Our Performance

Who we supported

In total, we funded 51% of all eligible applications, and supported projects valued at $40,623,718.

As in previous years, the vast majority of these grants (75%) went to organisations without Deductible Gift Recipient status. Of all the grants awarded, 42% were in outer regional areas, and 41% in inner regional areas. Some 17% went to remote or very remote communities, roughly consistent with our total distributions overall.

Grants benefited at least 597 postcodes, across all states and territories. This map has more detail about the locations where grants were awarded.

Grants by Remoteness

A wide range of programs

The Tackling Tough Times Together program distributed the most funding to support drought-affected communities, while FRRR’s flagship Strengthening Rural Communities program distributed the highest number of grants.

While most funds were distributed via core FRRR grant programs, $2.26M was distributed via 67 distributions to NFP Fundraising and Community Foundation Accounts, reinforcing the critical role of place-based philanthropy.

Grants by Program

Change Mechanism

At 30 June 2021, FRRR had 1,176 active grants under management (grants approved or paid in the last and historical financial years across FRRR grants programs, Giving Sub-Funds, and Tailored Grants). Despite the uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic, our grant partners managed to continue delivering vital activities in their communities, with 93 grants requiring major changes or extended timeframes for delivery.

Our work is far more than the money. Our team spend time everyday listening, learning, guiding, and coaching community groups and leaders, mostly by phone, and whenever possible, through workshops and community conversations. This year, the team spent more than 304 hours in 3,490 phone conversations and embraced online channels by delivering 16 workshops, which reached more than 660 people.

18,240

minutes on the phone to grantseekers

$19.7M

awarded

917

grants

16

grantseeker workshops
reaching 661 people

Grants Income After Administration Fees

Philanthropic Services

Our philanthropic services continued to grow, establishing several high performing Not-for-Profit (NFP) Fundraising Accounts, delivering ongoing support for Community Foundations (CF), particularly in bushfire-affected regions, and offering place-based support targeting disaster recovery and preparedness through our Giving Sub-Fund Accounts (donor-advised funds).

This year, the total number of NFP accounts remained steady at 37, with four accounts closing and four accounts opening. This included two particularly high-performing accounts:

– St Paul’s Carcoar Community Facility, which raised $635,506 to purchase the local church as a meeting place; and
– DeadlyScience, which attracted 393 donations and raised $277,886 in the seven months since it opened. It is an organisation focused on introducing science to First Nations students.

Community Foundation accounts increased by three, with new accounts opened by Bass Coast Community Foundation, Fremantle Community Foundation and Denmark Community Foundation. Several community foundations established highly successful fundraising campaigns in response to bushfire events, including Border Trust and Northern Rivers Community Foundation, allowing local people to direct their funds to local recovery.

This reporting year, our Giving Sub-Funds were refreshed, and several new partnerships launched. These Funds have been well-received by our corporate and private philanthropy partners in particular with their ability to offer employee and family engagement opportunities, with eight corporate and philanthropic Giving Sub-Funds now in operation.

St Pauls Carcoar

Operational performance

During the year, we refreshed our organisational structure, and invested in resources to align with and enable the strategy. Total operating costs (excluding program or strategic expenditure) were $2,716,362, some 21% of which was covered by returns on the core corpus. The bulk of this was employment costs ($1.9M – 48% of total operating costs and a 10% ratio to grant distributions), reflecting the increase in staff numbers to support the growth in grant programs and new partnerships with donors. There are now 25.8 FTE employees delivering FRRR’s suite of grants, donor advised programs, insights and learning, community capacity building initiatives, and fundraising and partnership stewardship, while ensuring a high standard of compliance and corporate services.

Most of FRRR’s operational costs were met through a percentage of donations. Depending on the program, this ranges from 2.5% to 10% of the donation, and for some more intensive programs, on a full cost recovery basis. Those were supplemented by investment returns.

Operational Income

A strong balance sheet

Despite the uncertain economic environment, thanks to prudent management from our Investment Advisers Koda Capital and diligent oversite from the Board, the corpus grew to $20,887,036. The core corpus increased $1,931,566 on the prior year, representing approximately 14% growth. The total corpus includes the Disaster Resilience and Recovery Fund (DRRF), which now totals $4,944,162, an increase from the previous year of $1,097,649. This is made up of $224,514 in additional donations this year, with the balance being investment returns. A portion of the return on the DRRF will be available in the coming year to support medium to long-term disaster recovery and preparedness initiatives.