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.

Thirteen South Coast not-for-profit organisations (NFPs) are sharing more than $166,000 in funding for projects aimed at strengthening their capacity to support their local communities.

The substantial investment has been announced through FRRR’s Investing in Rural Community Futures (IRCF) program, in partnership with Snow Foundation and Bendigo Bank’s Community Enterprise Foundation.

Toolbox grants are available at any time throughout the program and the most recent grants will be some of the final awarded as part of IRCF, which has been operating across the region since 2020.

Earlier this year, each community came together at “roadmapping” workshops, reflected on what had been achieved to date and then identified their shared priorities for this remaining funding. This process has guided FRRR and its partners on how to prioritise and direct investment throughout the program.

Carolyn Ardler, FRRR’s Program Manager for the IRCF South Coast program, said that the funding will support collaborative community-led projects, as the program enters the culmination phase.

“The IRCF program has fostered tangible outcomes in the community sector and we are so thrilled with the way organisations have engaged with these opportunities to develop their skills and share resources.

“Our community facilitators have worked closely with participating groups in each locality to provide time for collaboration, discussion and submission. It’s wonderful to see initiatives put forward that will benefit the whole community,” Ms Ardler said.

“Through the program, local not-for-profits have formed connections with other groups and access to additional resources, which means they can face challenges together with a solutions-led approach, which has been empowering for community,” Ms Ardler said.

Georgina Byron AM, CEO of the Snow Foundation, reflects on her father’s enduring legacy, Terry Snow AM, the Foundation’s co-founder, and his deep connection to the South Coast. She describes the latest funding initiative as a meaningful tribute to his commitment to supporting local communities in the region.

“My father loved the South Coast and was very proud to be able to support so many wonderful community-led organisations through the IRCF program. It’s wonderful to know that this funding will strengthen local groups even further, so they can continue to make the South Coast a vibrant place to live, work and play,” Ms Byron said.

Ulladulla projects

In the Ulladulla area, six projects are sharing $93,082 thanks to Snow Foundation.

These projects are focussed largely on networking, storytelling and strengthening youth and cultural initiatives.

Batemans Bay projects

Four projects in Batemans Bay area will share $53,402, also with the support of Snow Foundation. The projects funded have a focus on skills development which will improve volunteer capacity, cultural awareness and succession planning. Additionally, engagement of a coordinator will provide direct support for existing networks to continue to flourish as they build capacity, social cohesion and resilience for the future.

Bay & Basin projects

In the Bay & Basin area, three projects are sharing $19,986, thanks to the support of Bendigo Bank’s Community Enterprise Foundation.

These projects have a focus on increasing cultural capacity, youth leadership skills and improving platforms for community collaboration.

David Impey, CEO of the Community Enterprise Foundation, said supporting projects that the groups had identified as they continued their ongoing recovery from the Black Summer bushfires were going to be of real benefit to the broader community.

“As the program has progressed, the confidence of local organisations to lead projects in a sustainable way has clearly grown.”

“The Foundation is glad to back initiatives that will see effective collaboration in the community and continued engagement of young people,” Mr Impey said.

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

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.