Media releases (soft launch): 6 September 2022
Twenty-seven community-led groups in remote, rural and regional NSW will share in $912,505 awarded through the Resilience NSW COVID Regional Community Support (CRCS) program.
Funded by the NSW Government and administered by the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal (FRRR), the grants were allocated to grassroots community groups and not-for-profit organisations that helped their communities navigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
NSW Minister for Emergency Services and Resilience and Minister for Flood Recovery Steph Cooke said the funding stream would help these groups build resilience and better mitigate the impact of pandemics and other disasters across their communities.
“We awarded between $3,363 and $50,000 to organisations, to support a wide range of regional capacity building initiatives to help enhance community wellbeing, create stronger local economies, and enable a greater ability to respond to future challenges,” Ms Cooke said.
“The pandemic has posed plenty of difficulties for people and families in remote and regional areas over the past two years, and community-led organisations played an important role in navigating those challenges.”
Ms Cooke said some of the common requests from community groups involved facility improvements, food security and assisting with the increased demand on local services in flood-devastated areas such as the Northern Rivers.
“We’ve been able to address some of these needs through this funding stream, to ensure these groups and the communities they work with are in better stead for the future.”
Some of the 27 funded projects include:
- Agape Outreach Inc in Tweed Heads to improve staff and volunteer resilience and increase capacity to support the community through mental health and wellbeing training – $36,600.
- Forster Neighbourhood Centre Inc in Forster to promote organisational capacity and support local access to essential services by contributing to the fit-out of the new Forster Neighbourhood Centre – $50,000.
- Gunnedah Meals on Wheels Association in Gunnedah to improve the capacity of Gunnedah Meals on Wheels to support vulnerable community members through a hamper program and the purchase of a large deep freezer – $8,150.
- LeaderLife Ltd in Dubbo to grow organisational resilience and support skills development in local youth through a new syntropic farming system – $50,000.
- Sustainable Agriculture and Gardening Eurobodalla in Moruya to increase organisational capacity and promote food security in the Eurobodalla Shire through the hiring of a Business Manager – $50,000.
Natalie Egleton, CEO of FRRR, said the grants acknowledge and will strengthen the capacity of regional organisations in NSW who played such a critical role in supporting communities throughout COVID-19 challenges.
“The impact of the pandemic has been significant and is still being felt,” Ms Egleton said. “The flexibility of this program recognised that every community is different and requires tailored support and funding to ensure that they can continue to provide vital services, bring people and community organisations together and enable locally-led responses as and when required.
“Being able to support the many community organisations and not-for-profits who have gone above and beyond for their communities during such difficult times and enable them to be better prepared in the future is important to the ongoing sustainability and vibrancy of these communities.”
A complete list of the projects supported is below.
| Organisation | Project | Location | Grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agape Outreach Inc | Upskill Disaster Support & Resilience Project | Tweed Heads | $36,600 |
| Albury Wodonga Regional Foodshare | Community Pantry | Albury | $25,000 |
| Armidale Care for Seniors Inc | Installation of Solar Panels and Implement a Senior's Wellness Activity | Armidale | $35,280 |
| Bega Valley Shire Business Forum | Growing Volunteer Participation in Local Business Chambers | Bega | $50,000 |
| Boys To The Bush Ltd | Boys to the Bush (BttB) Young Up and Coming | Young | $49,970 |
| Carevan Wagga Incorporated | Carevan Continues to Care | Wagga Wagga | $3,363 |
| Carries Place Domestic Violence and Homelessness Services Inc | Establishing Client Centric Spaces within a Community Hub to Support the Provision of Domestic Violence and Homelessness Services in the Hunter Community | Maitland | $23,188 |
| Community College-Northern Inland Inc | Human Resources Project | Barraba | $30,000 |
| Coonamble Cancer Survival Fund Inc | Governance Training | Coonamble | $4,095 |
| Emmanuel Care Centre Inc | Business Continuation | Dubbo | $26,508 |
| Forster Neighbourhood Centre Inc | Futureproofing Forster/Tuncurry | Forster-Tuncurry | $50,000 |
| Gundagai Neighbourhood Centre Inc | Fridays for Friendship | Gundagai | $42,766 |
| Gunnedah Meals on Wheels Association | Our Elderly are Resilient and Deserved to be Looked After | Gunnedah | $8,150 |
| Home-Start National Inc | Newcastle/Lake Macquarie Volunteer Resilience Project | Lake Macquarie | $20,546 |
| Kempsey Neighbourhood Centre Inc | Connecting Community | Kempsey | $43,546 |
| LeaderLife Ltd | LeaderLife with Syntropics: Let's Grow | Dubbo | $50,000 |
| Liberty Domestic and Family Violence Specialist Services Inc | Liberty Domestic and Family Violence Wellbeing Space | Port Macquarie | $50,000 |
| Louisa Johnston Centre Inc | Bonalbo Stay Connected with a New Computer Hub | Bonalbo | $40,648 |
| Manning Support Services Inc | Keeping Families Connected | Taree | $12,581 |
| Queer Family Inc | Queer Family Recovery Officer | Mullumbimby | $49,700 |
| Rural Financial Counselling Service, NSW - Southern Region Ltd | Building Counsellor & Business Coach Capacity | Wagga Wagga | $50,000 |
| Singleton Family Support Scheme | Singleton Family Support Scheme Incorporated | Singleton | $49,500 |
| Support for New Mums | Attracting, Training and Retaining Volunteers | Murwillumbah | $10,204 |
| Sustainable Agriculture and Gardening Eurobodalla | SAGE NSW Inc - Building Capacity and Resilience Project | Moruya | $50,000 |
| Third Sector Australia Ltd | The Meeting Place | Casino | $1,5950 |
| We Help Ourselves | WHOS Hunter - Day Program Fitout | Newcastle | $35,670 |
| Wyee Community Hub Inc | Building Resilience after COVID at Wyee | Wyee | $49,240 |
