Welcome to ourcommunity.com.au .

ourcommunity.com.au is a ground-breaking Australian organisation creating a new way to have access to get funding, give money & time or receive help. In many ways, it provides far more than that, and we invite you to explore how we feel ourcommunity.com.au will make a world of difference to the Australian community.

There are seven key areas on the site - with many hundreds of pages of information and data resources. The key centres are:

• Funding Centre
• National Giving Centre
• Management Centre
• Community Marketplace
• Insurance Centre
• Financial Centre
• TechCommunity

It is important to note that you do not need to register with us to use the site. There are many benefits available to non-profit and community organisations who do register with us (click here for more details) however, you are able to donate, volunteer and shop without providing us with any registration details.

Our Offering

The ourcommunity.com.au website was built to service the community and non-profit sector. By providing this sector with one site for their informational needs, we have become the first point of call where organisations in the sector come to. Therefore we believe that this has created a 'window' for the community to view, learn and give to the sector.

Therefore there are two types of people that we service:

• Community and non-profit organisations
• The Australian general public who want to view, learn and give to the sector

Community and non-profit organisations

If you are a community or non-profit organisation, the following features on our site are relevant for you:

• Our Products & Services
• Our Member Services: what they are and how to become a member
• Our Online Search Facilities
• Online Shopping for Beginners
• Your Choice of Payment Options
• Security Guaranteed
• Returns and Refunds
• FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions
• Customer Assistance

Who is involved?

To gain a good understanding of who our team, board and supporters are, please refer to About Us.

When was ourcommunity.com.au started?

Ourcommunity.com.au is a new initiative, with the website first introduced in a beta-test format in December 2000. Whilst the web site is only new, the idea has been developing for many years and the team have been working for well over twelve months to build the concept into a sustainable and effective service. . In the year 2001, the true start of a new century, the heart of ourcommunity.com.au starts pumping.

• improving access to financial resources through grants, information on funding sources and online donations;
• lowering the operating costs of community and non-profit groups;
• assisting organisations to achieve sustainability.

• Monthly newsletters that let you know what grants are available
• Conduct a search anytime with an inquiry on our online database

• Subscribe to the Raising Funds newsletter to track the latest ideas and information.
• Single point of contact for all the great ideas on fundraising.

• For community and non-profit organisations, the procedure of listing your appeal details is simple and free-of-charge (Click here for more information)
• For potential donors, donations have never been simpler or more effective. 100% of your donation is sent to the organisation for a specific appeal and you can keep track of all your donations and have a report sent to you automatically come 30 June - for your tax records!

• local community groups
• charities and registered non-profit organisations
• schools, universities, child-minding centres & hospitals
• clubs, societies & associations
• trusts and foundations

• Free online donations facility: A convenient online fundraising channel allowing you to receive 100% of all donations from your supporters, less bank fees only. (Click here to view & enter new fundraising appeal details)
• Free listing on ourcommunity.com.au: The website listing will outline your organisation's goals, initiatives and accomplishments along with information on how people can become a member of your organisation. (Click here to view)
• Reduced prices on subscriptions for Easy Grants, Scholarships & Awards Newsletter and Raising Funds Newsletters and the GOLD Grants package. (Click here to view)
• Access to discounts on computer and internet packages designed specifically for the community and non-profit sector (Click here to view)
• Discounts on publications, courses and seminars for the community and non-profit sector managers and staff. (Click here to view)
• Our informative monthly membership newsletter to keep you up-to-date on current news, initiatives and issues for the Australian community and non-profit sector.
• You can of course access all non-member facilities such as the following:


• Making an online donation


• Access to Directory of Organisations


• Access to Current News


• Searching our grants and scholarships database for a nominal fee

• Registration (by you)

A completed registration form of who you are, completing all details on the name, location, registration and contact details of your organisation. It is a simple process that you can complete within two minutes. Click here to go to the online membership registration form.

• Validation (by our team)

We shall validate that your organisation is a community or non-profit organisation by matching your Incorporated Association Number or ABN to our database of Australian community and non-profit organisations. If your organisation is not on our listing, we will do an offline validation of your organisation with the Australian Business Name Register, the ATO, state authorities or ASICS.

• Random Checks (by our team)

To ensure that at all times we only have true representatives of community and non-profit groups on our site, we shall conduct random validation checks of the contact people and organisations. These checks will include checks with the organisation direct, local councils and police stations or state authorities, checking on the registered status of organisations. We believe that this is essential for the credibility of the site for not only ourselves, but also all our member organisations.

• Registered Documentation (by you)

To receive online donations and volunteers, we need to cite documentation of your organisation's official registration. This includes all of the following material:

• Articles of Association (we do not provide online donations and volunteer facilities to Unincorporated Associations), and
• Constitution or mission statement, and
• Any other official documentation that demonstrates government registration of your organisation.
• To collect online donations, we must also receive any license/authorisation you have received from your state authority, allowing you to collect donations. (For more details on online donation collection, click here)

• Online Donations Collection: While only members can post new appeals onto the site, we welcome all Australian individuals or organisations to donate using this channel. We are sure you will find it convenient and easy to use.
• Online Donations Tax Receipts: Many individuals who donate do not receive the full benefit of their contributions simply because they do not retain their donations receipts. By donating through ourcommunity.com.au, we will produce a receipt on 30 June of every year, that you can use for tax deductions (assuming that the organisation you contributed to was registered on the ATO Deductible Gift Register).
• Online Volunteering Postings: Again, while only members can post new volunteer positions onto the site, it has been built for individuals or organisations to find volunteer positions that suit their particular needs.
• Access to Directory of Organisations: A listing of all organisations across Australia and across the different interest areas awaits on our directory.
• Access to Current News: An update on the interesting and ever changing elements of the community and non-profit sector. From recent activities, new initiatives, relationship building or new appointments - it is in our current news.
• Funding newsletters: The most comprehensive and up to date databases of grants, scholarships and raising funds advice is available to search. Either search and pay $8 for each 10 search results, or subscribe to our annual newsletter and get all searches for free.
• All Management Centre publications: You are able to access, view or purchase any of our wonderful publications about how to operate effectively in the non-profit sector.
• All Tech Centre Information: Although your discount may not be as great as it is for non-profit organizations, the packages are still the most competitive on the market today.

• If you enter one word, for example 'red', the search result will bring back all matches that have this in the title, or imbedded in words of the title. For example;



• The Red Engine Grant
• The Fred Smith Foundation

• If you should enter two words, for example 'red' and 'green', it will bring back all matches for BOTH of these words. That is, our search facility is an 'AND' search, not an 'OR' search. For example these two words will return;



• The Green & Red Society of Australia (note the key words can be split by other words, and in a different order)
• No Sweat Required for Green Week Volunteering Position

• Any quotation marks: NEVER 'red' or "red", just enter red.
• Any limiting punctuation: NEVER + or -, the search will look for these characters, not for that the search must have a certain word, or not contain a certain word
• The word "and" at any point in time: if you enter two words, the search will automatically look for the two words entered. And if you enter "and", it will search for this as a third word!

1. Interest Area: Selection of an interest area such as 'Animals' will return all grants that are relevant for organisations that are involved with animals, such as the RSPCA or local cat shelters. You are able to make more than one selection of interest areas by holding down the 'Ctrl' key on your keyboard and using your mouse to select. It is mandatory that you select at least one interest category for any search.
2. Location: Nominating a state will provide you with a list of grants that are applicable for organisations within this state. This is an optional field for searching.
3. Time Frame: Selection of a timeframe will let you know the grants that have a closing date within that period. For example, by selecting 'Within the next 3 months' on 1 January 2000, you will be shown the grants that have closing dates before 1 April 2000.
4. Keyword Search: The keyword search facility works the same as the site search facility and is explained above.

• only those grants that meet ALL criteria you have entered exactly, eg. grants that are both "Victorian" and relate to "Women", not all Victorian grants and Women grants.
• only those grants that are currently active in the database
• the grants coming up in the future, not retrospective
• a maximum of 10 viewable grants that match your criteria only. If the site informs you that there are more than 10 matches for your criteria, you are not able to view matches of 11 and onwards. A new, more refined search is required. This can be achieved by using your existing search criteria and:



• selecting a state
• selecting a timeframe
• entering a keyword that is relevant for you. Or if you have entered a keyword, add more than one relevant word that is specific to your needs.

1. Interest Area: Selection of an interest area such as 'Women' will return all appeals of organisations that support Women's issues. This is a mandatory field for searching.
2. Location: You have the choice to nominate either a state or a postcode for your appeal search. Nominating a state will provide you with a list of potential donation channels that are applicable for organisations within the nominated state. Nominating a postcode instead, will return the suburb that the organisation's offices are located (by checking the 'surrounding areas' check box, our system will search within a 10km radius of your entered postcode). This is an optional field for searching.
3. Keyword Search: The keyword search facility works the same as the site search facility.

• only those appeals that meet ALL criteria you have entered exactly, eg. appeals that are both "New South Wales" and relate to "Youth", not all New South Wales appeals and Youth appeals.
• only those appeals that are currently active in the database
• there is no maximum to the number of viewable appeals that match your criteria only.

• As we have outlined above, we have a number of different Products & Services
• Search each of these product and service offerings of the site to find the type of product that you want
• Ensure that when you have found the product that you want, you have clicked to 'View More Detail' so that you have viewed all relevant details on the product. Once you have seen this information, and are pleased by what you have seen, you are now ready to purchase.

• By clicking on the 'Purchase' button at the bottom of the product details page, you will add the product to your product list. The product list page shall be displayed as the next screen.
• If you would like to purchase more products, click on 'Return to Home Page' to continue your search through the site. Every time you purchase a product, you will be taken to the product list page to confirm the new addition of the product.
• When you have found the products and information services that you would like to buy, click on the 'Pay Now' button that has appeared on the top right hand side of your screen. This will take you to your product list page to confirm the products that you would like to buy.

• When you are on the product list page, at the bottom you will see a 'Pay Now' button. Clicking on this button will initiate the payment process
• If you are logged in as a member of ourcommunity.com.au, you will be taken directly to the payment page where all you need to do is provide us with delivery (either electronic or physical) details and your payment details.
• If you are not logged in as a member of ourcommunity.com.au, you will be asked for your details. You will be asked to:



1. Login if you are an existing member.
2. Register as a member if you would like to receive member benefits, including price discounts
3. Continue in the payment process as an individual, as you do not represent a community or non-profit organisation



• There are a number of different payment options that appear on the payment page. For more details on your payment options, click here.
• After you have submitted your payment; either by credit card, phone or cheque, you will receive an email from us confirming that we received your order.

• After your payment has been approved (either by the credit clearance centers or with our bank once your cheque has cleared), we shall dispatch your product or inform you of your access code for information services.

• a certificate of registration or incorporation as a company or an incorporated association, as applicable;
• documents such as your organisation's constitution, memorandum and articles of association, statement of purposes and rules, trust deed;
• a letter from the Australian Taxation Office advising of the endorsement as an income tax exempt charity, if applicable;
• the letter from the Australian Taxation Office advising of the endorsement as a DGR, if applicable;
• any Authority (that is licence or certificate to Fundraise) held by your organisation, under any of the state Fundraising Statutes. If no licence is held, the reason why your organisation is not required to hold an Authority; and
• a draft of the appeal information which must include details of the reason or purpose of the fundraising and the intended use of the funds raised and the States and Territories in which the Donee can legally collect or solicit donations.

Member Officer
PO Box 354
North Melbourne
Victoria, 3051

Step 3: Sign our online donations agreement

To receive donations online, you must agree to, and sign our Online Donations Agreement for online donation collection.

Please note that the agreement, is an important document to have completed in order to clarify roles and responsibilities for your organisation and ourcommunity.com.au.

The agreement is written in clear language, and includes the following key points:

• ourcommunity.com.au is a fundraising agent for your organisation. We therefore do not take responsibility for ensuring that your organisation has completed the necessary communication with your state authority. This is the organisation's responsibility.
• this is a non-exclusive agreement between your organisation and us.
• Your payments will be made to your organisation through a cheque payment at regular monthly intervals (assuming that amounts are above a threshold that ensure bank transaction fees are minimised)
• You will be provided with regular updates on the level of donations received
• We take NO percentage of the donations collected online. You receive 100% of the donations collected, less bank fees only (which include only the credit card transaction fee and less than $5 per month in bank account fees). We are doing this as we would like ourcommunity.com.au to become the community destination of choice for organisations and the Australian public. Any interest will be proportionately distributed at the same time as donations are distributed.

Member Officer
PO Box 354
North Melbourne
Victoria, 3051

Step 4: Enter the details of your appeal or fundraising event.

At ourcommunity.com.au, we are very interested in posting specific fundraising events for specific initiatives. Please post the details on your appeal online from our 'National Giving Centre' window though the 'I would like to collect donations online' button.

We will review these details before posting and may request amendments before posting.

Please note that we do reserve the right to remove appeals or fund raising events that may contravene the principles and philosophies of Our Community Pty Ltd.

Step 5: Receiving Your Funds

After receiving,

• the appropriate documentation of your organization (see Step 2),
• a copy of the signed Online Donations Agreement (a separate agreement must be signed for each appeal), and
• your appeal details (that have been reviewed by our team)

• We shall send to your organisation the funds raised by cheque, written out in your organisation's name only.
• We shall send this cheque once a month, assuming that funds raised are over $200.
• Should funds raised not be over $200 for more than six months, we shall send the cheque six months after the position is posted

• your organisation is still has full member status on the site
• that their fundraising licence (if applicable) is still valid

• ourcommunity.com.au is a fundraising agent for your organisation. We therefore do not take responsibility for ensuring that your organisation has completed the necessary communication with your state authority. This is the organisation's responsibility.
• this is a non-exclusive agreement between your organisation and us.
• Your payments will be made to your organisation through a cheque payment at regular monthly intervals (assuming that amounts are above a threshold that ensure bank transaction fees are minimised)
• You will be provided with regular updates on the level of donations received
• We take NO percentage of the donations collected online. You receive 100% of the donations collected, less bank fees only. We are doing this as we would like ourcommunity.com.au to become the community destination of choice for organisations and the Australian public. Any interest will be proportionately distributed at the same time as donations are distributed.

Member Officer
PO Box 354
North Melbourne
Victoria, 3051

• The appeal details have been be posted onto the site.
• We have checked the licence documentation for your organization based on the file we have created for you.

• We shall send to your organisation the funds raised by cheque, written out in your organisation's name only.
• We shall send this cheque once a month, assuming that funds raised are over $200.
• Should funds raised not be over $200 for more than six months, we shall send the cheque six months after the position is posted.