Grants Policy

Availability of Net Proceeds

1. Rano Community Trust has funds available for distribution.

Decision by Net Proceeds Committee

2. All funding decisions are made by Rano Community Trust’s net proceeds committee.

3. Grant applications found to be non-compliant will not be approved. In this context, “non-compliant” means grant applications that do not contain all the relevant information, are retrospective, where the application does not comply with Rano Community Trust’s authorised purpose, or where there is information that the applicant has received funding from other source(s) for the full amount needed for the purpose applied for here.

Authorised Purpose

4. Grants will only be made in accordance with Rano Community Trust’s authorised purpose.

No Retrospective Grants

5. Rano Community Trust will not make a grant that reimburses money already spent by a grant applicant. The item for which funding is sought must not have been paid for at the date the grant is considered by the net proceeds committee. The key date is when a grant recipient pays for an item, not the date the item is purchased.

Audit Requirement

6. Unless a later date has been agreed upon by Rano Community Trust, the grant accountability documentation (including invoices and bank statements) must be provided to Rano Community Trust within three months of the grant being made.

7. As required by section 115A of the Gambling Act 2003, grant money may only be used by the grant recipient for the specific authorised purpose for which it was granted. The grant recipient commits a criminal offence if section 115A is breached.

8. If the funds are not spent for the specific purpose granted, Rano Community Trust will request a refund. If a funding surplus exists, the surplus must be returned to Rano Community Trust.

9. Where information is obtained by the net proceeds committee indicating that a grant recipient has received funding from other source(s) for the full amount needed for the purpose applied for here, the net proceeds committee will take reasonable steps to obtain a return of the money from the grant recipient.

10. If the grant recipient has breached section 115A (failed to spend the funds on the specific purpose granted) and the money has not been returned, Rano Community Trust will consider referring the matter to its solicitors for recovery action, and/or to the Department of Internal Affairs for prosecution. Further, any other suspicion of fraud or potential criminal offending by a grant recipient will be notified to the Department of Internal Affairs.

11. A random sample of grants will periodically be independently verified by Rano Community Trust to ensure the funds have been spent as stated in the audit documentation. The verification may include telephoning grant recipient suppliers, visiting grant recipients and reviewing photographs and other evidence supplied.

12. The timeframes set out in this policy may be extended at Rano Community Trust’s discretion.

Reasons

13. Grant applicants will be provided with reasons for Rano Community Trust’s decision if Rano Community Trust decides to decline a grant application (either in full or part).

Complaints

14. Complaints can be made to Rano Community Trust’s Chairperson by writing to the Trust.

15. Complaints about the conduct of Rano Community Trust may also be made to the Secretary of the Department of Internal Affairs at: P O Box 10-095, Wellington.

Grant Commitments – Multi-Year Grants

16. Grants will only be made from available net proceeds. However, grants may be made by instalments in one or more years, if the following conditions are met:

• the grant commitment must not exceed 4 years; and
• the grant applicant must be made aware, on or before the time that the first instalment of the grant is paid, that payment of any future instalments of the grant is conditional on –
  
  • Rano Community Trust continuing to hold a licence; and
  • Rano Community Trust continuing to have available net proceeds; and
  • the specific authorised purpose for which the grant was made continuing to be lawful; and
• each instalment of the grant must be re-confirmed by the net proceeds committee before payment; and
• the grant applicant must provide the net proceeds committee with documentary evidence that previous instalments of the grant have been spent for their intended purpose; and
• Rano Community Trust must disclose the existence of multi-year grants it has entered into in its financial accounts and publish the details of its multi-year grants with its other grant information on its website.

17. Subsequent instalments of multi-year grants are made in principle, i.e. the existence of the future instalments is strictly conditional upon the above criteria being met.

Distribution Timing

18. A substantial portion of the net proceeds received during a financial year will be distributed to the community for authorised purposes on at least a quarterly basis.

19. All net proceeds received during a financial year will be distributed to the community for authorised purposes within three months following the end of that financial year.

Record Keeping and Website Publication

20. The following records will be kept in a database format and published on Rano Community Trust’s website:

• the name of every organisation that has applied for funding;
• whether the grant has been accepted in full or declined in full;
• whether the grant has been accepted in part and declined in part;
• if the grant has been declined in full or in part, the reasons for that decision;
• the amount of the grant; and
• any “interest” that a Rano Community Trust’s net proceeds committee member has in relation to any successful grant applicant.

21. The following additional records will be kept in various formats, but will not be published:

• the date that each grant is made (the date of the meeting/decision);
• the specific purpose of the grant;
• the cheque number or direct bank payment transaction details;
• grant request ID number; and
• the signatures of the persons approving the grant.

22. A net proceeds committee member has an interest in a recipient of a grant if:

• the member may derive a financial benefit from the grant or may have a financial interest in the recipient; or
• the member is a part of the immediate family of the recipient; or
• where the recipient is an organisation, club, society, or association, the member is:
  
  • an officer or a member of the recipient; or
  • a part of the immediate family of an officer or a member of the recipient; or
  • the member is, or has been, the recipient’s lawyer or is under a professional obligation to the recipient in another professional capacity; or
  • the member is, or has been, employed by the recipient, or is, or has been, indebted to the recipient, or is, or has been, involved in business or financial dealings with the recipient; or
  • the member is otherwise connected to or involved with the recipient in a way that can reasonably be perceived as having influenced the decision to make the grant to the recipient.

Part of the immediate family means a person who is the member’s

• spouse, civil union partner, or de facto partner; or
• parent, child, sister, or brother; or who is the parent, child, sister, or brother of the member’s spouse, civil union partner, or de facto partner.

23. The grant application and all supporting information will be retained by Rano Community Trust if the application is successful.