Key information
- Status: Open
- Grant amount: $200,000
- Application opened: 10 March 2025
- Application closes: 11 April 2025
Program objective
The Premier’s Department (the Department) will administer the NSW Government Strengthening Youth Resilience to Violent Extremism Community Grants Program, totalling up to $400,000 (including GST).
There are four Program objectives:
- Building resilience to hateful and extremist influences online and offline, including through offering pro-social support activities and establishing networks and platforms where boys and young men can safely discuss and reflect on their diverse views and experiences.
- Providing youth-centred mentoring activities for young people that promote healthy relationships, mutual respect, empathy and civic participation.
- Providing mentor training to ensure mentors are appropriately equipped with the skills and methods to identify, engage and support vulnerable young men who may be at risk of engaging in violent extremism.
- Providing referral pathways to appropriate government and community support services as identified and required through the program.
The grants are targeted to projects that work with young men and boys, because young men are disproportionately affected by violent extremism, both as victims and perpetrators.
Grants for community-based initiatives addressing one or more of the above program areas will be made available from the NSW Government’s Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) Program, in Premier’s Department.
Grants will be assessed through a competitive grant application process to a carefully selected organisation or organisations that meet rigorous funding criteria.
The grant through this program is a one-off payment with no guarantee of further funding after the completion of the project.
Successful projects will need to be delivered within 12 months from execution of funding agreement.
Successful organisations will need to enter into a funding agreement.
The Department is responsible for administering this grant opportunity in accordance with the NSW Grant Administration Guide https://www.nsw.gov.au/grants-and-funding/grants-administration-guide.
This program is administered by Premier's Department.
Eligibility
Who can apply
This grant is only available for not-for-profit organisations based in NSW that have an Australian Business Number (ABN).
Applicants should demonstrate their not-for-profit status by being one of the following:
- incorporated non-government organisations (not-for-profit)
- registered Associations under an Act of Parliament
- registered cooperatives under an Act of Parliament
- a company limited by Guarantee
- a company limited by shares (non-profit distributing)
- a community-based organisation registered or established under an Act that is not-for-profit
- an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Corporation registered under the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006 (Cth) or
- a Local Aboriginal Land Council under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983 (NSW)
Who the grant is targeted towards
The grants are targeted to projects that work with young men and boys, because young men are disproportionately affected by violent extremism, both as victims and perpetrators
Types of projects funded under this grant
Grants for community-based initiatives addressing one or more of the above program areas will be made available from the NSW Government’s Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) Program, in Premier’s Department.
Outcomes for projects funded under this grant
Not Applicable
What costs you can apply for
Not Applicable
Who can’t apply
The following organisations are not eligible to apply for funding under this program:
- individuals and sole traders
- local councils
- state and federal government departments and associated entities
- for profit organisations and commercial enterprises (TBC).
- organisations with National Redress Scheme sanctions
- if your organisation:
- is subject to a winding up order or has an appointed administrator
- has a pending/ongoing legal case
- is bankrupt
What costs you can't apply for
Types of costs that funding cannot be used for, include:
- seeking funding for an existing project
- supplementing, increasing, or continuing ongoing service delivery that is the core business of the organisation
- an organisation’s operating costs including office rent and administration costs
- reimbursement of expenses already incurred
- covering existing debts or budget deficits of the organisation
- party political activities
- purchase of TVs, alcohol, tobacco products, gaming services, computer software, entertainment streaming
- capital works and equipment purchases (for example, purchase of phones, computer hardware, laptops, tablets, routers, modems, webcams, entertainment systems, etc. will not be funded)
- commercial or fundraising activities
- celebration of national or independence days, with the exception of key Australian days including ANZAC DAY, Australia Day, and NAIDOC week
- cash prizes or gifts
Types of projects not funded under this grant
Not Applicable
Example projects
Not Applicable
What co-contributions are required
Not Applicable
Additional eligibility requirements
The National Redress Scheme has been created in response to recommendations by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. The Scheme includes sanctions against those organisations who have been named and failed to join the National Redress Scheme. If your organisation has redress sanctions, then you cannot apply for Grant funds.
The Department may seek confirmation or clarification regarding a project’s activities and funds sought as part of this program before the grant is awarded. The Department, at its sole discretion, may take other factors into account to determine that an organisation is ineligible for funding. These factors may include, but are not limited to, personal or business issues that could cause reputational damage or other risks to the NSW Government, and poor past performance of the organisation or their key project personnel.
What your application needs to include
Prepare your application with this checklist
- Draft project plan
- Draft project budget (budget template included in the application form)
- Evidence, including Final reports, evaluation or other supporting documents, of similar projects delivered by the organisation.
- A valid Certificate of Currency for Public Liability Insurance with a minimum cover of $20 million in the name of the applicant
- Current Working With Children Check
Address the eligibility criteria
Each applicant, as part of an application response, must confirm that they meet the eligibility criteria.
Applicants that do not address the eligibility criteria in full may be excluded from the application process at the department's discretion.
Address the assessment criteria
Each application will be considered on its merits, based on how well it meets the assessment criteria and how it is ranked against other applications. Assessments are conducted by an independent assessment panel.
Each application is assessed against the following criteria:
- Demonstrates how the proposal addresses the Program Objectives and aligns with the NSW CVE program logic (see below at 5.4)
- Demonstrates a commitment to improve social cohesion and enhance multiculturalism.
- Demonstrates the capacity to engage youth from diverse groups, including cultural capacity.
- Demonstrates why the applicant organisation is especially equipped to carry out the project.
- Demonstrates that the applicant can deliver the project on time and on budget.
- Demonstrates strong collaborative relationships and has a track record of working with other organisations.
- Demonstrates how provision of the grant would be consistent with the principle of value for money. See the budget template in the application form. This involves conducting an evaluation of the program in line with the NSW CVE program logic at 5.4 and setting out the costs and benefits of the project.
Start the application
Grant recipients will be required to:
- attend an initial inception meeting
- contribute to program evaluation including an outline of how the program will be evaluated and use of standardised data collection tools aligned to the NSW CVE Program Logic.
- deliver their project by a date agreed with the Department
- acquit funds by a date agreed with the Department
- participate in forums and materials the Department may produce to share updates, insights, and learnings.
If funding is awarded, the Department Program Terms and Conditions will apply to the grant funding and outlined in the agreement.
Applicants will be required to:
- review the Terms and Conditions and declare in their application that they have read and understood them
- acknowledge that an agreement based on the Terms and Conditions will apply to the grant
- if awarded a grant, agree to comply with the Terms and Conditions in acquitting the grant.
Successful applications for funding must be delivered on time and on budget. No extensions to the completion deadline will be provided.
Note: If you are a new applicant to SmartyGrants, you will need to register and create a password. If you are already registered, you can log in with your existing username and password.
Apply now
After the application is submitted
Successful applications will be decided by: Deputy Secretary, Delivery and Engagement Group
Applications will be assessed by a panel convened by the Department. The panel is made up of representatives from other NSW Government agencies with subject matter expertise in community grants, community programs, countering violent extremism and social cohesion.
Panel members will need to declare actual and/or potential conflict of interest before participating in the assessment of applications. Any identified conflicts will result in a panel member being excluded from the assessment process for that application.
Applications will be first reviewed against the eligibility criteria.
After its review, the panel will provide a written assessment report to the Director, Connected Communities, on any proposals it considers should be awarded the grants.
The Deputy Secretary of the Premier’s Department of the Delivery and Engagement team is the decision-maker for this grant and will decide on consideration of recommendations of the panel. The Deputy Secretary’s decision is final in all matters, including:
- the grant approval
- the grant funding to be awarded
- any conditions attached to the offer of grant funding.
Anticipated assessment outcome date is March 2025
Anticipated date for funding deed execution with successful applicants is June 2025