$950,000 dedicated to the long-term sustainability of community organisations

Three Victorian not-for-profit organisations (NFPs), working in places impacted by the 2019-20 bushfires, have been awarded grants in the closing round of FRRR’s Bushfire Recovery Fund. These grants will enable multi-year projects to be undertaken by key community groups, providing sustainable support for the long-term recovery of fire-affected communities.

The Bushfire Recovery Fund was established in 2021, in partnership with the Helen Macpherson Smith Trust and the Sidney Myer Fund, seeking to reduce the stress and burnout of NFPs playing a central role in the recovery of fire-impacted communities in North East Victoria (Alpine and Towong) and East Gippsland (including Far East Gippsland).

 The Bushfire Recovery Fund grants awarded in this final round are:

• Yoowinna Wurnalung Indigenous Healing Service Ltd – Lakes Entrance/Bairnsdale/Far East Gippsland –Healing our Heart, Healing Our Mind – Building the capacity of Yoowinna Wurnalung to continue delivering services, programming and partnering that has demonstrated value for the recovery of Indigenous people in East Gippsland impacted by the 2019-20 bushfires. $100,000/2 years
  
• Cann Valley Bush Nursing Centre Incorporated – Cann River and surrounding communities – Governance, Capacity Building and Sustainability Program – Enhancing the delivery of the bush nursing services in the community through training and strategic development consultancy for the Bush Nursing Manager and Committee of Management. $92,076/2 years
  
• Sarsfield Community Association – Sarsfield – Sarsfield Volunteer Support Worker – Burn Out Circuit Breaker ­- Providing staff to enable the execution of both large and small recovery projects that contribute to the development of essential infrastructure, foster community engagement, and deliver positive environmental outcomes. $105,122/2 years

In 2021, Corryong Neighbourhood House (CNH) was awarded a two-year grant of $103,340 to improve organisational efficiency and capacity. To continue to meet the needs of their community, grow youth programs and build on social enterprise development, CNH has been awarded an additional $16,232.

In total, the Bushfire Recovery Fund has supported nine NFPs, with a total of $950,000 awarded via multi-year grants. The funds will go towards projects that address organisational needs, identified by each group, so that they can provide the services or programs that support their communities’ recovery from the Black Summer bushfires.

Nina O’Brien, Disaster Resilience and Recovery Lead, FRRR, said that despite the challenges of COVID restrictions, compounded by impacts of additional natural disasters, local groups have shown true determination to sustain operations in order to support community recovery.

“With the first round of grants awarded in 2021, we have already begun to see how these NFPs are building their resilience and capacity so that they can do what they do best, and help their community to heal, for the long-term.

“Having worked with each organisation over multiple years, FRRR is inspired by their ability to leverage the strengths of local knowledge, experience and care for the community and Country, which are critical for the future of these human and environmental landscapes,” Ms O’Brien said.

Like FRRR, Helen Macpherson Smith Trust and the Sidney Myer Fund are dedicated to ensuring that the impact of these grants is lasting and transformative, aiding the sustainability of the organisations to better support long-term recovery and resilience of the communities in North East Victoria and East Gippsland.

Leonard Vary, CEO, Sidney Myer Fund, said awarding core support grants over longer periods to organisations was vital to strengthening the process of community-led recovery.

“The Bushfire Recovery Fund recognises the criticality of communities having a sense of control over and a direct say in their recovery and rebuilding. The Fund offered grantees both certainty of funding and time to identify their needs, plan strategically and implement effectively.”

Debra Morgan, CEO of Helen Macpherson Smith Trust, said the resilience and tenacity of the supported communities is evident in the projects we are seeing delivered with support of the Bushfire Recovery Fund.

“The grant funding, together with the embedded support and guidance from FRRR, is resulting in positive outcomes for the bushfire affected communities, and we hope will set them on a path to a strong future.”

As at 13 October 2023, FRRR has awarded $14.6 million in grants to support 757 response, recovery and preparedness projects in remote, rural and regional communities affected by the 2019-20 bushfires.

The full list of grant recipients and their projects are below.

The community of Corryong in north-eastern Victoria is nestled at the foot of the surrounding mountain ranges, and has a population of around 1,200. The Corryong Neighbourhood Centre (CNC) is very active in the community, and their mission is to make a difference for people in their community by providing a vibrant hub of lifelong learning that brings people together, connects them with services, programs, employment and activities and points them in the right direction.

The CNC operates two successful social enterprises, which not only increase the opportunities for work-based training in the community and support the ongoing operating costs of the CNC, but also meet an identified gap in current services and supplies available in Corryong.

One is a community bakery, which had an 11% increase in sales in its first year and a 28% increase in its second, contributing over $83,000 to CNC operations in its first two years of trading. The second social enterprise venture is a community garage, which uses the same model as the bakery and aims to be financially viable and self-sustaining within a reasonable timeframe. Both ventures are managed by an experienced industry professional with training skills and a community focus with business and administrative support from the CNC team.

To ensure that the funds generated from the social enterprises are sustainably and effectively utilised within the Upper Murray, the Upper Murray Innovation Foundation (UMIF) was established as a Community Foundation operated by the CNC in June 2016. UMIF partnered with FRRR in 2017 to create a Fundraising Account to channel these funds through, meaning that any contributions made to the account receive a tax deduction within Australia. UMIF’s purpose is to support the activities of the CNC and the wider Upper Murray Community through learning, activities and initiatives that improve life in the region and, particularly since the devastating Black Summer bushfires, build resilience and growth at the community level. 

Since opening the account with FRRR, UMIF has raised $333,462 for bushfire recovery and $245,000 for their community garage social enterprise. Distributions are made to support community groups such as the footy clubs at Bullioh, Federal, Cudgewa and Corryong, which were adversely affected by the Black Summer bushfires. Corryong College received funding for a support dog; Cudgewa Hall for tree works; the Corryong CRC for the development of a community calendar; Biggara Recreation Reserve for community hall upgrades; and a Freemasons project to assist with the clearing of damaged fencing, erosion and damage to waterways resulting from the bushfires and subsequent landslides in difficult access areas.

Sara Jenkins from UMIF said that the funded activities have provided stand alone benefits, start up funds or contributed to larger projects for a wide range of groups. Some of the distributions have also enabled groups and organisations to work together to develop strategies and solutions to address wider community issues (e.g. the community calendar project).

When asked what some key learnings were for the Community Foundation, Sara mentioned the ongoing importance of developing and using comprehensive procedures and documentation and maintaining regular contact with recipients and partners.

“Keeping up-to-date with the status of projects, the people on the ground, and being involved in any problem solving or amendments required reduces confusion, duplication and helps the process run smoothly, despite ongoing delays,” she said.

UMIF continues to foster several project partnerships, working closely with Freemasons Victoria, Towong Shire, CRCs and various unincorporated community groups. They are also auspicing and supporting a number of bushfire recovery grants and projects for unincorporated community groups that will support the community to continue the recovery process.