As the Investing in Rural Community Futures (IRCF) program culminates in the South Coast communities, one of the biggest impacts has been the growth in the people that have delivered the program.

The Community Facilitators have not only held the space for conversations, nurtured the roadmaps, listened deeply to community; they have also gained important skills and knowledge around leadership, storytelling, “Art of Hosting” techniques and a deeper cultural understanding. Along with many other wonderful social impact skills, these will be an asset to their communities for many years to come. 

Last week Monique, Kate, Steph and Carolyn had the chance to connect in person, reflect on the last few years and enjoy a wonderful lunch at The Cup’N’Cake’N’Co, a social enterprise that was initially seeded with an IRCF start up grant in 2020. It was wonderful to be together and feel the connection that has been forged through shared experience in delivering this impactful program. 

The team also took the time to gather a parting gift for each of the 50+ organisations we have been on this journey with over the last five years, with special items from a few of the social enterprises who have been partners in the IRCF journey on the South Coast. 

Much gratitude to facilitators: Monique Carson, who has been on this journey since the first roadmapping in Ulladulla and always gives above and beyond; Kate McBride, who has stepped up with poise and confidence in the Bay and Basin Community; Stephanie Chiu, who in a deeply connected way stepped into the Batemans Bay community with such impact; and Leah Szanto who supported the Bega Valley community with such professionalism and commitment. A deep and heartfelt thank you to Kate Dezarnaulds, Jules Klugman, Meg Stratti, Natalie Lloyd and Bree Morgan who supported their communities in the program.

The IRCF program is not possible without the key element of investing in people and engaging local facilitators who are part of and know their community deeply, these committed individuals who do so much in their two days a week with us are the key reason for the incredible impact this program has delivered. Thank you all for your generosity, humour, kindness and sharing of your love for community. 

In the Bega Valley, strengthening capability for sharing resources was a community roadmap goal. The Bega Valley Data Collective (BVDC) had support through the Investing in Rural Community Futures (IRCF) program to develop a community-led wellbeing framework aimed at empowering the community to thrive.

The first stage of this was the Measuring What Matters in the Bega Valley project, which has now been successfully completed. As a community engagement initiative, the project provided crucial insights into the issues and priorities that matter most to Bega Valley residents.

Organisations who participated learnt how to access and use community data and how wellbeing frameworks can achieve meaningful impact for community-led decision making, as well as enhancing grant applications.

To mark the official launch of the Living Well in the Bega Valley campaign, BVDC hosted a film screening on November 18^th in Merimbula. Titled Purpose, the documentary follows the journey of political economists Katherine Trebeck and Lorenzo Fioramonti as they seek to change the way progress is measured to change what governments do. Envisioning a world in which the economy serves the people, rather than the people serving it, the pair initiate political projects in the hope of shifting economic systems away from endless GDP growth, towards what really matters for people and planet.

The screening was followed by an enthusiastic Q&A session. April Merrick, FRRR’s NSW Programs Manager and committee member of BVDC, said the event provided a thought-provoking exploration of the wellbeing economy. “It was great to see so many engaged people turn out. It reinforced what we heard in our recent survey where over 90 percent of respondents rated community-led decision making as an important factor for community wellbeing.

BVDC has been developing partnership agreements with the University of Canberra and the Australian Bureau of Statistics and will be announcing two projects to come from these collaborations in early 2025.

Local NFP leaders invited to join a roadmapping workshop

The Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal (FRRR) and Bega Valley Shire Council are pleased to announce the start of a new initiative under the $1.3 million Australian Government Black Summer Bushfire Recovery Grants Program.

Investing in Rural Community Futures (IRCF) Bega Valley – Resilience Connection and Place Project builds on the work done over the last year through FRRR’s Investing in Not-for-Profit Capacity in Regional NSW (INFPC) program.

IRCF Bega Valley will support not-for-profits (NFPs) by strengthening their capacity to service local communities through a mix of on-the-ground support, using local facilitators and access to workshops and training.

Bega Valley Shire Council is hosting two part-time facilitators, Leah Szanto and Bree Morgan. The facilitators will be connecting with groups across the shire to identify ways in which the local NFP sector can strengthen and adapt to changing community needs in order to thrive. NFPs will be invited to participate in a collaborative planning process aimed at building their capacity and ensuring the sustainability of individual organisations and projects through networking, skill development and community-led initiatives.

The IRCF model is currently being implemented in seven other communities across NSW. A key element is a road mapping process where goals and priorities are decided by the community, for the community. Work has already been done on this through the INFPC program over the last 12 months and now a roadmap will be designed at a workshop in Bega on Tuesday 14 March at 9:00 am. All local NFP leaders are invited to attend and registration is essential via https://frrr-bvsc-workshop.paperform.co/.

FRRR’s IRCF Program Coordinator, Carolyn Ardler, said this locally co-designed program will help the Bega Valley become even stronger than it was before the bushfires.

“It’s been great to see support being channelled into Bega Valley communities following the Black Summer bushfires, but we have also heard that it’s been overwhelming in many respects,” Ms Ardler said. “This new program will allow NFP community organisations and local leaders to work together to identify gaps in their capacity that may be hampering their ability to make the most of the funding and support that they have access to.

“It will also strengthen connections between NFP organisations and other communities where it operates. We’ve seen groups collaborate on projects that are truly transformational for their community, so it’s exciting to see the program kicking into gear.”

Council’s Community Development Coordinator, Chani Keefer, said it was great to be partnering with FRRR on this program.

“The goal of IRCF Bega Valley isn’t just to recover from the bushfires, but also to make our community stronger for the future,” Ms Keefer said. “This model will allow local community leaders to prioritise where they need to build their skills and capacity so they can work collectively towards a socially, economically and environmentally stronger Bega Valley.

“Having local facilitators on-the-ground has proven to be critical in other communities where this model has been implemented.”

To find out more about the IRCF program or to get involved, visit ircf.frrr.org.au/Bega or contact FRRR Carolyn Ardler, IRCF Program Coordinator – South Coast on 1800 170 020.