News Corp Bushfire Fund Grants
News Corp partnered with FRRR to enable the delivery of the News Corp Bushfire Fund grants.
This program supported local not-for-profit organisations and community groups that delivered locally led projects and activities to assist people in their recovery as a result of the 2019/2020 bushfires.
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This program is has now ended
If you want to explore other grant options, please go to Find Funding Now.
I have a question, who can I talk to?
Danielle Griffin
info@frrr.org.au
1800 170 020
Confirm you are eligible to apply for this grant
To make sure this is the right grant for your community, please read the grant information below carefully. Click on each headline to reveal the detail.
What are the program objectives?
Through the provision of grants, the aim of this program is to address a range of needs, including but not limited to:
- Community infrastructure and equipment that strengthens volunteer community groups and their activities;
- Emergency equipment and facilities (excludes individual aid);
- Mental health and wellbeing; and
- Rebuilding communities – from infrastructure repairs or upgrades, to governance, capacity building or operational support.
Is this grant available in my area?
Applications can be made by not-for-profit community-based organisations operating in rural communities in an LGA with a bushfire disaster declaration, from September 2019 to April 2020.
How much funding is available? Are there priority areas?
Over $380,000 in funds is available in this grant round. Grants of up to $25,000 will be made to projects that are aligned with the program objectives, which include but are not limited to, supporting infrastructure, community resilience and community mental health and wellbeing.
Projects must be located in an LGA with a bushfire disaster declaration from September 2019 to April 2020. All eligible applications are considered on their merit. Applications are assessed based on the documentation received at the time of application.
It is anticipated that this will be the final funding round for this program.
What can be funded?
Applications that are clearly focused on supporting the recovery from the 2019/2020 bushfires will be considered. As a general guide, projects should deliver wide community benefit and can contribute to activities including:
- Building Community Resilience
- Developing Organisational Resilience and Capacity
- Enhancing Environmental Sustainability
- Fostering Cultural Vibrancy
- Lifelong Education and Training
- Economic Strength
- Improving Community Health and Social Wellbeing
Applicants are encouraged to ensure project applications suit their local community’s needs, priorities and interests, and are welcome to discuss their application with FRRR staff on the contact details above.
What can’t be funded?
There are several areas that we can’t fund through this program. If in doubt, please contact us.
- Projects that support core business and areas of responsibility of Federal, State or Local Governments;
- Ongoing core organisational operational costs (e.g. rent, utilities, regular wages, loan repayments);
- The encouragement or advancement of sport, recreation and social activities are not considered charitable activities under Australian law. Applications from sporting organisations need to clearly demonstrate charitable outcomes and benefit to the wider community that are above and beyond the sporting activities of the club;
- Overseas travel and overseas projects;
- Prizes, gifts, trophies or awards;
- Activities that have already occurred or will occur before the grant is confirmed;
- Political lobbying;
- Religious or faith-based activities;
- Activities that are for private benefit or which are the core responsibility of Government;
- Animal welfare;
- Rescue services;
- Medical research;
- Sponsorship or fundraising activities;
- Contributions towards capital projects, major equipment and refurbishments that are reliant on other funding and approvals yet to be obtained in order to be completed.
Is my organisation eligible?
To apply, you must meet the following criteria:
- Be a not-for-profit community-based organisation in Australia that was impacted by the 2019/2020 bushfires;
- Be a not-for-profit, community-based organisation with an ABN or Incorporation Certificate;
- Project must offer clear public benefit (i.e. has a charitable purpose);
- Organisations with or without DGR endorsement are eligible to apply;
- An organisation is eligible to submit one application per grant round;
- Projects must be in a remote, rural or regional area.
Please note, you will be considered ineligible if the:
- An application has already been submitted for the current grant round;
- Application is submitted by individuals, sole traders, private or commercial businesses (as per the submitted ABN);
- Application is submitted by an organisation that is not a legal entity, without the written consent of the governing / partnering body who holds the ABN / Incorporation number;
- Application is submitted without required financial documentation (see additional information on the second tab);
- Final report/s from any FRRR grants awarded in the previous seven years have not been acquitted (delivery organisations should check with legal organisation to see if there are any outstanding final reports);
- Application is for a project or activity that has already occurred / is occurring prior to the announcement of funding;
- Application is incomplete. NOTE: Due to the volume of applications received, applications are assessed based on the documentation received at the time of application. FRRR is unlikely to follow up missing documentation after applications have been submitted.
Gather information to support your grant application
Please read the information below to plan and prepare your project. The information below sets out what you MUST include for your project to be considered. There are plenty of helpful resources to support you along the way.
Please contact FRRR if you have any questions about the following information.
Your grant application MUST include:
Clear project information
Why is this important?
FRRR needs to clearly understand your project to assess its merits. Applicants should focus on addressing the what, when, where, who, why and how of the project, as this is the best formula to clearly communicate the details of the project.
A ready community is best placed to achieve the aims of your project, so during assessment, our staff look for
information that tells us that good leadership, skills and awareness exist in your community to support the project now and in the future.
A clear description of exactly what the grant funds will be used for, when and where the project will happen, who will benefit and who will be involved in delivering the project, why the project and grant funds are needed, how funds will be spent and how the activities and success of the project will be recorded, evaluated and shared.
Where possible, also indicate that your community is ready to deliver the project and if required, can support the initiative ongoing – i.e. awareness of need is widespread, appropriate leadership, resources, skills and knowledge exist in the community.
Helpful resources:
Financial information
Why is this important?
FRRR uses this information to understand your organisation’s ability to manage the grant funds and its financial viability.
Applications received without the requested financial information are ineligible. Providing incorrect information on financials is currently the most frequent reason why applications are not considered.
- For organisations that have audited financials: Attach the most recent annual audited statements;
- For organisations that do not have audited financials: Attach the most recent 12 months Income and Expenditure Statement. If you have a Balance Sheet, please also submit;
- For organisations less than one year old: Provide Bank Statements for the period you have been operating.
Please note:
- If financial documents are more than 18 months old, please provide an explanation as to why the organisation does not have more recent documents;
- Bank Statements are only acceptable as financial documentation if your organisation has been operating for less than one year;
- Explain any deficits and steps to sustain the organisation financially;
- Provide a brief explanation of any large financial surplus or current assets and reasons why FRRR funds are still required;
- Income and Expenditure statements must cover a full 12-month period.
- Please contact us if you cannot provide required financials or you are unsure about what to provide.
- Why is this important?
- FRRR uses this information to understand your organisation’s ability to manage the grant funds and its financial viability.
Project budget
Why is this important?
A clear budget helps FRRR to understand the size of your project, exactly how FRRR funds will be spent and helps demonstrate community support for your project through in-kind contributions either from your organisation or partners / community members.
You must include a project budget that clearly shows the items that FRRR grant funds will be used for and shows all income and expenses related to your project.
Budgets should be realistic and must add up – i.e. total expenditure must match total income.
Applicant contributions in cash or in-kind are highly regarded. Quotes or detailed rationale for items over $1,000 are
required, where possible. Note: FRRR suggests costing unskilled volunteer labour at $41.00 per hour.
Helpful resources:
Eligible legal entities
Why is this important?
This program is only able to distribute funds to not-for-profit organisations with an ABN or Incorporation number, and FRRR needs to know that the organisation with that ABN / Incorporation number understands and agrees to carry out their responsibilities in relation to your project, if successful.
Every application needs to include an organisation that holds either an ABN or Incorporation Certificate. If your organisation doesn’t have that, FRRR could still fund the project (with your organisation as the delivery organisation) but you need another organisation’s support, which we refer to as the ‘legal organisation’.
Even though your organisation may complete the application (and will be doing the work), it’s the overarching organisation’s legal and financial information that needs to be provided. They also need to provide a letter of support, confirming they are willing to play this role.
This situation often occurs often when the organisation delivering the activity or project is a branch of an overarching organisation – such as a local CWA or YMCA branch.
Supporting materials
Why is this important?
FRRR seeks to fund projects that are well-supported by the broader local community, are locally led and delivered, show good partnerships and benefit multiple parts of the community. As FRRR is not always familiar with your community, our staff consider support material as evidence toward understanding level of community need, benefit and support.
FRRR strongly recommends that you provide supporting materials such as letters of support, community plans, survey results, photographs, media clips and research reports that can show the wider community support and partnerships involved in the project.
Large documents should be referenced and explained in the application.
Helpful resources:
Focus area
Why is this important?
FRRR makes grants to communities, but we also need to be able to demonstrate to our funding partners where communities need support. To help us do this, we have grouped the kinds of projects communities commonly us us to help fund into seven areas, which we call the Activity Tree:
1. Building community resilience
2. Developing organisational resilience and capacity
3. Enhancing environmental sustainability
4. Fostering cultural vibrancy
5. Lifelong learning and education
6. Economic strength
7. Improving community health and social wellbeing
We ask you to nominate one of those seven areas when you apply. So, before you lodge your application, download the Activity Tree and watch this introductory clip about the Activity Tree.
Need some more help?
We have a large selection of resources on our Grant Seeker Resources Page to help you along the way.
Submit your grant application via the Grants Gateway
Please contact FRRR if you have questions about any aspect of the Grants Gateway online application form.
Before you submit your application via the online Grants Gateway, please ensure you have:
Helpful resources:
It is time to submit your application. If it is helpful, you can download a copy of the application form.
Please read the instructions on how to use the Grants Gateway: Grants Gateway How-to Guide Grants Gateway FAQs
If you have significant issues accessing a stable internet connection, please contact our team to discuss an alternative way of applying:
Ph: 1800 170 020 or Email: info@frrr.org.au
“We hope our grants for community-led projects will help people recover and rebuild. We look forward to partnering with the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal to support and help bushfire-affected areas become stronger communities.”
Penny Fowler, News Corp Australia’s community ambassador
Inspiration – Past projects
Explore some of the projects we’ve previously funded in disaster-affected areas to see how other organisations have helped their community recover.
Community wellbeing retreats aid recovery
In 2009, Jindivick was affected by the Black Saturday bushfires – destroying homes, farms and local infrastructure. The Jindivick Progress Association developed an initiative to address the long-term effects of stress and grief that had plagued the local community, hosting five Community Wellbeing Retreats using a Grants for Resilience & Wellness grant of $14,750 funded by VBAF.
Ensuring power in a recovery centre in Mackay
During Cyclone Debbie in 2017 the Pioneer River in Mackay, Queensland, broke its banks, flooding surrounding homes and businesses. The local Western Suburbs Clubhouse, spared from flooding, was used as a recovery centre after Cyclone Debbie at the request of local Police. The Western Suburbs Rugby League Football Club received a Repair-Restore-Renew grant to install a power generator at the Clubrooms.
Mullum library of stuff – shared resources for community recovery
With the help of a $12,000 Repair Restore Renew grant, the Mullum Library of Stuff was able to provide affordable access to quality tools and equipment for the Byron Shire community including individuals, families, schools, businesses and not-for-profit organisations.
