In a Good Place (IAGP)

The In a Good Place program gives small remote, rural and regional communities across Australia, and particularly farming communities, the opportunity to access funds for a broad range of community-driven projects, services, activities or initiatives, which clearly and directly focus on strengthening the mental health and wellbeing of vulnerable community members who are at risk of, or are experiencing, mental health issues.

The program supports a range of approaches that are preventative or responsive in nature, reduce social isolation by increasing social participation and connectedness, and reduce stigma surrounding mental health by encouraging open discussion and supporting self-help-seeking.

In a Good Place is a national grants program, with a preference to support projects serving communities with populations under 10,000 in remote, rural and regional communities.

Population centres greater than 10,000 for projects that support community members from smaller population centres will also be considered.

In a Good Place offers grants of up to $20,000, from a funding pool of at least $290,000. These grants are available thanks to the generous support of CCI Giving, Macdoch Foundation, Jibb Foundation, Morris Family Foundation, Norman Family Foundation, Rebecca Gorman & John Sevior, and the Hanna Foundation.

There are two streams of funding available:

• Community wellbeing for projects focussing on general mental health and wellbeing within remote, rural, and regional communities.
• Farmers and farming communities for projects specifically supporting the mental health and wellbeing of farmers and the communities they live in.

NOTE: Farming communities refers to remote, rural and regional communities with a high economic dependency on agriculture and related industries.

While all requests will be considered, our priorities for funding are outlined below:

• Projects that respond to specific mental health and wellbeing issues within a local community;
• Projects that are initiated and delivered by local community and not-for-profit organisations, rather than organisations from outside of the beneficiary community. Organisations from outside of beneficiary communities applying for funds will need to
  provide sufficient evidence that the local community endorses the organisation and the project, or has initiated the partnership to deliver the project, such as support letters;
• Projects serving communities with populations under 10,000 in remote, rural and regional communities are preferred. Applications from population centres greater than 10,000 for projects that support community members from smaller population centres are also considered.
• Projects that do not duplicate an existing service or program;
• Projects that are sustainable beyond the period of the grant.

The program is open primarily to charitable projects that use non-clinical approaches to engagement, and are community-based and accessible to everyone. Priority will be given to initiatives that:

• Are delivered by non-clinical providers of mental health care, such as school counsellors and teachers, pastoral care teams, neighbourhood or community groups;
• Improve accessibility and availability of mental health services, tools, or support to areas with limited or no access to the same, through technology or other innovative methods;
• Improve knowledge of mental health services, tools, or support through the development of local community resources;
• Provide innovative responses that are inclusive and which build social connections that lead to better mental health, such as delivering, or providing, activities, events, programs and services.
• Confront stigma surrounding help-seeking behaviour in locally responsive ways, such as community events and / or activities with strong and positive mental health messaging.

Projects must:

• Be conducted for charitable purposes and consistent with broad public benefit.
• Directly relate to one or more of the objectives of In a Good Place;
• Demonstrate strong community support for the project and involvement of a range of community perspectives;
• Be undertaken within 12 months of receiving the funding, reporting back to FRRR on the outcomes of the project within three months of project completion, with a further follow-up phone-based review with FRRR in the following three months.

Applicants are required to submit a brief EOI outlining their proposed project. If the project and organisation meet the eligibility criteria and program objectives, a link to the more detailed online application form will be provided by email.

There are several areas that we can’t fund through this program. If in doubt, please contact us.

• Projects that support core business and areas of responsibility of Federal, State, and Local Governments;
• Clinical / acute mental health projects;
• Ongoing core organisational operational costs (e.g. rent, utilities, regular wages, loan repayments);
• The encouragement or advancement of sport, recreation, and social activities are not considered charitable activities under Australian law. Applications from sporting organisations need to clearly demonstrate charitable outcomes and benefits to the wider community that are above and beyond the sporting activities of the club;
• Overseas travel and overseas projects;
• Prizes, gifts, trophies or awards;
• Political lobbying;
• Projects that primarily benefit private business, a sole trader, or private interests;
• Projects solely focussed on animal welfare.

To apply, you must meet the following criteria:

• Applicant organisations must be a not-for-profit organisation with either an Incorporation Certificate and/or an ABN.
  If you are unsure if your organisation is a registered not-for-profit (for example, if you are a Co-operative, Other Unincorporated Entity, Public Company, or Trust), please contact FRRR;
• The project must offer clear public benefit (i.e., has a charitable purpose);
• Not-for-profit organisations with or without DGR-1 endorsement are eligible;
• Organisations registered as charities with the ACNC are preferred but not essential;
• Organisations can submit one application per grant round; and
• Projects must be in a remote, rural, or regional area.

If your project involves working directly with children / youth under 18 years, your organisation must have policies and procedures around working with children, Working with Children Checks, and the handling of child abuse complaints, or the project may not be funded. See the Frequently Asked Questions section on our website for further information.

Applicants with outstanding final reports are not eligible to apply unless a time extension has been granted.

Please note, you will be considered ineligible if the:

• Application is submitted by individuals, sole traders, or private/commercial businesses (as per the submitted ABN);
• Application is submitted by an organisation that is not a legal entity, without the written consent of the governing / partnering body that holds the ABN / Incorporation number;
• Application is not for charitable purposes, i.e. it is for private benefit or is the core responsibility of Government;
• Application is submitted without required financial documentation (see additional information on the second tab);
• Final report/s from any FRRR grants awarded in the previous seven years have not been acquitted (delivery organisations should check with the legal organisation to see if there are any outstanding final reports);
• Application is for a project or activity that has already occurred or is occurring prior to the announcement of funding;
• Application is incomplete. NOTE: Due to the volume of applications received, applications are assessed based on the documentation received at the time of application. FRRR is unlikely to follow up missing documentation after applications have been submitted.

A clear description of exactly what the grant funds will be used for, when and where the project will happen, who will benefit and who will be involved in delivering the project, why the project and grant funds are needed, how funds will be spent and how the activities and success of the project will be recorded, evaluated and shared.

Where possible, also indicate that your community is ready to deliver the project and if required, can support the initiative ongoing – i.e. awareness of need is widespread, appropriate leadership, resources, skills and knowledge exist in the community.

Helpful resources:

• Tips for great applications
• Project Planning Tool

Applications received without the requested financial information are ineligible. Providing incorrect information on financials is currently the most frequent reason why applications are not considered.

Please note:

You must include a project budget that clearly shows the items that FRRR grant funds will be used for and shows all income and expenses related to your project.

Budgets should be realistic and must add up – i.e. total expenditure must match total income.

Applicant contributions in cash or in-kind are highly regarded. Quotes or detailed rationale for items over $1,000 are required, where possible. Note: FRRR suggests costing unskilled volunteer labour at $45 per hour.

For more info on costing volunteer labour, visit: https://explore.fundingcentre.com.au/help-sheets/valuing-volunteer-labour.

Helpful resources:

• How do I cost labour in my project?
• Preparing your budget

Every application needs to include an organisation that holds either an ABN or Incorporation Certificate. If your organisation doesn’t have that, FRRR could still fund the project (with your organisation as the delivery organisation) but you need another organisation’s support, which we refer to as the ‘legal organisation’.

Even though your organisation may complete the application (and will be doing the work), it’s the overarching organisation’s legal and financial information that needs to be provided. They also need to provide a letter from the legal entity, confirming they are willing to play this role, with a template available here for your convenience.

This situation often occurs often when the organisation delivering the activity or project is a branch of an overarching organisation – such as a local CWA or YMCA branch.

FRRR strongly recommends that you provide supporting materials such as letters of support, evidence of permission from the property owner, community plans, survey results, photographs, media clips and research reports that can show broad community support and partnerships involved in the project. For more information on supporting documentation, watch this recording.

Large documents should be referenced and explained in the application.

Helpful resources:

• Grantseeker Resources

We have grouped the kinds of projects communities commonly ask us to help fund in the IAGP program, which we call the Activity Tree. You will be asked to nominate one of these five areas for the IAGP program:

• Building community resilience
• Developing organisational resilience and capacity
• Fostering cultural vibrancy
• Lifelong learning and education
• Improving community health and social wellbeing

We ask you to nominate one of these five areas when you apply. So, before you lodge your application, download the Activity Tree to help you identify your focus area.