circulars 43/2006 and 44/2006 which are also published on this Departments website. 11. Ministerial approval

5 All applications are forwarded to the Minister along with the Department s recommendations, for consideration. When a project is approved by the Minister a letter will issue to the organisation by the Minister confirming this. Where applicants are unsuccessful, applicants will also be informed. Payment of the grant will be made as soon as possible after the Minister s approval has issued. 12. Certification, Publicity and Auditing Applicants should note that it is a condition of the grant that it may only be used on the authorised project and may not be used for any other purpose and that the appropriate acknowledgement of this assistance from the National Lottery should be made. The National Lottery Company may be in contact with an organisation at a later date with regard to publicity. Organisations must be aware of the terms of approval regarding certification and must furnish a certified invoice or an audited statement of accounts which clearly shows where the grant was spent. In the event that the grant has not been spent, in whole or in part, a statement of the amount expended and a schedule of the proposed spending of the unused balance must be supplied. It is also a condition of the grant that certification of expenditure should be submitted to the Finance Unit of this Department as soon as possible after the end of the financial year or when the project is completed (whichever is earlier). The accounts must separately identify the contribution received from the Department of Children and Youth Affairs National Lottery Grant Scheme The Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General may wish to audit the accounts of any successful applicant at any time. 13. Recovery If it appears that a successful applicant may not be in a position to dispose of the grant in whole or in part, on the authorised project, consideration will be given to seeking recovery of the balance unexpended. 14. Queries If you have any queries relating to National Lottery funding, please contact the Finance Unit on or or by to dcyalotterygrants@dcya.gov.ie Useful website links The Department of Children and Youth Affairs The Revenue Commissioners The Department of Finance The National Lottery The closing date for receipt of completed applications is no later than 12:30pm on Friday, 6th June, All application should be clearly marked National Lottery Grants Incomplete applications will be returned and not processed unless resubmitted Applications received after the closing date, will not be considered

6