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Care in the Community Disability Welfare Fund Q&As

Q&As for community organisations/providers

Q. What are these funds for?

The Care in the Community (CiC) Disability Welfare Fund is specifically to support the welfare needs of the disabled community and the wellbeing of disabled people and their whānau impacted by COVID-19.

The fund has been split into two separate funds – Direct Support fund and Provider-led Innovation fund.

The Direct Support fund enables disabled people and whānau to access support from providers who have applied for and received funding.

The Provider-led Innovation fund enables providers to deliver a project, product, or initiative to a target community.

Q. Who can apply for the funds? Can individuals and their whānau apply for the funds?

Applications are welcome from community organisations and providers working with disabled people and their whānau.

All applicants should have a New Zealand Business Number (NZBN). A NZBN can be applied for here.

Individuals and their whānau cannot apply for the funding from MSD but can contact providers who have successfully applied for funding for support. Contact information for providers awarded funding will be posted on the MSD webpage.

Q. Can a disabled person or whānau receive Care in the Community Disability Welfare funding from more than one provider?

No. There is an expectation that a provider of CIC funding takes all necessary steps to ensure the disabled person and whānau they are funding do not receive funding from any other CIC provider.

Q. How can we be sure that what we are being asked to fund by a disabled person or whānau is not already available through other MSD funding options?

As a provider of CIC funding you should take all necessary steps to ensure funding for their declared needs is not available or already being received from another funding stream. This would mean you need to be aware of other funds available to meet needs specific to the disabled person and whānau, including food grants, hardship grants, or other MSD funding options. Check out what help’s available for disabled people on the Work and Income site.

Q. Can the direct support funding be used to pay pre-paid and future expenses

The purpose, and design, of the funding is to meet the current needs of the disabled person and whānau, not their future needs.

Q. I am a provider who works with both individuals and have community projects on the go – can I apply for both funds?

Yes, a provider can apply for both the direct support fund and provider-led innovation fund.

Q. What happens if the applications close and all the funds aren’t applied for? Do any leftover funds get split between the successful applicants?

If applications close and all funds aren’t applied for, a second funding round will be implemented. The dates for this are to be confirmed at the time.

Q Is the application process fair for everyone?

Yes. All eligible applications will be evaluated by a panel to determine which applications will be awarded funding.

Q. When will we know the outcome of our application – and how long do we have to spend the funds?

All applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application by the end of September.

Funding is to be used by 30 June 2023.

Q. Is there an age limit for disabled people and whānau receiving support from a provider resulting from this funding?

There are no age limits for the disabled people and whānau that are supported by the direct support or provider-led innovation funds.

Q. What classifies as a “disabled person and whānau”

For the purposes of this funding, the UN’s Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) serves as the definition of disability.

Q. How is the support provided to the disabled person and whānau

How the support is delivered by the provider should be decided in collaboration with the disabled person and whānau. This could include direct funding to the disabled person or whānau, or purchase of the services, devices, or equipment by the provider.

Q. Is funding provided to meet the administration of funding and the costs associated with its delivery?

Yes. For the Direct Support fund, providers awarded a grant will receive an additional 15% to cover their administration costs. This will be automatically added to their grant and is not required as part of the funding applied for.

For the Provider-led Innovation fund, costs associated with the delivery of the funding should be included in the amount of funding applied for.

Q. What do we do if we hold unspent funds?

Ideally, if the full amount of funding received is not spent, then it should be returned to MSD and the Crown.

If the provider does not expect to be able to spend all the funds by 30 June 2023, they should contact the fund administrators by email: cicdisabilityfund@msd.govt.nz

Q. What are the reporting requirements for the funds?

If you receive a Direct Support fund grant, you will have to provide a short summary of how the funds have been used and how it contributed to one or more of the four needs. This summary will be required three months after receipt of funding (February 2023) and at the end of the financial year (July 2023).

If you receive a Provider-led Innovation fund grant, a summary of how the funds have been used and how it contributed to one or more of the four needs will be required at the end of the financial year (July 2023).

Q. What do I do if I have an enquiry before funding is available?

You can contact the fund administrators by email: cicdisabilityfund@msd.govt.nz

Q. What can the funds be used for?

Direct Support fund

This support is for a provider to address one or more of the following needs:

  • Connecting with social networks and communities
  • Support for the whānau of a disabled person
  • Precautions to prevent exposure to COVID-19
  • Connecting with support networks

The funds cannot be used for:

  • Support provided via the Community Connector service (eg. Community Connector Discretionary Funding)
  • Ongoing costs, such as subscriptions
  • Items already purchased
  • Food (should be covered by “Food Secure Communities Programme” and “Special Needs Grant” for food)
  • Purchasing cash assets (Cash assets - Map (workandincome.govt.nz))
  • Purchasing a vehicle
  • Cigarettes, tobacco, or vaping products
  • Lotto products
  • Gambling purposes

Provider-led Innovation fund

These funds can be used for:

  • Community-focused initiatives that address one or more of the needs
  • Previously delivered provider-led initiatives that are no longer funded
  • New and innovative provider-led initiatives

The funds cannot be used for:

  • Capital expenses
  • Support provided via the Community Connector service (eg. Community Connector Discretionary Funding)
  • Food (should be covered by “Food Secure Communities Programme” and “Special Needs Grant” for food)

Q. What are “capital expenses”?

Capital expenditure (sometimes called CAPEX) is money spent on the purchase or improvement of long-term assets. Long-term assets can be physical, fixed and non-consumable assets such as equipment, fixtures and fittings, business vehicles, property or intangible assets such as software and licences.

Q. Do we need to get MSD approval for the support we provide?

No. We trust that you will work with the disabled person and whānau to find the best solution to meet their needs. Once funds are provided to the disabled person and whānau we would encourage you to follow up to ensure they have what they need.

Q. How was the funding model determined?

We worked with representatives of disability communities to understand the barriers to wellbeing for disabled people and whānau impacted by COVID-19, and what was important for disabled people and whānau, and providers.

We also worked to understand the support, funding, and services already available to disabled people and whānau to ensure that there was no duplication.

The funding model was designed with these considerations in mind and was shared with representatives of disability communities for feedback. The feedback was incorporated as much as possible before the funding model was finalised.

Q. What do we do if funding has been spent and there is still demand?

All providers that receive funding will be published on the MSD webpage. If all your funding has been spent, you could facilitate connecting a disabled person and whānau to a different provider.

Q. What if I can support more than 25 disabled people and whānau?

If you can support more than 25 disabled people and whānau within the grant funding limit, then please do so. The funding limit is based on 25 disabled people and whānau receiving the full $2,000 for each person.

Q. Can I apply more than once?

Organisations/providers can only apply once for this funding.

Q. Can regional organisations from national bodies all apply for funding?

Regional organisations or arms of national bodies can all apply for funding, provided they are a separate entity in their own right.

Please get in touch if you would like to discuss this.

I am a provider with two branches in two different MSD regions:

Q1. Do we complete two applications?

Yes. Each application will be evaluated separately by the panel against set criteria.

Q2. Why would one application be successful and the other unsuccessful?

It will depend on how much funding is being allocated to that region. We are wanting to ensure a fair distribution of funds across all regions.

Q. I am a provider that has multiple branches across the same MSD region. Do we complete one application?

This depends on the community you serve within that region. If more than one branch serves the same community, then you make just one application to a maximum of $50,000 (dependent on the number of disabled people and whānau you expect to support) and use that funding across your branches.

If you have multiple branches within the same MSD region that serve completely different communities, then you can make separate applications for each branch. Keep in mind however, how successful you are may depend on how much funding is being allocated to that region. We are wanting to ensure a fair distribution of funds across all regions.

Q. What happens if my application is unsuccessful? Can I find out why we weren’t funded?

All applicants will be informed of the outcome of their application by the end of September.

A summary of the evaluation of their application is available upon request.

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