RABS Project Criteria
Rotary Australia Compassionate Grants (RACG)
Rotary Australia Compassionate Grant (RACG) Projects have been made possible by a $1,000,000 donation to Rotary Australia World Community Service (RAWCS) by Dick Smith.
RACG Projects are registered under the entity of Rotary Australia Benevolent Society (RABS), ABN 54 563 288 318.
All RABS Projects have DGR status with the ATO. ie. donations are tax deductible.
The aim of the RACG Projects is to provide assistance to disadvantaged members of the Australian community irrespective of their location.
What are the Project Criteria
1. RACG online Project Applications may be submitted by a Rotary Club or a Rotary District.
2. RACG Projects must provide specific, direct relief to people in need and not be simply a general funding donation to an organisation even though that organisation may provide assistance to people in need
3. The funding must satisfy a specific need and may be provided directly to a person or a small group of people. Alternatively, the funding may be to an organisation to provide a piece of equipment that will satisfy the needs of a disadvantaged section of the community.
4. The funding must satisfy the needs of disadvantaged people or a small disadvantaged section of the community and not be simply to provide a benefit to the whole community.
5. The project should be such as to arouse the compassion of the community.
6. The project should define and target the disadvantage or need of the people or group of people for whom it is intended.
7. The concept of disadvantage is unlimited and could arise from sickness, suffering, distress, misfortune, disability, destitution, helplessness or poverty, any aspect of the negative side of the human condition. The criteria are not prescriptive but should be used as a guide to determine the disadvantage.
8. Priority for grants will be given to those whose disadvantage has arisen from an ‘ad hoc’ event over which the disadvantaged had no control, such as an accident, assault, medical condition.
9. RACG Projects cannot be registered as part of an existing RABS Project.
10. Rotary Australia Compassionate Grants will match a Club’s or District’s fundraising on a dollar for dollar basis subject to the following;
a. a qualifying project must have a minimum value of $2,000 (ie. a minimum grant of $1,000), and
b. a Club or District can apply for up to 2 grants in any calendar year, subject to a maximum grant total of $10,000.
11. All RACG Projects must contain a budget that states the total cost of the project and the anticipated source of these funds.
12. All RACG Projects must be completed within 12 months of the date of registration and are required to submit six monthly online progress reports when requested and a final report on completion.
Registering a RACG Project
All RACG Projects are registered on-line Click here to apply. The normal RAWCS project approvals process has been streamlined to enable efficient administration. The Club provides final endorsement of each project submitted by the Project Manager and the project then goes to a Screening Committee of two Rotarians. Following endorsement by the Screening Committee, the Project goes to the RAWCS National Project Manager for approval and registration. Once registered, RACG Projects appear as normal RABS Projects with (RACG) appended to the Project title.
The following RABS projects are examples of projects considered to meet the above RACG approval criteria.
- Provision of a modified family motor vehicle for a 6 year old with cerebral palsy
- Modifications to a home to assist access and functionality for a quadriplegic
- Financial assistance for a seriously injured sportsman’s family
- Ongoing support for non PBS medicines for a sufferer of Lymes disease
- Provision of a specialised bed for a person with Parkinson’s Disease
- Supply insulin pumps to three children with juvenile diabetes
- Provision of improved prosthetics for an amputee
- Assistance to a family who lost everything in a fire
- Provision of financial assistance to a young family whose mother drowned
- Providing refurbishment of a kitchen and bathroom for a women’s refuge or for a house for disabled people.
For further assistance or to get in touch with a club please contact: racg@rawcs.org.au
