Swan Hill, Maryborough and Colac not-for-profits to benefit

FRRR today announced that three regional Victorian communities have been selected as partners in a $5M not-for-profit (NFP) sector capacity building program.  

Swan Hill, Maryborough and Colac were chosen after a comprehensive community consultation process and will soon begin a five-year program to strengthen local grassroots NFP groups to respond to local community needs with greater impact, supported by a locally based facilitator and funding. 

FRRR’s Investing in Rural Community Futures (IRCF) program is coming to Victoria for the first time thanks to a collaborative partnership involving four Victorian philanthropic organisations – Helen Macpherson Smith Trust, Jack Brockhoff Foundation, The Ross Trust and William Buckland Foundation. 

FRRR CEO, Natalie Egleton congratulated the selected communities and thanked the partner organisations for their commitment to the program in the regions. 

“We’re thrilled to be starting this journey with these communities, knowing the immense impact that targeted yet flexible support can have in strengthening the capability and resilience of NFPs and the vital services they provide,” Ms Egleton said. 

Given the increasing pressures that rural communities are facing, the program will enable local NFPs to better collaborate and empower them to improve the sustainability, vibrancy, and liveability of their communities, ultimately enabling them to thrive, not just survive. 

“Having been delivered successfully in eight NSW communities, FRRR knows the program will lead to higher-functioning NFP sectors in these communities that are ready to advocate for themselves into the future.  

“This community-led approach has demonstrated such wonderful long-term impacts in other IRCF regions and we are excited and confident that Swan Hill, Maryborough and Colac will embrace the opportunities this program offers,” Ms Egleton said. 

Louise Kuramoto, Executive Officer of the Jack Brockhoff Foundation spoke on behalf of the collaborating funders of IRCF about the belief they have in the program. 

“This is an exciting opportunity for these communities and we are delighted to be part of the initiative. We believe the program will help build more effective and capable organisations that contribute to a vibrant NFP sector and look forward to engaging with these communities in the coming years and seeing the outcomes of the hard work that’s ahead,” Ms Kuramoto said. 

A range of demographic, environmental and NFP sector indicators were considered during the selection process to identify communities ready to gain the greatest impact through the program. Five shortlisted communities were invited to information sessions, submit an expression of interest, and join local workshops as part of the process.  

Ms Egleton said the chance to leverage FRRR’s experience of delivering the program in NSW and continue learning alongside these Victorian communities was a real privilege.  

“We’ll also work with two communities not progressing into the program to resource some local activity aligned to their unique priorities.”  

Learn more about FRRR’s IRCF program at www.frrr.org.au/IRCF. 

FRRR has announced another $78,000 in grants for two exciting projects in the Bay and Basin area. 

The funding is through FRRR’s Investing in Rural Community Futures (IRCF) program, which is supported by Bendigo Bank’s Community Enterprise Foundation. 

An injection of $30,000 will see Bay & Basin Community Resources (BBCR) engage a part-time project officer to coordinate the Ls & Ps Program, a young-driver education program. The new staff member will liaise with volunteers, oversee day-to-day operations and support collaboration to further develop the program. 

Importantly, this funding will free up BBCR’s managers to develop a plan to ensure the sustainability of the Ls & Ps program. They will engage with young people who will benefit from the program, including local youth at Waminda, Yilbara, Vincentia High School, Youth Insearch, Sussex Neighbourhood Centre, Youth Justice and Ostara. 

FRRR’s IRCF Program Manager on the South Coast, Carolyn Ardler, says that the program was identified as a priority at the youth workshop held last year, as well as by the Illawarra South Coast Local Jobs Transport Committee. 

“The ability to drive is so important for young people in this region, as it opens up many more opportunities for employment, as well as social connection. By supporting a coordinator, who can keep the program running day to day, the BBCR team will have more time to identify partners to maintain the vehicles and pull together the evidence about the critical role of this program, which will help with longer-term funding,” Ms Ardler explained. 

The second grant will not only help deliver an event in Huskisson over Easter, but it will also create employment opportunities, enable people to connect with First Nations culture and generate income within the community. The Blak Markets, to be held on 20 April 2025 at White Sands Park in Huskisson, will be an ethical market that will showcase the work of local Aboriginal artisans and strengthen connections between local businesses, the broader community and the local Aboriginal community. A range of artworks, craft, bushfoods and fashion from local small businesses will be featured, as well as workshops, performances and dancing.  

A pilot event, supported by First Hand Solutions and Djiriba Waagura, held in April 2024, attracted 300 Aboriginal people and a further 3,000 from the broader community. 

Ms Ardler says this is a really exciting project that will deliver broad community benefits. 

“The funding will employ a local trainee, who will build skills in events management and planning through mentoring, as well as engage local cultural services for the Blak Market and support promotion of the market to stallholders and the public.  

“The five years since the Black Summer bushfires have been challenging for many people and we hope that this opportunity will prompt local artisans to re-engage and share their work. We expect the market will lead to increased income and employment opportunities for local Aboriginal people, increase their confidence in their artistic and cultural endeavours and deliver opportunities to engage in broader national and international markets.” 

While the IRCF program in the Bay and Basin is coming to a close, there is still an opportunity to apply for toolbox grants focussed on building the capacity of local NFPs. If your organisation has participated in the IRCF program over the past four years and have a capacity need that aligns with the roadmap, you can apply for up to $15,000. If this sounds like you contact Carolyn Ardler by emailing c.ardler@frrr.org.au. 

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.

Not-for-profit organisations (NFPs) across the South Coast are sharing more than $360,000 across 27 projects that will strengthen their capacity to support their local communities.

The funding comes through FRRR’s Investing in Rural Community Futures (IRCF) program, in partnership with The Snow Foundation and Community Enterprise Foundation, which has been operating across the South Coast since 2020.

Carolyn Ardler, FRRR’s Program Manager for the IRCF South Coast program, said that the premise of the IRCF program is to encourage local groups to engage in greater collaboration, skill-building and, where possible, share resources and learnings for the benefit of the whole community.

“The IRCF program is all about helping local groups to be better able to support the communities and causes they were set up to assist. It involves a mix of grants directly to individual NFPs and workshops and training (usually led by a local group on behalf of other NFPs), all supported by a facilitator in each community who works alongside the groups. The program is entirely community driven, starting with a co-designed community roadmap that’s updated regularly, which helps FRRR and our partners prioritise where to direct investment in each community.

“Over the last three years, there’s been significant investment in strategy and planning, and now we’re seeing more projects around efficiencies, systems and processes, alongside continued investment in people and their capacity. As we head toward the culmination phase of the program, we’re also seeing communities establishing the systems and processes to sustain the networks, connections and collaborative ways of working they’ve established in recent years, so that’s exciting,” Ms Ardler said.

The Snow Foundation was the first donor partner to support the program on the South Coast and local resident and Chairman of the Foundation, Terry Snow, said that it’s so rewarding to see the long-term changes that have come about.

“While there’s still a few months until the program formally concludes, it’s been wonderful to see how well the local not-for-profit and community groups have embraced the chance to come together, agree where they could all benefit from upskilling and sharing their experiences, and to then put it into action. There are several organisations that are now much stronger and they are better able to support not only their chosen beneficiaries, but also other not-for-profit organisations. We’re delighted to have been part of this and look forward to seeing these projects that are being announced today also make an impact,” Mr Snow said.

Bay & Basin projects

In the Bay & Basin area, seven projects are sharing $76,749, thanks to the support of Bendigo Bank’s Community Enterprise Foundation. The focus in this round of funding was strongly on youth-aligned organisations and projects. This part of the South Coast is one of the more recent areas to come on board the IRCF journey, so the groups are still building connections and working closely with the local IRCF facilitator.

David Impey, CEO of the Community Enterprise Foundation, said it’s really pleasing to be able to support more projects that will strengthen the future of these local organisations and the region.

“It’s exciting to see a diverse range of projects continuing to come forward from local NFPs. This round, we are pleased to see several that focus on engaging young people, which is great to see as they are critical to ensuring a strong future in these regions. But there are also a number of projects that will enhance the capacity of these organisations, such as better systems and processes, upskilling staff or volunteers and creating assets and resources that can be shared across NFPs. This goes right to the heart of ensuring strong communities and we are delighted to be part of it.”

Nowra projects

Ten projects in and around Nowra are sharing $114,911, thanks to support from The Snow Foundation. This is the final round of grants for Nowra and we’ve seen increased networking activities and discussions about how to collaborate on projects. This tranche of projects has a strong focus on supporting people and developing systems.

Batemans Bay projects

This is also the final round of funding for Batemans Bay and five projects will share $94,946, with support from The Snow Foundation. With these grants there is a focus on creating efficiencies and most projects are collaborative, with more than one organisation benefitting.

Ulladulla projects

Thanks again to The Snow Foundation, five projects are sharing $76,125, most of which focus on enhancing administration systems and procedures to improve capacity and better support the community.

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

Four local NFPs awarded grants

In partnership with the Bendigo Bank Community Enterprise Foundation, FRRR has awarded a further $50,293 to support four not-for-profit organisations (NFPs) in the Bay & Basin area. Bay & Basin NFPs have now received nearly $150,000 to date through the Investing in Rural Community Futures (IRCF) program, which is helping to address locally-identified priorities.

The IRCF program is a multi-year program designed to foster collaboration between local NFPs and strengthen their capacity, so they can continue to have a positive impact on the vibrancy and wellbeing of their communities. The program operates across the South Coast region, and in three other locations across NSW.

As part of the IRCF program, local leaders participated in community meetings and created a roadmap of the future opportunities they envision for their communities. This helped to identify the areas where the community groups and NFPs need support and ensures that the solutions being provided through the program are community-led.

The four funded projects cover various areas including strategy development, resilience training, equipment upgrades and human resources. One example is the Huskisson Op Shop who are engaging a paid Coordinator to support the Op Shop Volunteers, as well as a Business Advisor, who will help to modernise the Op Shop to support their food pantry in St Georges Basin.

Natalie Egleton, CEO of FRRR, said that multi-year programs, like IRCF, are vital for these remote, rural and regional communities.

“The NFPs in Bay & Basin play a big role when it comes to the quality of life for people living in these communities. Local leaders know what will work, so our role is to support them to create locally-led solutions that can be implemented over a series of years. This ensures that these communities thrive long into the future,” Ms Egleton said.

David Impey, CEO Community Enterprise Foundation, the Bendigo and Adelaide Bank’s charitable arm,  said that the grant recipients are committed to developing all aspects of their organisations.

“It’s inspiring to see these people who are willing to take such a multi-faceted approach when it comes to building resilient communities. Through this program they’re developing their skills, strengthening their relationships with their peers, improving their processes and engaging in some really productive conversations.

“These organisations are powerful advocates for their communities. We’re very thankful to be able to support their efforts in creating sustainable and long-term solutions that will see the lives of everyone in Bay & Basin made that much more vibrant,” Mr Impey said.

The four projects being funded are:

• Vincentia Ratepayers and Residents Association Inc, Vincentia – Prepare, Develop, Publish and Regularly Update the Vincentia Ratepayers and Resident Association 2030 Strategic Vision Document – $7,000
• Sussex Inlet District Chamber of Commerce Incorporated, Sussex Inlet – Sussex Inlet, a Vibrant Future- Building the capacity of our communitythrough resilience training and by developing a marketing campaign – $3,900
• Sanctuary Point Community Pride Incorporated, Sanctuary Point – Boosting Pride by fostering community engagement and enhancing organisational capacity through the development of a website, communications strategy, and accounting software – $10,309
• UCA – Bay & Basin, St Georges Basin – Growing the Husky Op-shop by building organisational capacity to enable a stable of aligned social enterprises – $29,084.

In addition to Bay & Basin, the IRCF South Coast program is also working in Nowra, Batemans Bay and Ulladulla, with the support of The Snow Foundation and in Junee, Leeton and Nambucca Valley in partnership with the Vincent Fairfax Family Foundation.

For more information about the Investing in Rural Community Futures program visit – https://frrr.org.au/ircf-program/.