Nicholas advises that the Mousepose licences had been sent to all those MUGs that applied and then discusses Macintosh User Groups consider applying for the Volunteer Small Equipment Grants 2007 from the Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs.

Mousepose Licenses

To all those who replied to my last email regarding the free license for Mousepose should have received their license direct from Boinx earlier this week.

A copy of the Boinx and Mousepose logos have been attached for you to use on your presentations slides, website and/or newsletters when acknowledging Boinx support to your MUG. If you are interested in writing a review of Mousepose, or have feedback about the product, please email Vera a copy of the newsletter or URL.

Volunteer Small Equipment Grants 2007

The Federal Government, through the Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, is providing funding of up to $3,000 (GST inclusive) to help not for profit community organisations buy small equipment items to support volunteers whose work contributes to developing stronger families and communities. VSEG funding is for portable, tangible small equipment items that will directly help organisations’ volunteers by making their work safer, easier and/or more enjoyable.

An eligible organisation must be an Australian not-for-profit organisation:

• whose volunteers’ work is aimed at supporting families and/or communities in Australia; and
• who are a legal entity, such as:

• Incorporated Associations
• Incorporated Cooperatives
• Companies
• Aboriginal Corporations
• Organisations established through a specific piece of Commonwealth or State/Territory legislation
• Sub branches of a parent organisation that have the legal status of their parent organisation.

I believe most MUGs could claim they support families and communities in Australia as they provide low cost (or free) training on basic IT services including email, web access and searching, photo editing, movie creation and editing etc. Now many groups are NOT Incorporated Associations and I would suggest now is the time to consider becoming one so you can be eligible for similar grants and also provide your group with some legal status and protection.

Under the VSEG, organisations may apply for up to five equipment items or five (5) sets of individually low cost closely related items or a combination of both. For example a set of items could be gardening equipment such as a shovel, spade, rake and mattock.

This may include:

• funding of up to $3,000 only as partial funding for a single item that costs up to $5,000 GST inclusive
• a set or package of small, individually low cost closely related items, such as a range of gardening equipment, up to the value of $500 GST inclusive
• initial items to start using the equipment (e.g. BBQ gas bottle, batteries, toner)
• parts (not consumables) to upgrade existing equipment (excluding labour costs) on eligible items
• delivery/freight.

Whilst the obvious thing for MUGs to apply for would a laptop, think what other small portable items could benefit your volunteers – An Urn (to make tea or coffee); a BBQ (to cook food); a cupboard (to store equipment at your meeting venue – save lugging gear along to each meeting, or storing your Book Library onsite); portable Heater or AirCon if you venue gets cold or hot and doesn’t have built-in services.

Computer related equipment that you may want to consider includes; Portable Sound Amplifier system (save strain on presenters voices and members hearing); Projector and Screen (easier to see and present); a video camera (to record sessions and then release recorded sessions as Podcasts to assist a wider audience)

If your group meets at a Community/Neighbourhood Centre, Church Hall or similar location, considering passing this information on them as well and perhaps co-ordinate your SEPARATE submissions… eg your MUG could apply for a projector and the Community Centre could apply for a Sound System and you both make the equipment available to each other’s groups.

For full details about who is eligable, how to apply etc, visit;

Be sure to download and read ALL the PDF’s linked from that page as they provide the bulk of the information.

Applications close at 5pm AEST on Friday 22 June 2007.

On-line applications cannot be submitted after 5pm AEST Friday 22 June 2007 and postal applications post-marked after Friday 22 June 2007 will not be included in the assessment process.

I’d be interested to here from you all to find out if;

1a) You applied or didn’t apply

1b) If not, why not?

1c) If so, how did you go?

2) What you applied for (or would have liked to apply for)

Also, if you know of other grants or funding opportunities let me know and I can pass on to all MUGs… I know that there are various grants from Federal, State and Local government sources, as well as some private enterprise funding opportunities- the trick is to find out about them… and think differently about your group’s “status” or focus… for example could your group, or members within the group, justify apply for grants/funding for media projects… there are many grants available for producing movies etc and if your groups offers sessions on iMovie or Final Cut, you could qualify for funding on video equipment and the like.