Investing in Rural Community Futures NSW Pilot Program

A series of three overlapping photos showing aerial images of the three IRCF NSW pilot towns.
Junee, which is located on the lands of the Wiradjuri people, is in the fertile Riverina region and surrounded by agricultural land used for crops such as wheat, canola and various vegetables and grazing pastures.

The Shire includes the town of Junee and the villages of Bethungra, Illabo, Wantabagery, Harefield, Old Junee, Junee Reefs and Dirnaseer. Junee has a population of 6,453 people (2022), with more than 100 NFPs including 16 registered charities.
People sitting around a table brainstorming their thoughts onto butchers paper.

Junee Community Roadmaps

Community Roadmaps guided the activity undertaken in the community and grants awarded aligned to the agreed priorities. The roadmap was reviewed annually and evolved over time.

Watch this video summarising the IRCF program in Junee

“A lot of (NFPs) are now looking at small grants as a starting point. Groups are talking to each other and seeking letters of support – this wasn’t happening before. People are getting their heads around how to write grants. People asked JBT to proofread grant applications, which wasn’t happening before.”
Junee Business and Trades Group
“They are approachable and nothing is too much trouble. She finds out the info and comes back. They have been pivotal to the success of the program. You can’t have two wheels running together without an axle - the facilitator is the axle. The coordinators (community facilitators) have knowledge of what everyone is doing and so can help projects link up and work together, and tailor grant applications.”
Cooinda Court Aged Care
Leeton is on the lands of the Wiradjuri people, bordering the pristine Murrumbidgee River. Located in a major food production area, they are part of the ‘food bowl of Australia’. The town is surrounded by agricultural land including expansive cotton and rice fields, citrus orchards and vineyards.

The Leeton Local Government Area (LGA) includes the villages of Yanco, Wamoon, Whitton and Murrami. The area has a population of 11,343 (2020), supported by more than 200 NFP organisations and 22 registered charities.
A group of people, with the front row kneeling down on the ground and others standing behind them.

Leeton Community Roadmaps

Community Roadmaps guided the activity undertaken in the community and grants awarded aligned to the agreed priorities. The roadmap was reviewed annually and evolved over time.

Project Funding

A summary of funding received by the Leeton community groups through the IRCF VFFF program.

Lasting Impacts in Leeton

 

Watch this video summarising the IRCF program in Leeton

“Having a paid coordinator has enabled the Leeton Business Chamber to build its brand and enhance our identity within the community. This level of visibility within the community is a direct result of relationships that we have built with other NFPs, business and industry, which has been facilitated by the projects delivered. To continue to deliver the same level of service and continue to embed the Chamber, the development of the governance documents is absolutely vital and a key component of how we will continue to be transparent, supportive and deliver the same level of service and support into the future.”
Leeton Business Chamber
“When we first started, we just wanted to be a trusted entity, to have good branding. It’s become what we hoped it would become and it’s snowballing.”
Leeton Connect
Cared for by the Gumbaynggirr peoples for thousands of years, the Nambucca Valley, lies in the mid-north coast of NSW. It includes stunning natural landscapes of mountainous hinterlands, rainforests, rivers, estuaries, beaches and national parks.

The Nambucca Valley LGA takes in Nambucca Heads, Bowraville, Macksville, Valla Beach and Scotts Head, and many smaller villages. With a combined population of more than 20,000 people, the community is supported by many NFPs, including 55 registered charities.
A group of four people standing with their arms around each other. There is a person sitting at a desk behind them.

Nambucca Valley Community Roadmaps

Community Roadmaps guided the activity undertaken in the community and grants awarded aligned to the agreed priorities. The roadmap was reviewed annually and evolved over time.

Watch this video summarising the IRCF program in the Nambucca Valley

“Participating in IRCF helped us understand our mission, how we work as a business, how we need good governance to tell our story and be involved in the community. Anything that underpins our practice came from the original IRCF grant.”
Shoretrack
“We felt we were heard and that built our confidence and supported us to continue with what we knew from the ground up was going to work. Instead of trying to meet what was wanted out there, we were able to work with what was needed in here and that was a huge benefit. The ability to actually drop the thinking of how to account for the contingency and allow it to happen and unfold. The relationships – the trust that’s in it – makes such a big difference.”
Mujaay Ganma Foundation Aboriginal Corporation

Watch this video summarising the IRCF VFFF NSW Pilot program

Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the Gumbaynggirr and Wiradjuri people in the communities where the IRCF program has been embedded for the past five years. The warm welcome and spirit of collaboration offered by Elders and Aboriginal organisations has been extraordinary. We are grateful for the opportunity to walk alongside First Nations people in this work and for the cultural knowledge they have shared so generously. We pay our respects to Elders past and present and extend our thanks for their continuation and sharing of the cultural and educational practices of Australia’s First People.

I have a question, who can I talk to?

If you have a question about the overarching IRCF program or how it could be implemented in your community,
please don’t hesitate to reach out:

Deb Samuels, People Lead

Ph: 1800 170 020 or Email: [email protected]

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