Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal (FRRR)
Not For Profit HQ Limited received a $50,000 grant via FRRR through the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund Helping Regional Communities Prepare for Drought Initiative – Community Impact Program.

The aim of the project was to strengthen the capacity of community organisations in the Fitzroy Capricornia region, which comprises six local government areas. In collaboration with the Dawson Catchment Coordinating Association, the project conducted assessments for local not-for-profits (NFPs), delivering each organisation a tailored report with recommendations to increase their capacity.
Driving local action to help communities adapt and prepare for drought was a core aim of the initiative. The project sought to enhance resilience through upskilling NFPs in targeted areas like Clarks Creek, Banana Shire and the Central Highlands.
Organisational assessments, referred to as health checks, were conducted for local NFPs. A transparent report card was then provided to organisations, based on 32 benchmarks used in the assessment. These reports enabled organisations to accurately evaluate their strengths, in addition to identifying areas requiring improvement. Each group included in the process received an improvement plan tailored to the specific needs of the organisation. These plans provide a pathway to leadership training, enhanced operational plans and skills development.
Additionally, the project helps map out regional community organisations, providing a foundation for identifying areas lacking the presence of essential community groups. The initiative has seen new relationships fostered with local governments, contributing to a greater likelihood of ongoing communication and support, with a focus on long-term drought resilience strategies.
Leadership and mentor training will be offered in partnership with ARLF as well as existing mentoring systems, reinforcing local networks and organisational capacities. With stronger leadership capabilities in NFPs, community members doing crucial work will be able to expand their network reach and develop targeted training programs.
A better understanding of existing skillsets, combined with opportunities to engage in professional development, will enable crucial community groups to operate more effectively. This initiative will significantly enhance drought preparedness at a grassroots level, building stronger, more vital community networks, during and after times of drought.
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.
FRRR’s CEO, Natalie Egleton, recently spoke at the Social Impact in the Regions Conference. Before participating in a panel discussion that was focussed on addressing challenges in remote, rural and regional Australia, Natalie delivered a brief presentation. The following are her speech notes.
All too often, regional communities are only visible to the rest of the country and to policymakers through a lens of crisis, disadvantage, or as somewhere from which resources needed by others can be extracted.
From the hundreds of community grants and conversations we have at FRRR, we know that is not the narrative regional communities want to focus on. The challenges are definitely there; regional communities live them every day. But what would happen if we flipped the narrative to one where regions are understood, invested in and valued for their intrinsic value – their innovation, intelligence, creativity and contribution to their own and the nation’s wellbeing and economies?
The possibilities are remarkable when we do this. I’m going to share three case studies of communities and organisations that FRRR has partnered with over multiple years as they navigated these very questions. I’m not telling their story on their behalf but sharing what we noticed throughout our funding partnerships with them. They stand out but are by no means the only such organisations and communities. And a hint – there are some common themes about the different types and roles of backbone organisations; the capacity for challenges to catalyse innovation; and why place-based change takes time – sometimes generations.
Red Ridge Interior Queensland
Red Ridge Interior is in Blackall – almost the centre of Queensland. They are an arts organisation at their heart and evolved into so much more during the drought that crippled much of western Queensland in the mid 2000’s until very recently. Their model is one of collaboration that supports outcomes like intergenerational connection, First Nations economic self-determination, women’s health and wellbeing, and leadership development.

The first grant we awarded was just $2,500 to help them build a better business model. We have since supported many of their initiatives. Over the years, as they’ve grown in confidence – and people have built confidence in them –they’ve blown it out of the park.
Red Ridge described themselves as an auspice for local projects – but I would argue that they have played a backbone role for western Queensland.
In remote communities like Blackall, there are fewer services, small, dispersed populations, and narrow economies. They need organisations that can play integrated and multifaceted roles across population groups, industries and join dots in policy and funding systems to make them work for their local context.
One of their activities is the now annual Channel Country Ladies Day – an event with the tagline ‘inspiration in isolation’. It brings together women from across the channel country, right down into Birdsville and further north to Longreach and surrounds.
It was an idea born during the drought, when the load that women were carrying – caring for family, finding ways to generate off-farm income, managing the farm business – was noticed, alongside the fact that they weren’t caring for themselves. This is not any ordinary event; it brings together hundreds of women for reprieve, wellbeing support, fun and skill development. It also builds economic opportunity by creating space for micro-enterprises, and enterprise development. It’s a space for hard conversations and care for people doing hard work.

As the drought’s impacts deepened, Red Ridge saw an opportunity to play a role in ‘finding beauty in the drought’ and created the Dress the Central West event. They partnered with Central West Hospital and Health Service (CWHHS) and Central West Aboriginal Corporation (CWAC) to create the fashion parade of the year, Dress the Central West. Teaming with Fashion designer Claudia Williams from Llani Creative, each outfit represented the history and traditions of the four communities involved in the project – Winton, Blackall, Longreach and Barcaldine.
The event tapped into layers of talent in the community and gave people who were often excluded from opportunities a platform to shine. With support from a fashion designer, communities designed several outfits that best represented their towns, stories and culture in the adversity of drought, using recycled or found material.
The work that Red Ridge and the communities of the Central West faced – and still face – include big challenges, but they have found ways to create energy from within communities to co-create new stories and futures.
Red Earth Community Foundation
Red Earth Community Foundation is one of about 40 place-based philanthropic foundations in Australia – a network that is growing and evolving dynamic community-owned models of generating and redistributing capital in their local communities. Red Earth covers the North and South Burnett and Cherbourg communities in Queensland.

FRRR has partnered with Red Earth since it was a seed of an idea, through many grants and strategic partnerships. It’s a leading model of community mobilisation and transformation from the ground up.
Like many innovations, a crisis was the catalyst for the formation of Red Earth Community Foundation, following a major flood event in 2014. Conversations among a few key people were about what the Burnett needed in 100 years’ time – it was a different vision and one that held a new narrative about its challenges. This was in a context of the Burnett describing the region as the hole in the doughnut – the region that had high needs and one of the highest rates of socio-economic disadvantage in the country. They saw investment flowing everywhere but the Burnett Inland.
Funding to support flood recovery occurred around the same time as funding to support setting up good governance for the emerging Foundation. The latter involved much consultation and education about what a community foundation structure might bring to the Burnett.
There was a space to shift – they could continue blaming and being victims of poor systems, or they could mobilise and create something else. So, they set out on a different path to most community foundations – instead of starting with money, they started with people and developed a community leadership program. More than 200 people have now graduated from the program and are activating opportunities across the region.
In just a decade, Red Earth has become a vital backbone for the region – they are a trusted convenor of community voice and action. Beyond the leadership program, they are facilitating major drought resilience and disaster preparedness initiatives, and brokering opportunities for community benefit from renewable energy projects.
FRRR and Red Earth are currently partnering on the Disaster Resilient: Future Ready program, which is supporting community co-design of disaster resilience across the small towns in the Burnett Inland region. The teams were together at the recent AIDR conference to showcase the work and learnings.
Red Earth’s is a story of people power and a collective decision to adopt an opportunity mindset.
Toolangi

The final example is not of a single organisation but rather a small community – population just 335 – in an area affected by Black Saturday bushfires in 2009; it’s about an hour and a half north east of Melbourne.
In this tiny village, the Community House is the hub and provides a central point of connection and information. It is mostly volunteer run, with a tiny amount of funding for operations and programming. When the fires impacted the town, the Community House was the central organisation for recovery efforts. They had to step up and play a far more complex role in rebuilding the town and people’s lives.
The Community House brought together the ideas and needs of the town and went about gradually planning and actioning – with small amounts of funding as they went. Of course they couldn’t do it all at once. And as such a small town and organisation, nor could they accept too much support all at once. So, FRRR worked alongside them, supporting the community when they were ready and as needs evolved and people were able to do some of the actual implementation.
The focus was on long-term recovery, regeneration, over weeks and months. Support was given in different places, at different times. The support via the Community House similarly took different forms, and as needs evolved, investment went with them. Some of the projects supported by FRRR included strategic thinking about how to approach recovery; a focus on wellbeing; the need to create a place where health and fitness – physical and emotional wellbeing – could support social wellbeing across different groups – students; women; men etc.
The weekly community fitness program had a huge impact on the community as they recovered and found a ‘new normal’ after the fires. People were at risk of becoming isolated and mental health was a growing issue. In a largely ageing community, physical wellbeing was the way in to addressing mental wellbeing. An evaluation of this program found significant reduction in risk factors and increases in wellbeing at a population level. In fact, the program is still running.

They also hosted others including the men’s shed and the community garden – and reactivated spaces in town that could support connection, healing and regeneration. While there were many people involved, one person in particular was, and still is, the glue for this town – she carefully, kindly, and strategically worked with the community to reimagine spaces and opportunities. She did it knowing that they would never attract the big money or media headlines and so worked smartly too – with locally led sustainability as the goal.
That’s often the reality for those working in remote, rural and regional communities – the challenges are there and it’s up to those of us living and working there to find our unique assets and strengths.
These three examples showcase what’s possible if we flip the narrative and invest in communities, especially in backbone organisations that can take carriage of maintaining focus for the long game. They come in different shapes and sizes and, when built from and by community, are vital parts of community infrastructure. The other lesson I’d share, both from my work at FRRR but also as the resident of a small rural community, is to work on the assumption that the money may never come – hard as that is, it can liberate new thinking and opportunity. I hope that these anecdotes encourage you to reconsider your view of remote, rural and regional Australia. It’s not all doom and gloom – even when times are tough. Imagine what might be possible if regions are truly understood, invested in and valued for their innovation, intelligence, creativity and the contribution they make to our nation’s wellbeing and prosperity.
FRRR has awarded $213,343 via Telstra’s Connected Communities Grant Program to 30 local groups and not-for-profits (NFPs) across remote, rural and regional Australia for projects embracing technology to foster the resilience, environmental sustainability and liveability of their communities.

This is the first round of Telstra’s Connected Communities Grant Program, which is the core of its new partnership with FRRR (announced February 2023). The focus of the program is on fostering a resilient community, a more sustainable community or a more liveable community.
Awarded grants range from $1,849, which will be used to provide the Victorian community of Strathbogie with access to free Wi-Fi at the local hall, through to $10,000, for projects such as Collinsville Connect Telecentre Group’s cyber security workshop for older members of their Queensland community.
Loretta Willaton, Regional Australia Executive and Regional Customer Advocate at Telstra, said the program’s impacts go beyond simply supplying internet or technology.
“We’re really excited to see this program beginning to come to fruition and to see funding going to rural communities that have been doing it really tough the last few years.
“This round of grants has highlighted the ways in which digital connectivity goes hand-in-hand with social and cultural connectivity. How these factors complement one another has a strong impact on the liveability of a community, so it makes sense that a majority of funded projects are designed to equip locals with the skills to live, learn and work in a digital society.
“That’s what this program is all about – keeping people connected in the most important sense of the word,” Ms Willaton said.
This round saw most projects fall into the liveability category, with a range of initiatives being funded like the provision of Wi-Fi connectivity, new digital equipment, the training of volunteers and community members to build their digital knowledge, be it for cyber security, social media or simply navigating new computing hardware and software that would contribute to better operations of community events and organisations.
Natalie Egleton, FRRR’s CEO, said that there was a lot of interest in the program, with the Foundation receiving many applications for high quality projects.
“Keeping rural communities connected has never been more important, which was reflected by the strong response we received from communities all over remote, rural and regional Australia.
“Community organisations and local not-for-profits (NFPs) in rural communities are clearly keen to make sure locals have the equipment and the knowledge they need to engage in activities that are often taken for granted in metro areas. That might be spreading important information quickly, increasing opportunities for education or providing access to the electronic resources that become vital in emergency situations.
“With so many impressive initiatives on the table, we are grateful that Telstra increased its commitment this year to more than $213,000. There are so many different ways to keep a community connected, and more importantly, a lot of positive outcomes that can be achieved and we look forward to seeing these ideas come to life,” Ms Egleton said.
Some other examples of the projects being funded are below:
A full list of grant recipients is detailed below.
Organisation | Project | Location | Grant | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
NEW SOUTH WALES | ||||||
Bathurst Information and Neighbourhood Centre Incorporated | Connecting Our Community Build community capacity to meet, train and connect by providing Wi-Fi internet to the Bathurst Neighbourhood Centre community meeting room. | Bathurst | $7,510 | |||
Broadwater Rileys Hill Community Centre | Strengthening IT Access and Literacy for Broadwater Residents Boost technological skills and digital connectivity for vulnerable residents in Broadwater by conducting IT training sessions and upgrading computer software. | Broadwater | $2,760 | |||
Eden Community Access Centre Inc | Southern Cyber Safety Boost community knowledge around cyber safety in Eden and surrounding communities by providing specialist IT training for six months and offering a weekly drop-in service for checking device security. | Eden | $10,000 | |||
Lachlan and Western Regional Services Inc | Empowered Connections Boost organisational digital capability to better support remote community members' social and economic outcomes. | Condobolin | $10,000 | |||
RiverSmart Australia Limited | Using Digital Technology to Discover Tiger Bay Grow cultural and environmental knowledge of the rivers and wetlands around Warren by the creation of an app to provide information and digital upskilling to the community. | Warren | $10,000 | |||
Wardell Community Organised Resilience Effort Inc | Wardell Community Organised Resilience Effort Boost community resilience with training and equipment to support digital capability and connectivity during disasters. | Wardell | $10,000 | |||
QUEENSLAND | ||||||
Cape York Digital Network Pty Ltd | Fall-back Server Build capacity of the Cape York Digital Network to enable connectivity in remote Queensland with a new server to manage increasing demands. | Cairns | $8,000 | |||
Collinsville Connect Telecentre Group Incorporated | Cyber Security Sessions for Seniors Boost digital capability for older people through a cyber security workshop to enhance skills and risk management. | Collinsville | $10,000 | |||
Goondir Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islanders Corporation for Health Services | Improving Digital Capability for Better Collaboration Improve digital capability of First Nations health service with video conferencing equipment to enhance staff and stakeholder communications, improving overall service delivery to clients. | Dalby | $10,000 | |||
North Burnett Regional SES Queensland Fire and Emergency Services | North Burnett State Emergency Service Digital Connectivity Improve digital connectivity with equipment to improve connectivity operation to enhance operational capacity and better quality training for QFES in North Burnett. | Gayndah | $2,559 | |||
Numabulla Men's Shed Inc. | IT Education and Access Program Improve digital capability and literacy with technology equipment at the Men's Shed to deliver access and education. | Brooloo | $9,985 | |||
QCWA Branch Upper Stone | Connecting our Community Build community resilience and preparedness with an inverter generator and mobile booster to ensure power and connectivity in disasters and emergencies. | Upper Stone | $8,125 | |||
St Vincent de Paul Society Queensland | Expanding Our Virtual Reach in Far North QLD Enhance digital capacity and literacy of volunteers with equipment and training that will benefit the broader community accessing services. | Cooktown | $8,144 | |||
State Emergency Service - Charters Towers Queensland Fire and Emergency Services | Mobile Operations Centre Build preparedness and resilience in communities by upgrading the QFES Mobile Operation Centre with radios and back-up solar power to deliver disaster preparedness education and enable connectivity in extreme weather events across the Charters Towers region. | Charters Towers | $10,000 | |||
Whitfield Community Kindergarten Association Inc | Water Tank and Weather Station Support early child development and learning on environmental sustainability with digital tools to understand weather and water accessibility. | Cairns | $2,845 | |||
SOUTH AUSTRALIA | ||||||
Callington A & H Society Inc | Callington Show - Online Software Build organisational capacity with software to improve local show operations, developing digital capability for volunteers and efficiencies for participants. | Callington | $3,700 | |||
Moorook Bowling Club Incorporated | Future Connections Increase community capacity with digital connection via a mobile booster to support access to the internet in Moorook. | Moorook | $1,794 | |||
Parndana Soldier Settlement Museum Parndana Progress Association | Adding to the Mosaic Improve digital literacy and capability of local museum volunteers with software, equipment and a website upgrade to better present and promote local history. | Parndana | $3,409 | |||
Southern Yorke Peninsula Community Hub Incorporated | Let's Get Social! Social Media Content Marketing 101 for SYP Volunteers & Community Groups Upskill community group volunteers to increase their efficiency in navigating the digital world. | Yorketown | $9,766 | |||
TASMANIA | ||||||
Clarendon Vale Neighbourhood Centre Inc | Communities Connect Foster a more inclusive and connected community, by providing access to digital resources. | Clarendon Vale | $9,510 | |||
King Island Regional Development Organisation Inc 2520 | Digital Literacy Workshops and Buddy Program Improve digital literacy for the King Island community with an upgrade of technology and delivery of digital training and mentoring to build capability. | Currie | $5,243 | |||
Live Well Tasmania | Community, Power and Communications Resilience Equipment Build community resilience with preparedness by purchasing equipment to provide power during outages including a generator, solar panels and rechargeable radios and torches. | Wynyard | $5,398 | |||
VICTORIA | ||||||
Central Victorian Biolinks Alliance Inc | Connecting People to Restore and Reconnect Nature Build organisational capacity of Biolinks Alliance with computer equipment, software and subscriptions to increase dissemination of educational information for repairing regional ecosystems. | Tooborac | $7,055 | |||
Poowong Public Hall Inc | Equipment for Training in Meeting Room 2 of the Poowong Public Hall Inc Improve community facilities with a digital TV and laptop for the Poowong Hall meeting facilities to enhance functionality and support increased use. | Poowong | $2,312 | |||
Strathbogie Memorial Hall Incorporated | Strathbogie Memorial Hall Wi-Fi Boost digital connectivity for the community of Strathbogie by providing free Wi-Fi access at the local hall. | Strathbogie | $1,849 | |||
Wodonga Urban Landcare Network | Strive to Thrive - Connecting Environmental Volunteers Build community capability for improved environmental sustainability practice via a new website to share information and educate volunteers and the wider community surrounding Wodonga. | Wodonga | $10,000 | |||
Woomelang & District Development Assoc | Website Redevelopment Project Strengthen community engagement and connection through the creation of a website for Woomelang township to share information for locals and tourists. | Woomelang | $7,310 | |||
WESTERN AUSTRALIA | ||||||
Albany & Regional Volunteer Service Inc | Community eSafe Clubs - Equipping Clubs to Confidently Embrace the Use of Digital Technologies Build volunteer capacity with cyber security workshops to develop digital literacy and upskill people working in community to manage information online with confidence. | Albany | $7,650 | |||
Broome Community Resource Centre Inc | Public Access Computers - Technology Refresh and Enhancement Support community digital access with upgraded computers, ensuring people in and around Broome have access and can be trained in current software use for social and economic needs. | Broome | $10,000 | |||
Harvey Aboriginal Corporation | Connecting Community, Culture and Computers Provide access to digital resources and First Nations language and culture learning opportunities to students of Harvey by purchasing an interactive whiteboard, tablets and monitors. | Harvey | $8,419 |