Student Support Fund (SSF)

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Background

Finding the funds to attend College full-time is challenging. Many need to obtain varied forms of support to make it possible. Some students may have already built a financial support base before coming to College, others perhaps not.

The College is committed to providing financial support to our students that will support them to continue in their studies. The Student Support Fund is a way to provide this type of additional support, particularly for living expenses. The Student Support Fund is administered with the security of the Moore College accounts system. The College encourages all students to be part of the Student Support Fund. The Moore College Foundation has a key role in providing encouragement to seek funds with appropriate supervision and support. Funds raised for the Student Support Fund are raised by the College for the support of our students, with students acting as agents of the College gathering support for the fund.

The fund was created to help students to be financially supported during their time at College instead of relying just on scholarships, paid work, FEE-Help, other government assistance, etc. As well as helping students to gain support, we’re aware that many full-time ministry roles require some element of fundraising. So, our students are learning helpful skills for a lifetime of ministry.

Eligibility

All Moore College students currently enrolled in an on campus accredited Moore College course are eligible to be part of the Student Support Fund.

Future students can register for the Student Support Fund once they have been accepted into their Moore College course. However, no scholarship payments will be made to them until after the census date for their first term at College each year.

All funds raised are pooled and distributed to the selected students in accordance with the relevant guidelines determined by the College. Students have no personal entitlement in respect of funds raised for the Student Support Fund, and payments will be made out of the Student Support Fund in the form of scholarships at the discretion of the College. Depending on the availability of funds in the Student Support Fund and the circumstances of a student, the College may, at its own discretion, change the amount of financial support from time to time. The College will retain all funds donated and received into the Student Support Fund if any future student does not commence studying at College after enrolling, or if any current student ceases studying at College.

If necessary, students should seek independent advice as to whether the scholarships may have any impact on their personal taxable income or government support.

Applications

Eligible students can apply using the form. For any questions, please contact the Moore College Foundation on +61 (0)2 9577 9929 or foundationhead@moore.edu.au.

Scholarships

The Moore College Foundation assesses applications to decide the level of funding to be granted from the Student Support Fund, as well as any special conditions. Students are required to fundraise on behalf of the College as a condition of being eligible to obtain scholarships from the fund. The Foundation Department decides and communicates fundraising targets and payment amounts in consultation with the respective student.

The Foundation is responsible for specifying the amounts to be given to the respective students as scholarships. It also reserves the right to withdraw or reduce funding where students don’t reach fundraising targets, don’t follow guidance provided, if financial circumstances change, or if the Student Support Fund does not have sufficient funds to continue supporting the students. In determining this, the Foundation first reviews whether sufficient funds have been raised to continue providing scholarships from the fund to students. Exceeding the fundraising targets by students does not necessarily increase scholarship amounts from the fund in any particular semester. Any increase of the scholarship amounts will depend on the financial circumstances of students, at the discretion of the College. An important principle of the fund is that it is not simply a collection of individual bank accounts, rather it is a fund that is created to raise enough funds for the College to provide financial support to existing and future students.

Reviews

The Foundation will review the fundraising performances of all students at least once per quarter, and will work with those who are behind schedule to help them to achieve their fundraising targets.

For advice on how to fundraise for the Student Support Fund, please see the following page on Raising Support.

Tax Deductible Status

As a higher education provider, Moore Theological College Council is a deductible gift recipient. As such, all donations to the College are tax deductible. This includes all donations to the Student Support Fund, which is an internal account of the College.

In order to be entitled to tax deductibility, donations are made to the College’s Student Support Fund, not for the exclusive use of an individual student. Hence, to achieve tax deductible status, donors must understand that they are contributing to the Student Support Fund, rather than donating a specific amount to individual students. Donations to the Student Support Fund are pooled; students then apply to access these funds; further fundraising may be a condition of being granted funds; and provision of financial support is at the discretion of the College.

Eligible Expenses

Student Support Fund scholarships are to be used for living and educational expenses such as: tuition fees, food, utilities, accommodation, books and travel. These must be included in student budgets when they apply for membership of the Student Support Fund. Please note that we do not deem tuition fees as an eligible expense for students with access to a FEE-HELP loan for tuition fees, except in extraordinary circumstances or if there’s an established agreement.

Donor Contributions & Receipts

Donors can make contributions to the Student Support Fund through the College’s website, via an individual student’s support webpage, or by direct deposit or cheque to the College bank account, including the name of the student they would prefer their donation be directed. Individual student webpages and reference are used to track the respective student’s fundraising efforts. As mentioned above, donors must understand that they are contributing to the Student Support Fund of the College, rather than donating to individual students.

Receipts are issued to donors by the Moore College Foundation Department. Contact details and donations details are stored by Moore College and shared with the student who raised the funds.