Her Sport Her Way Grant Program

Funding organisations to develop and deliver new programs to increase participation of women and girls in sport, with a focus on diversity and inclusion.

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Key information

Status: Closed
Grant amount: From $10,000 to $50,000
Application opened: 19 October 2022
Application closed: 16 November 2022, 1:00 pm

Program objective

The Her Sport Her Way Grant Program aims to assist eligible NSW State Sporting organisations to develop and deliver new initiatives to increase of women and girls in sport, on and off the field, and build a culture of diversity and inclusion.
The Program aims to increase opportunities for women and girls, on and off the field, throughout NSW. The key objectives of the Program are to:

Increase the number of women and girls playing sport
Improve the retention of adolescent girls
Increase the number of women in leadership positions both on and off the field
Improve gender inclusive sporting cultures and environments.

This program is administered by Office of Sport.

Eligibility

Who can apply

Recognised NSW State Sporting Organisations
Check your eligibility against our Recognised State Sporting Organisations in NSW list.
Eligible Organisations are encouraged to partner with other Organisations, including those with specific experience working with women and girls and under-represented communities.

Who can’t apply

Sporting clubs and associations
Individuals and groups of individuals
Organisations named:
- by the National Redress Scheme for Institutional Child Sexual Abuse on its list of institutions that have not joined or not signified their intent to join the Scheme; or
- in the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse that has not yet joined the National Redress Scheme.

Types of projects funded under this grant

Participation: Projects that aim to reduce barriers to participation for women and girls and create innovative, inclusive sport experiences that reflect what women and girls want.
Leadership: Projects that aim to attract, develop, and retain female coaches, officials and leaders, and projects that recognise and celebrate their achievements.
Capability: Projects that aim to build the capability of Organisations to increase the participation of women and girls both on and off the field, and projects that build gender inclusive sporting cultures and environments.

What can’t you apply for

Retrospective funding, where projects have commenced or have been completed at the time of application
Projects that have already been funded by the NSW Government unless significant new and additional scope is identified
Projects that will not be completed by June 2024
Project administration costs and staff wages not directly related to the project
Appearance fees, prize money, trophies, and presentation functions
Entertainment, hospitality, catering, food and drink
Events that are organised for the primary purpose of fundraising, including charity fundraising events
Purchase of land, rental of premises or associated occupancy payments
General running costs including capital equipment or office equipment
Insurance costs (public liability, general liability, etc.)
Infrastructure projects (e.g. construction, upgrade, maintenance, and repairs).

Example projects

Participation

Projects or programs designed to attract new women and girl participants e.g. where a new program is created or an existing program offering is adapted to address specific barriers for women and girls, and where relevant, the needs of under-represented groups.
Projects or programs that are based on or include consultation with women and girls in order to inform a new program or adaption of an existing program or participation offering will be prioritised.
Initiatives that engage with adolescent girls and are designed to address adolescent drop out e.g. youth designed and led programs.
Programs that engage key influencers to facilitate girls’ participation in sport, such as parents, coaches, and teachers.

Leadership

Initiatives that support and promote leadership opportunities for adolescent girls including those not currently involved in sport • Projects that lead to improved pathways and the visibility of female coaches and officials e.g. mentoring and scholarship programs.
Projects with a youth engagement approach that encourage and support young women to advance their careers in sport and aspire to leadership positions.
Initiatives that recognise and increase the visibility of role models to inspire participation for women and girls to aspire to leadership roles or increase participation e.g. case studies and digital storytelling.

Capability

Community activation events, forums and education sessions that share experiences and successful engagement strategies for women and girls in sport.
Initiatives that engage with adolescent girls to guide policy and product development e.g. peer to peer platforms and youth advisory groups.
Projects that increase the effectiveness of boards and management in relation to female participation such as improvements to policies, processes, stakeholder relationships, strategic planning and whole of sport communication.
Projects that build a positive, gender inclusive culture across the organisation.
Research projects that contribute to the information/evidence base about women and girls as participants to assist sport organisations make decisions about operations, planning and future delivery options e.g. facility audit; data collection; consumer insights.

Past recipients

Most recent recipients

What your application needs to include

Download a sample application form (PDF 693.97KB) to see all the sections that need to be addressed in the applications portal. You can also download the complete Program Guide (PDF 1.29MB).

Prepare your application with this checklist

Prior to your application, you will need to collate the following essential support material:

an ABN/ACN and/ or Incorporation number
evidence confirming co-contribution sources
evidence to support budget costs including estimates, assumptions or quotes (where possible) to validate your project expenditure
letters from partners and stakeholders (if applicable) that indicate how they will either support the delivery of the project or benefit from the project.
Check your project’s alignment with the Her Sport Her Way strategy, as well as State and National sports plans, and the Office of Sport Strategic Plan 2020-24.

Address the eligibility criteria

Each application will be checked for eligibility by the Office of Sport. All applications including those with uncertain eligibility assessment will be referred to the Grant Assessment Panel for final determination on eligibility.
Applicants may apply for more than one project, or multiple locations however the maximum available to any one organisation is $50,000 p.a.
The amount requested should reflect the scale and reach of the project and the Organisations contribution to the project.
If you have an established partnership and the agreement includes a financial component, this can be included in the applicant contribution. Co-contributed funding can be included as part of the overall budget or scope of the project.
Contributions of at least 25% from the applicant organisation are mandatory, this can be financial, staff contribution or through use of voluntary labour or services.
Eligible organisations can still apply if they have an unacquitted grant, but overdue grant acquittals of more than two years will affect your eligibility. Any organisations with outstanding financial acquittal and project reports should contact the Office of Sport grants unit.
Applications for projects that have already been funded by the NSW Government must include significant new or additional scope to be considered.

Address the assessment criteria

The Grant Assessment Panel has final determination on eligible projects.

Where an application is identified as ineligible then the Grant Assessment Panel may consider or set the application aside from further consideration, at its absolute discretion.

Merit assessment

The Grant Assessment Panel will assess each application on merit and scored against the following criteria:

Criterion 1: Strategic justification (30%)

Demonstrate how the project meets at least one of the objectives of the Program.
Demonstrate how the project aligns with strategies of your sport.
Provide details and supporting evidence of National Organisation support for project(s) where relevant.
Describe community and stakeholder consultation and project support (provide relevant attachments and support letters).
Demonstrate how the project aligns with Her Sport Her Way strategy and the Office of Sport Strategic Plan 2020-2024 and its focus on underrepresented populations.

Criterion 2: Project scope and need (30%)

Describe clearly what the project is and outline:
- what the key deliverables / outputs will be
- who the target group is and how they will be engaged during the project
- details on how and where the project will be delivered i.e. specific/multiple locations or state-wide delivery
- evidence/data to support the project need
- what approaches will be taken to improve the experience and offerings for the target group.
Outline measures that will be used to learn throughout the project and build evidence on what is working or needs changing.
Demonstrate how the project seeks to sustain sports participation within the community beyond the end of the grant period.

Criterion 3: Project deliverability and applicant capability (30%)

Provide a detailed project plan that outlines project tasks and milestones schedule and information about deliverables against timelines.
Demonstrate capacity to start the project in 2023 and have it completed by 30 June 2024.
Demonstrate proven experience in delivering similar scale and type of project(s) or detail the resources and skills you possess in order to deliver the project successfully.
List any partnership and their contribution to deliver the project. Evidence of project partners will be considered as adding to your capacity to deliver the project.

Criterion 4: Value for money (10%)

Provide a clear and detailed budget. The budget should clearly identify project costs and funding sources.
Provide evidence to support budgeted costs e.g., detailed cost estimates or assumptions, quotes.
Provide evidence of approval for committed funding co-contribution(s). All applications are required to provide a minimum 25% financial or in-kind co- contribution of the total project cost. (e.g. volunteer labour, project administration, partner contribution, facility hire). Volunteer hours should be calculated at $50 per hour.