Media releases: 5 December 2024
Positive impact of place-based capacity-building pilot program in rural NSW
The significant impacts and lessons of a five-year pilot program aimed at building collective not-for-profit (NFP) sector capability in small rural and regional communities have been revealed in a report recently released by FRRR.
Leeton, Junee and Nambucca Valley NFPs participated in the Investing in Rural Community Futures (IRCF) pilot, a partnership between FRRR and the Vincent Fairfax Family Foundation (VFFF), which committed $5 million over five years across the three local government areas, with $1 million in funding available to support each of the three pilot communities.
The IRCF program set out to develop and trial a collaborative model that would work to strengthen local NFPs, so they could better service their communities. Through this co-designed, multi-year program, each community came together to learn, identify strengths and common challenges and then work collaboratively to lift up each organisation for the benefit of broader community.
On-the-ground support from a local facilitator was coupled with a rigorous, regular ‘roadmapping’ process through which local NFPs agreed on gaps and opportunities and prioritised activities. Grants and flexible funding were then available to enable agreed priorities to be actioned.
Running alongside the entire program was an evaluation program, delivered in partnership with Matrix on Board. In November 2024, this robust evaluation process was announced as the winner of the 2024 Social Impact Measurement Network Australia (SIMNA) Awards.
Through this evaluation program, FRRR identified several factors as critical to successful place-based NFP capacity building, including:
- Investing in people and leadership capability enables fundamental improvements in governance, processes, equipment and systems;
- Face-to-face support and engagement is essential;
- A collaborative approach focusses community and guides funding;
- NFP organisations need to be ready, willing and able to participate actively to extract full value and optimise the investment required to make place-based change; and
- Building trust and changing habits takes time – a five-year commitment was needed and elevated thinking from immediate needs to strategic capability.
Natalie Egleton, FRRR CEO said the ultimate goal of the program was to help organisations “fit their oxygen masks first”, so they could maintain their critical community work well into the future.
“As we walked alongside these organisations, we saw them grow in confidence, as well as develop strategic partnerships and networks that have led to advocacy efforts to advance local and systemic issues,” Ms Egleton said.
“The evaluation we’ve undertaken confirms that IRCF has been a significant contributing factor to the growing impact of these organisations and the vitality of these communities. Early work indicates that the $5 million investment has leveraged a further $8.7 million across the three communities.
“We have learned that providing flexible support and funding targeted at the capacity and capability of NFPs leads to more collaborative and resilient organisations. We also confirmed that change in not linear, takes time, and is the work of many working together on common goals.
“Or, to put it another way, time, trust and tenacity are essential to a thriving community-led, not-for-profit sector in local communities.
“None of this would have been possible without the willingness of VFFF to work with us – to take a leap of faith on this pilot and to engage with us, and with community groups directly, over the last five years,” Ms Egleton said.
Following its success as a model, the IRCF program has extended to numerous other regions across rural New South Wales and is about to launch in three further communities in Victoria. Click here to read more about the impact of the pilot program.
