Community Climate Change and Energy Action Program: Information bulletin

[Opening visual of slide with text saying ‘Information Session: Community Climate Change and Energy Action Program’, ‘Kate Bolton – Team Lead, Community Incentives’, ‘Ellie Hansford – Project Advisor’]

[The visuals during this webinar are of each speaker presenting via video to the right of the screen, with reference to the contents of a PowerPoint presentation being played on screen]

Ellie Hansford:

Okay everyone. Well, thank you so much for tuning in to hear about the Community Climate Change and Energy Action Program, a new grants program targeting energy affordability for community organisations across Victoria. My name is Ellie. I’m joined by my colleague Kate, and we’re part of the project team that will be delivering the grants program.

So just a few things before we start the formal component of the presentation. You’ll notice that the session is being recorded. A recording of this will be published on the SV website in what we call an information bulletin. You can ask questions via the ‘My Question’ chat box on your right. There will be a section at the end for questions, but because we’ve been receiving so many excellent questions via the Grants Enquiries email address, we’re going to address those questions first. However, we’d really encourage you to continue to ask questions in the chat box, because we’re going to be collating them and addressing them in the information bulletin that will be published on our website.

I’d like to start the formal component of this presentation by acknowledging Country. I’d like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the lands on which we’re presenting today, the Wurundjeri and the Boon Wurrung peoples. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging, and Elders of the nations on which you’re all tuning in from today.

The artwork displayed on the screen is named Mirring, and was produced by the very talented Thomas Day, a Gunditjmara, Yorta Yorta and Wemba Wemba man. The artwork was commissioned by the Victorian State Government and completed in collaboration with Aboriginal staff working across the State Government environment portfolio. The painting summarises the work that we do and the values that we hold.

When asked, Thomas Day describes this painting Mirring as depicting Country. The background colours represent the sea, the forest, the grasslands, the desert, the wetlands and the mountains. The foreground designs represent the scars left behind by the old people that serve as reminders and guide us of what is important. The four scar trees represent north, south, east and west, with spirits peeking behind them. This is to represent an ancient connection and an inherent responsibility to protecting Country. Each white line signifies an ongoing connection to Country and representing the generations that are a bloodline.

At SV we acknowledge that we live and work on the lands of the most sustainable culture in the world, and that the unique knowledge systems of Aboriginal people and their contributions to our understanding of climate change and our environment are slowly and belatedly being recognised.

At SV we are working towards Indigenous inclusion in our program design and workplace more generally, and we’d really welcome your support and guidance in this journey.

Kate Bolton:

Thanks Ellie. Hi everyone. My name is Kate Bolton. I am the Team Lead of the Community Incentives Team here at SV, and I’m delighted to be here today. As Ellie mentioned, we are here today to provide you with an overview of the Community Climate Change and Energy Action Program. You’ll hear us refer to this as the CCCEA program throughout.

In this session, we’re going to be covering funding information, eligibility, eligible projects, assessment criteria, how to apply, communications resources, and then some frequently asked questions at the end.

The CCCEA program is targeting community facilities. This program is part of the COVID-19 economic stimulus, and is all about investing in community organisations to help reduce their operational energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions. This program aims to save community organisations across Victoria approximately $680,000 in energy costs, and reduce approximately 2,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year.

There are two funding streams available as part of this program. Under Stream 1, detailed energy audits are available. These audits are designed to help community organisations get a full picture of their operational energy use. You can apply for up to $5,000 for up to three sites.

Stream 2 grants are targeted towards implementing energy upgrades. There are two tiers of funding available. Tier 1 are valued up to $25,000 towards projects that facilitate community organisations to reduce operational energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions. Tier 2 are valued up to $50,000 towards projects that are designed to support highly energy-efficient and zero net carbon projects. As the name suggests, this tier is about innovation and best practice grants.

Applicants are required to meet the following co-contribution requirements. Under Stream 1, no co-contribution is required. Under Stream 2, for every $1 funded, the applicant must contribute $1. For example, under Stream 2, Tier 1 you could be awarded up to $25,000, which means you would have to match that with $25,000, making the total project spend $50,000.

Under this program, in-kind contributions will not be considered.

Ellie Hansford:

Thanks Kate. There will be some of you listening in today that are thinking this all sounds quite familiar and you’d be correct. The CCCEA program builds on the model of the Local Government Energy Saver, which ran from 2016 to 2020. Unlike the Local Government Energy Saver which targeted local governments in resource constrained areas, the CCCEA program targets both local government and community organisations across Victoria.

To illustrate how the CCCEA program could assist you, your community organisation or organisations in your region, we just thought we’d highlight some of the results of this very similar program. As you can see on the screen, Buloke Shire Council used funding from the Local Government Energy Saver to invest in a solar PV system for Charlton and District Pre School. The solar PV system saves Buloke Shire Council approximately $930 in energy bills per year, and this very small switch resulted in a reduction of approximately 7.7 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year.

Another beneficiary of the Local Government Energy Saver was the Corangamite Shire Council, and they used their funding to upgrade the energy efficiency of their lighting at the Timboon Sports Centre. Now they save approximately $3,500 in energy bills per year, and this upgrade has led to approximately 9 tonnes of greenhouse gas being abated each year.

In the next couple of slides we’re going to discuss eligibility. For specifics, we’d really encourage you to look at the grant guidelines which are on the SV website. However, broadly speaking, the funding is available to community organisations who own their own premises, or to local government that own premises utilised by community groups. The CCCEA program is targeted towards community organisations, with local governments being a secondary beneficiary.

So, if you’re a local government, you must partner with a community organisation and complete the application on their behalf. This would make you the lead applicant. The Lead applicant must outline how the funding would benefit the community organisation in their application. We’ll demonstrate how you would do this in greater detail towards the end of the session but for instance, if you’re a local government and you rent out your space to a community organisation and you can demonstrate how the audit or the upgrades would benefit that organisation, for example that the community organisation would be reaping the reduction in energy costs, you will be eligible. However, if a community organisation holds one meeting a year in a council building and the council is paying the energy bill, you will not be eligible.

This slide shows all the parties that unfortunately are not eligible for funding under the CCCEA program - community organisations that are renting or leasing premises from individuals or private entities, individuals, businesses, organisations that represent individuals or businesses, and Alpine Resort Management Boards or other organisations located on Crown Land.

Schools are not mentioned on this slide, and generally fall under the private entity and Crown Land category, so they would be not eligible for funding. But kindergartens that are owned by local government or community organisations will be eligible for funding.

Kate Bolton:

Thanks Ellie. Looking at eligible projects, projects eligible for funding include projects that haven’t started at the time of submitting an application, projects within Victoria, and projects that will be completed within six months of the funding agreement being signed.

Stream 1 will fund detailed energy audits that will help community organisations understand their baseline energy use and identify scope for improvement. For example, the auditor may observe that heating or cooling appliances could be upgraded, or that the community organisation could save on energy bills by installing insulation.

As I mentioned earlier, this grant program is all about reducing energy bills and greenhouse gas emissions. To be eligible under Stream 2, your project will need to primarily focus on this. For Stream 2 there are two tiers. For Tier 1, we are looking for projects that focus on reducing energy bills and/or greenhouse gas emissions. We’ll be funding purchases of energy-efficient or renewal energy technologies, such as installing solar panels. We call these capital purchases. Funding will be provided for project management costs.

And lastly, we want to celebrate and support new technology, so we will fund demonstrations of this. As an example, if you would like to use program funding to purchase a battery, this would be considered a capital purchase. It would help with saving greenhouse gas emissions, and it would be a great demonstration of new technology.

Tier 2 is all about being innovative and demonstrating best practice. We are looking for projects that support a quick change towards net zero carbon, meaning highly energy-efficient and fully powered from on-site renewable sources. For example, if you wanted to build a community owned solar garden, you could use the funding to buy a battery and some solar panels, and that would be a great project under Tier 2.

Sadly the program cannot fund everything. For more details on what cannot be funded, we would always encourage you to have a look at the grant guidelines available on the SV website. Some high-level and important items to consider would be if your project does not demonstrate energy usage and/or greenhouse gas emissions reduction, has already commenced construction or has been approved for funding under another state-based grants scheme.

Further to that, the program cannot be used to fund the following on the screen. Some other high-level ones would be lease or purchase of land, permits, operating costs, purchasing of vehicles and site preparation. As with the previous slide, we always encourage you to refer to the grant guidelines on the SV website for more details on what you can and can’t use the funding for.

Ellie Hansford:

The next couple of slides will discuss the assessment criteria. Stream 1, so the detailed energy audits, will be first-in first-served, meaning that applications will be assessed and approved as they are submitted, and we’re not going to be waiting to the end of the Round 1 close date. So, if you are eligible and you meet the criteria and you’d like to get a grant worth about $5,000 for an audit, we’d encourage you to fill out an application via the SV website as soon as possible. There are limited grants available.

However, for Stream 2, the applicants will be assessed on merit against a set of criteria, and the funding will be awarded on a competitive basis.

As previously stated, Stream 1 is first-in first-served, and eligible applicants will be assessed as pass/fail against the following criteria you can see on the screen. Firstly we’d be asking for some details about your project, so for you to describe the facility that you want to complete the audit for, some details of the service provider, including a quote, proposed standard of the audit and what will and won’t be included in the audit.

Then we’re going to be asking you about relevance, so the ‘why’, why does the facility need an audit, and how will the anticipated energy savings benefit the community organisation. And then we’ll be asking about capacity, so what resources are likely to be committed.

On the screen are some screenshots of SmartyGrants. All applications for both streams should be done via the SmartyGrants platform, which is SV’s online grants application system. We’ll provide more details about how to access SmartyGrants later in the presentation, but these are some screenshots of the Stream 1 application. As I mentioned, we have the ‘what’, asking applicants to describe the community facility. Then below that we have the ‘why’ to cover off why the community organisation and community facility require an energy audit, and then to the right here we have the ‘how’, asking applicants to detail what type of resources, such as staff time, data and site access can be provided to the energy auditor.

This is just a very brief overview. If you want to get a copy of the application form in full, you are able to download it from the SmartyGrants platform. That’s if you want to have a look at the application in full before you apply but please note that the application itself needs to be done via SmartyGrants.

Kate Bolton:

In an application for Stream 2, eligible applicants will have to address the following criteria: greenhouse gas emissions and energy bill savings, capability and capacity, project relevance and timeframe. These will be assessed against the weighted criteria you see on the screen.

Here we have a snapshot from the section in the application form titled ‘what’. This is a section in the form on SmartyGrants. This question asks you to specify the expected savings in terms of greenhouse gas emissions and energy bill savings. This ‘what’ section is the most heavily weighted, as the CCCEA program is targeting energy affordability and climate action in Victorian communities.

Here we’ll ask you to outline the proposed energy upgrade, specify the scope of each upgrade activity, specify the expected greenhouse gas emissions savings for the project, and then also tell us how does the project deliver energy bill savings for the community organisations, asking you to provide estimated cost savings under each upgrade activity. We will also ask you to provide details of the service provider who will be managing the listed upgrades and any details of any sub-contractors. And remember you’re going to need to attach a copy of the service provider’s quotes.

For Tier 2 under this section, we’re going to need to know what new or innovative energy-efficient renewable energy technology will be utilised, and we’re going to ask you to describe how your proposed project achieves a net zero carbon outcome for the community facility.

Under the section ‘who’ we’ll be asking you to address your capability and capacity. In other words, this section is your chance to tell us about your organisation, your project partners and your skills and resources to deliver the project.

Then we’re going to ask you ‘why’. This is your chance to tell us how the grant will help the community and why you have chosen the particular facility for an upgrade. Here we’re looking for you to tell us why the project requires the funding and why the chosen facility has been identified to deliver energy savings, and what percentage of the savings will benefit community organisations.

All projects must be completed within six months of signing a funding agreement with SV. In the application form, we will ask you to map out your project’s key milestones to demonstrate feasibility of this timeframe.

Ellie Hansford:

In terms of submitting the application itself, as we’ve described, this is all done through SV’s grants platform, SmartyGrants, and a link to register can be found on the SV website. Once you’ve made it to the Community Climate Change and Energy Action web page, you can click a link under ‘How to apply’ which will take you to the SmartyGrants website. You can log in or register. You select either Stream 1 or Stream 2, complete the form, answering all the questions and upload all the required documents.

Just a word of warning. Always allow ample time to prepare and submit your application, save your work as you go to avoid losing it, take note of all the mandatory fields and word limits on the application form, and just also to note that late applications will not be accepted, except under exceptional circumstances.

When we’re talking about not accepting late applications, these are some key dates to be aware of. Round 1 is currently open, and will be closing on 20 August at 11:59pm. We’re unsure at this stage when we’re going to be opening up for Round 2, but just reminding you that this is a $3.1 million program, and it will be running until June 2023,so there will be other opportunities to apply in other funding rounds.

Kate Bolton:

Just to reiterate one more time, today’s session is an overview of the program. For more detailed information, we would encourage you to look on the website for the grant guidelines. Also, following the session you’ll be able to access an information bulletin on the SV website, which will include a recording of this session, and questions and answers about the program.

Our grants team are available to assist you with queries in relation to the program or the guidelines, but please note that due to the competitive process, they are unable to give you specific feedback on your project. All contact details can be found on the SV website.

Finally, our cComms team have done a fabulous job at putting together communications resources, and these are available on the SV website for download. This will be relevant to those of you that are in a position to promote the program to others, so via your newsletters or social media or in meetings. The kit will include key messaging, social media tiles, news articles and case studies.

Now it’s question time. We’re very lucky to have Heather here from our grants team. As Ellie mentioned at the beginning, we’ve had an influx of enquiries about this program, so we thought today we’d address some of those frequently asked questions. Of course, we’ll be recording any questions you put on the chat and addressing those in the information bulletin. So welcome Heather.

Heather Willison:

Thanks Kate. So, as you mentioned, we’ve had a number of enquiries and we’ve just tried to group them into themes. We might start with some questions on eligibility and I’ll throw those to you Kate. So first up:

Q: Are education institutions, for example an early learning centre, kindergarten, schools or universities eligible for funding?

Ellie Hansford:

I’ll jump in and answer that one Heather. The CCCEA program funding is for community organisations. So, with early learning centres, they might be funded by a local government or a community organisation, and so they’ll be eligible for funding but unfortunately, schools and universities generally fall under the private enterprise and Crown Land, so they will be ineligible.

Heather Willison:

That’s great. Thanks Ellie. So just some more on eligibility.

Q: How about peak bodies, not for profits, social enterprise? Are they able to apply for this funding to support their members?

Ellie Hansford:

Yes, provided that the organisation is a community organisation, meets the criteria of community organisation, and meets all the other eligibility criteria. You can find a definition for community group and organisation in the grant guidelines, but just to summarise, I’ve made a note here, any organisation engaged in charitable or other community-based activity that is not established for the purpose of making a profit. You just need to demonstrate that you’re a community organisation by that definition, and that your project will be delivering energy bill savings and greenhouse gas emission reduction.

Heather Willison:

Perfect. Thank you. And just another one on the type of organisation.

Q: What about aged care facilities and places of worship?

Ellie Hansford:

If you’re ever in doubt, just refer to the grant guidelines, and it will go over the eligible criteria and exclusions. We just really want you to think about who is utilising the site and how it benefits community organisations. Because the CCCEA program is all about delivering energy bill savings and greenhouse gas emissions for community organisations across Victoria.

Heather Willison:

Great. So still on eligibility.

Q: We are a facility that is owned by our local council.

This is a two-part question.

Q: So first up, I’m assuming that they would need to apply on our behalf? And also, can they ask us to provide the co-contribution?

Ellie Hansford:

So yes, you’re correct that if the facility is owned by local council, that they would need to submit the application on your behalf. This would make the local council the lead applicant, and they are responsible for all the terms and conditions under the funding agreement, for example, ensuring that the project is completed and for providing the financial co-contribution, but noting that the financial co-contribution is only required for Stream 2.

Heather Willison:

Q: Do you have any advice on approaching your local council to submit an application on your behalf?

Ellie Hansford:

Sure. So, the project team has been engaging with local government leading up to the program, so local government should be aware of this program before you reach out but we would suggest that you would write to your local council with details of the proposed project. Make sure you let them know what is involved from their end and making your case about how the community organisation can benefit from the funding. The more details that you can give them, the easier it will be for them to complete the application.

Heather Willison:

Great. And just one more on eligibility.

Q: What do I need to prepare to complete the application?

Ellie Hansford:

Sure. So as previously mentioned, you might find it helpful to download a copy of the application form so you can preview all of the questions prior to submitting through SmartyGrants. We’ve covered a few examples in the presentation today. You also need to provide information about your facility, such as the site address, the type of organisation, ABN, details of insurance. It’s also worth noting here that the community organisation must have been operating for a minimum of 12 months to be eligible for funding. You’ll need to describe the facility, provide a quote and estimate the savings of greenhouse gas emissions and energy bill savings.

Heather Willison:

Great. Thanks Ellie. Kate, we might throw over to you just for some questions regarding multiple applications and sites.

Kate Bolton:

Perfect.

Heather Willison:

Q: Can the same community organisation receive multiple grants for the same site?

Kate Bolton:

Yes, they can but there are conditions. An applicant cannot apply for the same site under both streams, so Stream 1 and Stream 2, within the same funding round. For example, you’re unable to apply for both an audit and an upgrade in Round 1. However, if you want to apply for an audit for a site in Round 1 and then an upgrade, such as some energy-efficient lighting in Round 2, that is possible and very much encouraged.

Heather Willison:

Q: Can a community organisation receive funding in multiple rounds for the same stream?

Kate Bolton:

As I just sort of said, you can receive funding for an audit in Round 1 and then an upgrade in Round 2. It’s important to note that there is a limit of one grant approved per community organisation for each funding stream, so you couldn’t receive funding for an upgrade in Round 1 and then apply for further upgrades in Round 2.

Heather Willison:

Q: Are there limitations on local government applications?

Kate Bolton:

Our aim here is to support as many different organisations as possible. Local government can apply for upgrades in both rounds, provided they are supporting a different community organisation the second time around. So there needs to be a different organisation per application.

Heather Willison:

Q: What if my community organisation needs funding for several sites?

Kate Bolton:

To give you the chance to perform audits or upgrades at multiple sites, we’re allowing you to list up to three sites per application, however, just noting you’ll only receive the maximum amount allowed under that particular stream of funding. For example, you can list three sites under Stream 2, Tier 1, and apply for up to $25,000 but you’d have to split that $25,000 across those three sites. In the application form there is a detailed budget section where you can demonstrate exactly how you’re going to split those funds across the sites if you wish to do it that way.

Heather Willison:

Great. Thank you.

Q: If an application is unsuccessful for funding in Round 1, can we resubmit the application in future rounds?

Kate Bolton:

Yes, absolutely. There will be a chance to get some feedback on your application if you are unsuccessful in Round 1, which will assist you in applying for future funding.

Heather Willison:

Q: What do you suggest if we are unable to complete a project within the six-month timeframe?

Kate Bolton:

Unfortunately, we’re unable to extend the six-month timeframe in Round 1, but we do plan on opening the grant for a second round later in the year or early next year. So, you could potentially think of ways to split the project across multiple rounds, sort of prioritising which buildings need an audit versus upgrades. It’s important to remember here that community organisations will only be successful for a particular stream of funding once across the lifetime of the program. Local councils would need to think about community organisations and facilities that they could support in this round versus the next.

Heather Willison:

Q: The Guidelines state that projects cannot commence prior to signing a funding agreement with SV. Do you have a suggestion of when this might be, given that we have to provide an estimated project start date in the application form?

Kate Bolton:

That’s a great question, a common one, but due to the nature of grant funding, we can never provide specific dates. I’d suggest that you use the space in the application to outline your project plan and to demonstrate that you can deliver within that six-month timeframe rather than thinking about the dates.

Heather Willison:

Great. Thanks Kate. Ellie, we just might throw over to you for one more question in regards to eligible projects.

Q: I’m unclear as to what upgrades would qualify in Stream 2. Could you please provide some examples?

Ellie Hansford:

Sure. So, for Stream 2, Tier 1 for the project grants, $25,000 in co-contributions, so $50,000 all up, they’re targeted towards energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions as I’ve mentioned. You could apply for anything that’s going to have the most amount of impact in terms of energy bills and greenhouse gas emissions. Some examples being installation of roof-top solar, making your lighting more energy efficient, upgrading to a more efficient hot water system, energy-efficient heating and cooling, like a reverse cycle air-conditioner, insulation, double glazing, those types of projects. For Stream 2, Tier 2, we’re looking at innovative and best practice, more future focused technologies. So, energy storage, micro-grid, those type of projects. Hopefully that’s answered that question.

Heather Willison:

That’s great. Thank you. Some good examples there of what people can apply for. That brings us to the end of our frequently asked questions. Are there any closing words from either of you?

Kate Bolton:

I’ll just say thank you to everyone that attended. We had quite a high number in attendance, which is just really great. It’s great to see everyone engaged. Also, just a reminder this is going to be recorded. It’s going to be available on the website, and we’re following up with information following andll those questions that we just answered will be addressed again. And thank you to the project team. Ellie?

Ellie Hansford:

Just to reiterate what Kate said. Also, if you’ve watched this session and you’ve gone away and you’ve got a question, please don’t hesitate to write a question in to the grants enquiries team at SV. We’ll be using those questions as well to populate our information bulletin. Also just letting you know that we’ll be using the email address that you signed up to this information session with to communicate when the information bulletin has gone on to the SV website, so just look out for our email. Thank you so much everybody who attended and for engaging with the program. We’ve been overwhelmed by the enthusiasm, so that’s great.

Kate Bolton:

Thanks everyone.

[Closing visual slide text saying ‘Thank you’, ‘Together we will deliver the State of the Future’]

[End of transcript]