It’s important to stop and reflect on what we are hearing, seeing and learning through our work – there is a huge amount of potential in our regional communities and many solutions lie at our fingertips, but first we need to understand the issues. Below is a snapshot of some of the FRRR team’s recent observations and insights.
Local not-for-profit groups need extra support at present. Particular issues include:
- A general lack of volunteers; attracting volunteers is hard, and issues such as burnout, succession, relinquishing services and lack of people in these communities is really showing. Related to this is the challenge of succession planning for the committees – a high proportion of ageing volunteers.
- Interestingly, four of the five Investing in Rural Communities (IRCF) communities submitted applications for support to fund a community liaison officer providing support to the NFP sector.
- FRRR is currently undertaking a deep-dive into this broad issue of volunteering in rural, regional and remote communities.
- Training and skill development are a particular challenge for small, local NFPs. Key areas include fundraising, finance, grant writing, marketing and governance.
- The regulatory environment is placing increasing compliance requirements on the NFP sector, adding a burden on volunteers. It's also apparent there is a lack of skills and knowledge to meet these compliance requirements. This increases costs as many need to outsource this work.
- Many local leaders recognise the need for, and have a desire to have, strategic and operational plans in place for their organisation, but lack the resources and skills to do this.
- Feedback from stakeholders at the Grant-seeker Workshops highlighted that FRRR grants provide opportunities for strengthened community engagement and connectedness. As grant seekers, they looked to others in their community for support and many projects grew into collaborative partnerships.
Philanthropy needs to help fill the gaps:
- A visit to Yorke Peninsula, SA highlighted that community groups are struggling to raise the funds required to deliver the projects they are working on or aspiring to deliver. This is despite Council grants being available in all three LGAs we visited. With small rate bases, Councils are finding it difficult to meet demand.
- While resources are thin on the ground, there is no lack of commitment and enthusiasm. Progress Associations are a dominant force, and many projects play into the beautification / parks / tidy towns arena. However, there is evidence that support is needed in the areas of education, strengthening local economies, and improving health and wellbeing, particularly of older people in the community.
Drought and wellbeing is still a very real issue:
- There are immediate impacts from the drought, as well as longer-term challenges. Discussions reflect deep concern for the welfare of others in the community and for their collective wellbeing. The flow-on effects of the drought on schools and businesses is frequently highlighted, as well as the increased demand on not-for-profits for short and long-term support.
- Again, the topic of the impact on those volunteering comes up. Representatives from organisations providing direct support to farmers and families discussed the heavy reliance on volunteers, and the impact on those individuals who were providing support to others, while experiencing the effects of the drought themselves.
- The importance of ‘having hope’ was mentioned often too, and that FRRR grant programs provided a much needed boost to individuals and groups within the communities.
The importance of being heard:
- Comments at Grant-seeker Workshops reinforce that FRRR's visits to communities are appreciated, as the opportunity to share their story was important.
- The team sees that too in phone calls to the office. We are currently preparing our annual review from last financial year and saw a 125% increase in calls.