The Saving Warfare Grants Program in Australia

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1 SALUTING THEIR SERVICE COMMEMORATIONS PROGRAM GUIDELINES COMMENCING 1 July 2014 What is the purpose of the grants program? The Saluting Their Service (STS) grants program is designed to preserve our wartime heritage and to involve people throughout the nation in a wide range of activities and projects that highlight the sacrifice and service of Australia s servicemen and women in wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations and promote appreciation and understanding of the role that those who served have played in shaping the nation. Two categories of grants are available under STS: These are modest grants of up to $4,000 which are available for projects that assist people at a community level and enable small communities to build memorials and preserve wartime memorabilia that is significant locally but is not necessarily nationally significant. These grants are available for significant projects, usually at a national or state/territory level that contribute to Australia s understanding of its wartime heritage and honour the service and sacrifice of its servicemen and women. When can applications be submitted? Applications can be submitted to the Department of Veterans Affairs at any time and will be considered at the next available meeting of the Commemorations Grants Advisory Committee. There are two rounds a year for : - Round 1: Applications close on 1 July for projects commencing no earlier than 1 October in the same year. - Round 2: Applications close on 3 January for projects commencing no earlier than 1 April in the same year. Important: Applications not received by DVA by the closing date will be returned. Who can apply? Community and ex-service organisations Schools and other educational institutions Museums and cultural institutions State/territory and Local government authorities Other non-profit community organisations Individuals are not eligible to apply for funding under this program unless supported by an eligible organisation or institution. What is eligible? Proposed projects and events must be directly commemorative of the involvement, service and sacrifice of Australia s servicemen and women in wars, conflicts and peace operations. Types of projects eligible under the category include: the public commemoration of significant military anniversaries. Only one anniversary should be commemorated as it is considered that events to commemorate multiple anniversaries have 1

2 the potential to diminish the significance of the anniversaries. The event must be held within a month of the anniversary being commemorated; significant military unit reunions. For example, 40 th or 65 th anniversary; new war memorials, honour boards or plaques; the restoration of existing war memorials, honour boards and plaques; flagpoles, where none exists to fly the Australian National Flag; the preservation, interpretation and display of wartime and military memorabilia and artefacts; and relevant school projects, such as research with a focus on military involvement and social impacts, and the products of research, e.g. written material, documentaries etc. Types of projects eligible under the category include: new national/state/territory or otherwise significant war memorials; the restoration of existing national/state/territory or otherwise significant war memorials; significant (national/state/territory level) commemorative events; and nationally significant cultural/educational/research projects with a military heritage focus. What is not eligible? Types of projects not eligible under include: projects commemorating the post-war deaths of servicemen and women; projects exclusively commemorating animals; expenditure already incurred or ongoing expenditure; construction and repair of buildings, including museums, memorial halls and sporting facilities; recurring activities, for example, Anzac Day, Remembrance Day, Vietnam Veterans Day, National Service Day; salaries, travel and accommodation; sporting events; purchase of military hardware or memorabilia; catering/refreshments; purchase of vehicles and equipment; hire of vehicles; memorials or events commemorating the achievements of individuals; memorials located overseas; educational materials where DVA projects already provide resources for schools; honour boards or plaques acknowledging membership or service with an ex-service organisation; and events to mark training, enlistment, graduation, the formation or anniversaries of associations or ex-service organisations. Types of projects not eligible under include: community based projects; 2

3 projects which have already received funding under the ACLGP; projects commemorating the post-war deaths of servicemen and women; projects exclusively commemorating animals; expenditure already incurred or ongoing expenditure; construction and repair of buildings, including museums, memorial halls and sporting facilities; recurring activities, for example, Anzac Day, Remembrance Day, Vietnam Veterans Day, National Service Day; salaries, travel and accommodation; sporting events; purchase of military hardware or memorabilia; catering/refreshments; purchase of vehicles and equipment; hire of vehicles; memorials or events commemorating the achievements of individuals; memorials located overseas; educational materials where DVA projects already provide resources for schools; honour boards or plaques acknowledging membership or service with an ex-service organisation; and events to mark training, enlistment, graduation, the formation or anniversaries of associations or ex-service organisations. Assessment Criteria The following criteria will be used by DVA when assessing applications for funding. Applicants should use the Assessment Criteria to assist them in developing their proposals. 1. Level of support for public events/projects and the accessibility of these events/projects to the community/nation. 2. The relevance/connection of the project to Australia s wartime heritage and/or the proximity in time to a significant anniversary of a military event. 3. The applicant s capability to deliver and implement the proposal within the specified timeframe and budget. 4. The proposal provides value for money (refer to 11.3 of the Commonwealth Grants Guidelines Second Edition). 5. The level of in-kind and/or financial support of the proposal from other sources, including the applicant. The first four criteria have equal weighting. The fifth criteria is less important. Proposals will be assessed by DVA against the Assessment Criteria with reference to the application and supporting documentation. How much is available for each project? Up to $3,000 is available for: restoration, preservation and interpretation of Australian wartime memorabilia for public display (e.g. the purchase of cabinets, lighting, restoration of military hardware); ceremonies commemorating significant anniversaries of battles, other military operations and significant reunions provided the event takes place within a month of the anniversary (e.g. 3

4 wreaths, chair and PA hire, printing of orders of service etc). Please note, funding is not available for refreshments/catering; publishing wartime histories, where none exist. For example, unit histories, local wartime histories and letters from servicemen and women; and schools initiatives (e.g. research projects involving local veterans or recording visits to commemorative sites overseas). Up to $4,000 is available for: restoration and upgrading community war memorials and improving access and safety to the immediate surrounds; restoring vandalised memorials and improving security; constructing new community memorials where none exist and where the new memorial will be the focus of community commemoration; restoration of commemorative plaques and honour boards for public display; and new commemorative plaques and honour boards for public display. Up to $500 is available for: a flagpole, where none exists, for nursing homes, schools and other organisations to fly the Australian National Flag. Grants in excess of $4,000 are available for: new national/state/territory or otherwise significant war memorials where none exists and where the new memorial will be the focus of community commemoration significant (national/state/territory level) commemorative events; the restoration of existing national/state/territory or otherwise significant war memorials; nationally significant education/research projects that add to the sum of knowledge on a particular topic or which provide access to information about Australia s wartime heritage to a national/state/territory audience. Where can I obtain an application form? Application forms are available from the DVA website, and DVA offices around Australia. Where do I send my application? Applications should be sent to the address which can be found on the application form. Grants and the GST Grants are subject to the Goods and Services Tax (GST). The grant amount being sought on the application form should be the GST inclusive amount. As a result of the GST, payment can only be made to the grant applicant and not the supplier of the goods or services. What is the application assessment process? Both and will be considered by the Commemorations Grants Advisory Committee (CGAC) which then makes recommendations to the Minister for Veterans Affairs. The CGAC is chaired by the Repatriation Commissioner, and has representatives from the Returned & Services League of Australia, Australian Local Government Association, Australian War Memorial and Department of Veterans Affairs. The Minister makes the decision on each application. 4

5 There is no closing date for. The CGAC meets several times a year and considers the applications received to date. Applicants are advised to submit applications several months in advance of the project for which funding is required. Applications will be assessed against the criteria and the funding available for these grants generally allows all eligible applications to be funded. Should the funding available be insufficient to cover all eligible projects, applications will be ranked against each other and receive funding based on merit. Applications for will be assessed against the criteria and each application ranked. Funding will be allocated on merit until the allocation is exhausted. What happens if a grant is approved? Once the Minister has made a decision, the applicant will be informed of the outcome. A successful applicant (grantee) will be required to accept the grant and to sign a grant agreement. Once the signed agreement has been received by DVA, the grant funds will be transferred to the grantee s bank account. For smaller grants like these, the grant agreement is a short document agreeing to various stipulations, including: to use the funds solely for the purpose specified in the Minister s letter; to bear full responsibility, including liability, for all activities carried out in relation to the project; to retain all records relating to this grant, and the project, for which it was awarded for a period of no less than two years from the date of the Minister s letter of offer; and to return the Acquittal Form, signed, certifying that the full amount has been spent on the project for which the grant was made, or that any surplus funds have been remitted to the Department. The full details of the acquittal requirements, including consequences of non-compliance, are set out in the funding agreement pro-forma. If there is a delay which prevents the timely acquittal of a grant, an extension should be sought from DVA. For larger grants a grantee is required to sign a contract which outlines the grantee s full range of responsibilities. Depending on the size of the grant and the project for which funding was approved, these responsibilities may include regular reporting to DVA. Grantees are required to acquit the grant by the due date in the grant agreement. This is generally set at six months after the project s date of completion. What happens if a funded project cannot go ahead? If an approved proposal does not go ahead, for example other anticipated sources of funding fall through, the grantee must notify DVA as soon as possible and arrange the return of the grant funds. Privacy The information you provide on the application form is required to make a decision in regard to your application. If successful, some information will be disclosed to your Member of Parliament and successful grants will also be the subject of a media release. All grant information, including the name and details of the recipient, are required to be published on the DVA website for a minimum of two years. Reconsideration/Feedback Feedback on the grants program or individual applications or requests for reconsideration of unsuccessful applications should be directed to the Grants Team, Gallipoli and Commemorative Grants on the phone number below or in writing to 5

6 Saluting Their Service Grants Department of Veterans Affairs GPO Box 9998 CANBERRA ACT 2601 Where can I obtain further information? or on Freecall