Receiving a grant from the Department is an important step in your project journey. Congratulations!
To help you manage your grant, follow these useful tips. Even if you have managed a government grant before, please take the time to read the information.
1. Take a partnership-centred approach
The department takes a partnership-centred approach to providing grants. We invite you to do the same.
By providing this grant, we are committed to partnering with your organisation to deliver strong outcomes for the community.
We believe:
- a positive relationship, based on trust and cooperation, is vital to the success of any grant
- working together achieves desired outcomes.
- Bec Kowtow from Community Hubs Australia
- Haileluel Gebre-Selassie Oam from St Michael Ethiopian Orthodix Church, Building Committee
- Mama Alto, Community Advocate
Bec Kowtow
By working with the department, we've been able to provide that social connection and social cohesion that the community needs.
Haileluel Gebre-Selassie Oam
People who are from the department need to understand how the community operates at the grassroot level.
It's not about contract management, it's about understanding.
Mama Alto
For the organisations that I worked with the key word in the department's name was really fairness.
It was about equity. It was about diversity, and inclusion and uplifting marginalised communities to make sure we could participate more fully in society.
Haileluel Gebre-Selassie Oam
Yes, the department is accessible and approachable and flexible especially in covid times we had quite a lot of conversations with the department to adjust.
Bec Kowtow
The department is incredibly accessible. Anytime that we've had any questions regarding the grant that we have, they’re more than happy to help us.
Haileluel Gebre-Selassie Oam
Because of there's a high turnover of, you know, staff members. Sometimes very hard to explain again, and again, that's a nature of, you know working in the public service. So, I think we can understand that. But we need similar understanding also from the public service to understand how community operates.
Bec Kowtow
I think the only challenge that I've had working with the department has been around terminology in the contract that we have. I'm new relatively new to the work that we're doing with government.
So, it was wonderful to have their open and honest feedback and taking the time to step me through what the contract meant.
Mama Alto
Any time obstacles happen. Any time flexibility is needed. Any time advice is needed or any time you need to be pointed in the right direction for service providers or other branches of government and other funding sources. You can have those discussions, you have weekly check-ins you can make sure that your project is reaching its fullest potential through that partnership.
Mama Alto
My biggest pace piece of advice would be to cultivate that communication and trust with your grant manager and together really figure out where you can find flexibility to suit your community’s needs.
Bec Kowtow
It's important to have a partnership directly with the department. If you're doing that together there's just more brains involved, more creative thinking, you've got to bring them into what you do and they've got to have some skin in the game, and it genuinely is a partnership.
- Bec Kowtow from Community Hubs Australia
- Haileluel Gebre-Selassie Oam from St Michael Ethiopian Orthodix Church, Building Committee
- Mama Alto, Community Advocate
Bec Kowtow
By working with the department, we've been able to provide that social connection and social cohesion that the community needs.
Haileluel Gebre-Selassie Oam
People who are from the department need to understand how the community operates at the grassroot level.
It's not about contract management, it's about understanding.
Mama Alto
For the organisations that I worked with the key word in the department's name was really fairness.
It was about equity. It was about diversity, and inclusion and uplifting marginalised communities to make sure we could participate more fully in society.
Haileluel Gebre-Selassie Oam
Yes, the department is accessible and approachable and flexible especially in covid times we had quite a lot of conversations with the department to adjust.
Bec Kowtow
The department is incredibly accessible. Anytime that we've had any questions regarding the grant that we have, they’re more than happy to help us.
Haileluel Gebre-Selassie Oam
Because of there's a high turnover of, you know, staff members. Sometimes very hard to explain again, and again, that's a nature of, you know working in the public service. So, I think we can understand that. But we need similar understanding also from the public service to understand how community operates.
Bec Kowtow
I think the only challenge that I've had working with the department has been around terminology in the contract that we have. I'm new relatively new to the work that we're doing with government.
So, it was wonderful to have their open and honest feedback and taking the time to step me through what the contract meant.
Mama Alto
Any time obstacles happen. Any time flexibility is needed. Any time advice is needed or any time you need to be pointed in the right direction for service providers or other branches of government and other funding sources. You can have those discussions, you have weekly check-ins you can make sure that your project is reaching its fullest potential through that partnership.
Mama Alto
My biggest pace piece of advice would be to cultivate that communication and trust with your grant manager and together really figure out where you can find flexibility to suit your community’s needs.
Bec Kowtow
It's important to have a partnership directly with the department. If you're doing that together there's just more brains involved, more creative thinking, you've got to bring them into what you do and they've got to have some skin in the game, and it genuinely is a partnership.
2. Know who to contact about your grant
One of our staff will contact you to introduce themselves.
They will be your grant manager in the department and can help you with:
- understanding your funding agreement and reporting requirements
- managing changes to your project you may want to make
- linking you to information to help you expand the impact of your project, including:
- good practice information
- research.
3. Read, understand and follow your funding agreement
All Victorian government grants use the Victorian Common Funding Agreement (VCFA).
Your funding agreement is a legal document. It sets out the rights and obligations you have by accepting the grant.
It’s important you read and understand the agreement. Even if you have managed a grant using the VCFA before, you still need to read it.
If you don’t understand something or you have questions, ask your grant manager in the department.
Think about:
- any requirements your organisation may find difficult
- how you will manage these requirements.
For example, are you confident with the activity delivery and reporting dates set out in the Activity Deliverables and Payments table?
We often refer to these as milestones.
Set reminders for all important dates. Such as:
- when your progress or acquittal or final reports are due.
This is best done one month before the actual due date to give you time to prepare. If you’re not sure of what information is needed at each milestone, discuss it with your grant manager.
4. Be aware of other requirements you need to comply with
Apart from meeting the legal requirements of your funding agreement, there may be other requirements you need to comply with.
These may be based on the activity you deliver with the grant, such as:
- legal
- policy
- regulatory.
For example, if you’re working with young people under 18 years, this could include complying with:
- Child Safe Standards
- Working with Children Check requirements.
Extra requirements should be outlined in the program guidelines. If you’re not sure, check with your grant manager in the department to confirm if there are any that apply to your grant.
5. Keep accurate records
Your funding agreement lists the records you need to keep. This includes evidence of payments made, such as:
- tax invoices
- receipts.
Even if the department does not ask for these, you are required to:
- keep them on file
- provide evidence of expenditure even after the funding agreement has expired .
Also, keep a copy of your:
- application and any attachments
- the program guidelines.
You may also need to:
- refer to these records in the future
- provide them to a new project manager if there are staff changes in your organisation.
Keep information that supports your project evaluation and reports to the department. This may mean you need to collect information:
- before your project starts (this is called baseline data)
- during project delivery
- after the project is complete.
Demonstrating the benefits of your project in the community will help to:
- show how well the project was delivered
- build trust with your funders.
This assessment information is a useful resource for future grant applications.
Please refer to the Australian Taxation Office for further information - Record Keeping for Not-for-Profits
6. Manage and check your project and budget carefully
As part of your reporting to the department, you may be asked to submit a:
- project plan
- detailed budget.
Your project plan should include:
- all main tasks
- who handles the tasks
- when the tasks need to be completed.
Think about how to:
- check progress
- keep the project on track.
If there are delays, you may not be able to extend the length of your project. So, you need to consider how to continue to deliver important activities on time and on budget.
You should think about the risks that could affect your:
- project delivery
- opportunities to strengthen the impact of your project.
Your project plan should include actions to manage these risks and opportunities.
Make sure your project plan aligns with the:
- milestone reports due to the department
- collection of information needed to meet reporting and evaluation requirements.
Set up a way to check progress. This could include regular reports from the project staff to your management committee.
Delivering your project on time and providing transparency on how the project was delivered, helps show future funders that your organisation:
- is professional
- can manage government grants.
7. Discuss changes to your project with the department BEFORE you make them
We know things can change even when a project is carefully managed.
To avoid any issues, contact the department first to discuss any changes you want to make to your project.
You should outline the changes you want to make and why, and whether there is likely to be an impact on:
- the way you use the grant funding
- your ability to achieve the project outcomes
- meeting agreed timelines.
These discussions and changes should also be recorded in writing in case you need to refer to them in the future.
Big changes to your project require a formal variation to your funding agreement. If the department agrees with the changes proposed, you will receive a Deed of Variation or a Letter of Variation to record what changes have been agreed.
The department will not approve changes to your project that do not align with the program guidelines. So, it’s important to refer to those guidelines when thinking about possible changes.
They will be your grant manager in the department and can help you with:
- research.
- your ability to achieve the project outcomes
- meeting agreed timelines.
These discussions and changes should also be recorded in writing in case you need to refer to them in the future.
Big changes to your project require a formal variation to your funding agreement. If the department agrees with the changes proposed, you will receive a Deed of Variation or a Letter of Variation to record what changes have been agreed.
The department will not approve changes to your project that do not align with the program guidelines. So, it’s important to refer to those guidelines when thinking about possible changes.