Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner today launched the Women in Business Grant 2021 to provide funding to support female business owners to grow and develop their business. A total fund of $250,000 is available to provide eligible organisations with the help to build their business capability and thrive.

Applications are now open and will close on Thursday 9 December 2021.

Find out more and submit your application via the link here: https://bit.ly/3ngPyG7

Lord Mayor’s Women in Business Grant 2021

ENTRY GUIDELINES

The Lord Mayor’s Women in Business Grant 2021 will provide funding to support female business owners to grow and develop their business in response to the impacts of COVID-19.

The grant will provide an opportunity for eligible organisations to apply for funding of up to $5,000 to build their business capability or gain professional services that will boost local economic impact.

The grant will open for applications on Thursday 21 October 2021 for 7 weeks, and close on Thursday 9 December 2021. A total fund of $250k is available for this Lord Mayor Grant, with up to $5,000 available per successful application. A limit of one application per business will be accepted.

Grant objective

Women in business are key to the success of the local economy, representing up to 35% of small business owners. This grant will enable the following objectives to be achieved:

• Support women in business to thrive and grow with confidence
• Provide a business community of like-minded experts for networking and collaboration
• Boost the local economy through skill development and local buy

1. Eligibility and program requirements

Who can apply? Eligibility Criteria:

To be eligible for this grant, you/your business must have/be:

• An active Australian Business Number (ABN) and be registered in Queensland 
• Headquarters/business outlets based in the Brisbane Local Government Area (LGA) and be able to provide rates notice/utility bill/proof of location)
• Australian Resident/Citizen
• You must be a woman in business with a minimum of 50% ownership of the business.
• Applicant must be 18 year of age (proof of ID) at time of application
• Business needs to be operating/trading for 12 months prior to the date of grant opening and demonstrate more than 1 client
• Not be insolvent or have owners/directors that are an undischarged bankrupt
• Annual turnover between $50,000 and $500,000.

Application requirements:

• One application per business for up to $5k (exclusive of GST). This is a non-matched funding
• Multiple items for funding will be accepted on the application however only amounts of up to $5,000 will be granted per applicant (exclusive of GST).
• Must provide original quotes from local Brisbane/QLD businesses Supplier invoices can include GST
• Projects that are funded must commence after the grant is received
• Funding needs to be expended and outcome delivered for acquittal by 30 June 2022.

Ineligible applications

Applications will be deemed ineligible if identified as:

Brisbane Economic Development Agency (BEDA) may, in its absolute discretion, make determinations in respect of the eligibility of any applicant including any question of conflict of interest. All such determinations will be final, and no discussion or correspondence will be entered into.

2. What can be funded?

The grant will support women to build their personal capability as a business owner, enabling their business to grow and build a sustainable, strong, local small business economy. Grants will support procurement of professional services, training and education and operationally critical business equipment.

               Examples of what can be funded:

• Procurement of professional services for:
• Development of business strategy
• Marketing and brand services
• Ecommerce services
• Financial services
• Compliance and industry regulations relevant to business.
• Training and Education:
• Certification by an RTO/ TAFE
• Professional development on leadership/business strategy
• Financial literacy
• Digital marketing
• Expert training relevant to your business
• Cost of running or attending a convention, expo or business learning event.
• Business equipment:
• Equipment that demonstrates tangible growth for your business, tool or
• Product that is key in delivering your business outcomes. E.g. Sewing machine for a fashion business, labelling machine for packaging, camera for photographer, etc.

All applicants will be automatically signed up to the Brisbane Business Hub community and provided with networking, education and training upskill opportunities.

The following will NOT be funded:

• Activities purchased using cryptocurrencies, barter, or services in-kind
• General business operating costs (e.g. bookkeeping/accounting, tax returns)
• Payments relating to real estate/property including for example, hire costs, lease, or rent fees
• Payments for services or fees from related parties (including companies with common shareholdings, directors, employees or immediate family)
• Travel
• Franchise fees
• Purchase of stock
• The payment of GST, registration for GST
• Maintenance of existing digital technologies
• The purchase of computer hardware (e.g. computer servers, PCs, tablets/iPad, mobile phones)
• Products and/or services purchased via direct selling (e.g. by party plan or network marketing)
• Fees including delivery fees, credit card fees, transaction fees, membership fees and joining fees
• General office expenses (e.g. printers, phones, computers)
• Salaries of staff of the applicant
• The cost of website hosting.

In keeping with Council’s Local Buy Policy, local contractors and/or suppliers within the Brisbane LGA are to be utilised.

This is not an exhaustive list, should applicants have any enquiries please contact to the Brisbane Business Hub through info@businessinbrisbane.com.au.

GST

If the applicant organisation is GST registered, 10% GST will be added to the funding provided as an itemised GST gross-up.

If the applicant organisation is not GST registered, 10% GST will be added to the funding provided, but will not be itemised as GST.

For advice on GST, applicants should contact their tax advisor, or the Australian Taxation Office on 13 24 78 or visit www.ato.gov.au.

3. Assessment criteria and process

Eligible applications will be assessed against demonstrated evidence of how your business will grow revenue, profit, create jobs, and be sustainable because of the grant provided.

The application form will outline key questions to provide this evidence.

• Applications will be assessed as follows: Eligible applications will be assessed against demonstrated evidence of how your business will grow revenue, profit, create jobs, and be sustainable because of the grant provided. The application form will outline key questions to provide this evidence. 
• An external panel of business knowledge will be selected based on abilities and expertise. This expert panel will review and make recommendations for funding.
• In some instances, successful applicants may not receive the full amount of the funding requested. If the proposal cannot proceed without the full amount of funding requested, this should be indicated in the application.
• The grant recipients will be chosen on a determination of merit. Entries will be reviewed in accordance with the responses to the questions on the nomination form.
• The external panel will be selected by BEDA based on abilities and expertise.
• The external panel will be required to sign confidentiality agreement
• The external panel may, in its sole discretion, request further information from entrants at any time as part of the judging process.
• The external panel’s decision is final, and no discussion or correspondence will be entered into.

Application process

To apply for the Grant, entrants must:

• Create a profile via the application portal available at https://brisbane.awardsplatform.com/; and
• fully and correctly complete an official application form (in accordance with the instructions on the relevant application form), and submit the application form online. Application forms are available on the Lord Mayor’s Women in Business Grant website at businessinbrisbane.com.au (the Website). The application form also forms part of these Terms and Conditions.
• Entries for the Grants will open on the Thursday 21 October 2021 and close at 5:00pm AEST on Thursday 9 December 2021.
• Brisbane EDA may in its sole discretion determine whether an entry has been received within the time period noted above.
• Applicants may only enter their business once.
• Once an applicant has submitted an application through Awardforce.com the applicant will receive an email confirming receipt of the application.
• The submitted application will be kept confidential and the contents will not be disclosed to any person outside the application and assessment process.
• Successful applicants will receive a letter of confirmation outlining the process to obtain funding.
• Feedback will not be given to unsuccessful applicants.

Acquittal

A completed acquittal report is due by 30 June 2022. The acquittal report will need to explain the outcomes of the project and how the funds were spent. It demonstrates that funding has been used for the purpose for which it was provided, including a report of financial transactions and whether the project achieved its intended objectives.

Successful applicants will receive an acquittal form in April 2022 for submission by 30 June 2022.

4. Enquiries

Please contact the Brisbane Business hub via info@businessinbrisbane.com.au for all queries, including technical queries.