Frequently asked questions

The Charitable Foundation provides grants to eligible charities that apply for funding and meet set eligibility criteria related to delivering positive outcomes to people who are disadvantaged, isolated and marginalised in the community.

Newcastle Permanent Building Society sponsors events and initiatives that offer exposure and opportunities to promote the Newcastle Permanent brand.

It is anticipated that approximately $1.5 million a year will be available for distribution by the Charitable Foundation on an ongoing basis.

The Charitable Foundation is currently endorsed as an Income Tax Exempt Charity and approved as a Private Ancillary Fund under Division 30 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (Cth) (the 'Act'). In accordance with the Charitable Foundation's endorsement and its Trust Deed, the fund must be maintained exclusively for public charitable purposes being purposes of providing money, property or benefits to Approved Institutions. An Approved Institution means a fund, authority or institution:

• which is charitable at law
  

• gifts to which are deductible under item 1 of the table in section 30-15 of the Act.

Funds will be made available once the Funding Agreement is executed and other relevant documentation presented.  Grant funds are provided via electronic funds transfer once the funding agreement has been executed.

Generally, applicants will be notified of the Board’s decision to provide funding or not 3-4 months after the closing date.  This timeframe should be considered when planning your project and budget.

The Charitable Foundation Team can be contacted via:

Phone – (02) 4927 4217
Email – foundation@newcastlepermanent.com.au
Mail – PO Box 5001, HRMC NSW 2310

Applications for funding are open twice a year. All applications must be made via the online application portal available on the Charitable Foundation Funding page.

Eligible charities can apply for grants from $20,000 - $200,000. The average sized grant provided by the Foundation is approximately $50,000.

The Charitable Foundation calls for funding submissions twice per year. Charitable Foundation grants generally range from $20,000 to $200,000. For information about opening and closing dates visit the funding page.

All questions on the application form need to be completed, however you can save your application as you go and return to complete it at a later time. You’ll just need to login to the application portal via the Charitable Foundation website in order to retrieve your partially completed application form.

You can print a copy of your application in the application portal via the Charitable Foundation website.

The Charitable Foundation team cannot assist with writing applications. However, the Charitable Foundation team have compiled a number of guides to assist applicants during the application process, these include:

• A Guide for Applying for Funding
• Newcastle Permanent Charitable Foundation Program Logic Model Template

The Charitable Foundation team is available to answer questions relating to the application form including clarification of requirements.

Yes. New Charitable Foundation funded projects will be required to follow program logic. Program logic modelling is a best practice approach for program design, implementation and monitoring. The funding application requires some program logic responses. The Charitable Foundation provide a Newcastle Permanent Charitable Foundation Program Logic Model Template contains an easy to follow example.

The application will indicate which questions require a program logic response. It is a good idea to review the program logic model template provided before you complete the application.

A program logic model (also known as outcome model, outcome logic, logic model, or outcome hierarchy) helps you to clearly document the project idea from end to end, to create a simple project road map that describes the what and how of the project.

The program logic lays out the sequence of steps required to reach the desired outcomes. The steps include identifying the inputs, activities, outputs, and outcomes (from short, to long-term). An important aspect of program logic is the identification of any assumptions that link steps.

This road map allows you to monitor the project road travelled, and if taking another path is required, it allows you to understand why and what the impact of the change might be. This process will provide you with valuable insights and learnings for the evaluation.

The program logic should not replace a detailed project plan, and it should work alongside your project plan. Your project plan should detail all the steps and tasks than described in the program logic and define the timeframe required to deliver each activity / project. The timeframe(s) will be recorded in your application as Milestones.

For more information regarding program logic visit evaluationtoolbox.net.au

For example the program ‘Because We Matter’ has a goal to ‘stop family violence and keep children safe’, a long-term outcome: ‘children are safe’.

Program Logic assists in identifying all the activities or inputs (resources required i.e. staffing, room hire, funding) to reach the desired outcome(s).

Your completed program logic program will help you identify the program key points including;

• what inputs are (staff, volunteers, workshop venue hire, funding)
• what the output activities are (hold workshops)
• the expected output results (# number of people attended workshop)
• what short to long-term outcomes are expected (parents have increased knowledge of X, parents use alternate strategies to deal with X, X is reduced).

These points will assist with determining the budget, other in-kind contributions, key stakeholders to engage, environmental and community factors to consider, culture, economics, politics and demographics.

Your completed program logic will also draw out your ‘assumptions’ (e.g why people do not refer to the program) and ‘external factors’ (didn’t liaise with key stakeholder). These two points provide a key insight to the potential risks and allows you to mitigate the risks.

For more information regarding program logic visit evaluationtoolbox.net.au

In accordance with executed funding agreements, the Charitable Foundation requires all projects to provide an evaluation report detailing if the project met its goals and reflect on lessons learned. Evaluation is a structured process of assessing the success of a project and providing insight on how all parties can continuously improve.

To assist with evaluation planning and reporting, the Charitable Foundation provides:

• Final Evaluation Report Template to present the results
• Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Plan Template to assist with developing the evaluation framework which will be used in your final Evaluation Report. We recommend that you consider your M&E Plan when you are developing your program logic model (read FAQ - Newcastle Permanent Charitable Foundation Monitoring and Evaluation Framework.

A workshop and template will be provided once your project has commenced.

Evaluating the outcomes of a project is critical to ensuring that the project met its goals and contributed the delivery of the Charitable Foundation’s vision and mission. A Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) plan works with the program logic plan to define what you will collect, when and by whom it is to be collected, what question the information will answer, and the audience you are reporting to.

The M&E plan aims to define:

Evaluation

• Broad evaluation questions Monitoring

What do we want to know? (Monitoring Question)

• How will we know it (Indicator)
• Where will the data come from (Data Source/Method)
• Who will capture the data (Responsibility)
• When will data be captured (Timeframe)
• Estimated cost

Evaluation

• Who will be involved
• How will it be reported
• When will the evaluation occur (Timeframe)

In summary your M&E plan should have identified;

• the different evaluation stakeholders
• the evaluation questions do they want answered
• key dates for reporting your findings.

The evaluation process and complexity is dependent on the size and nature of your project. Your organisation may already have an established evaluation process or you may develop one specific for your project, as long as it meets the Charitable Foundation impact measurement requirements. Two common evaluation process are Formative (process focused) and summative (short to long term ‘outcome evaluation’) evaluations. Both are acceptable to use as they provide necessary information to determine if the project met its desired goals.

Formative evaluation evaluates the project process and generates data including creating a baseline for subsequent monitoring e.g. conducting sample surveys and focus groups, recording attendance registrations, capturing traffic in digital spaces.

Summative evaluation is conducted during and after the program completes the program cycle. This evaluation provides insights into the effectiveness and efficiency of the program logic model and provides data to justify continuing the program if required e.g. questionnaires, focus groups, staff feedback, story telling, audits. The results will assist with sustainability planning.

For more information regarding formative and summative evaluation visit evaluationtoolbox.net.au

Yes. The Charitable Foundation will assess applications based on projects becoming self-sustaining after the Charitable Foundation’s support ceases.

In terms of the application, you should describe the likelihood of the change continuing once the intervention activities have ceased.

Project acquittal is due at the project completion date once the Project is to have completed, with all Funding Benefits and Outputs delivered to the Foundation and all Key Milestones having been met. A Project Acquittal Report is to be submitted by the Recipient to the Foundation.

The Project Acquittal Report is to follow the template provided by the Charitable Foundation.

Under exceptional circumstances the Charitable Foundation will accept a late submission. Request for late submission should be requested in writing.

All projects reliant on third parties or other project partners should obtain a letter of support from the other parties.