Applications for Nutrien Ag Solutions Community Grants Program are now open, with eligible not-for-profit organisations invited to apply for a grant of up to $5,000 to support community projects in regional Australia.

“Through our partnership with the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal, the Nutrien Ag Solutions Community Grants Program has been instrumental in providing more than $750,000 in funding over the last three years to local not-for-profit organisations,” said Mady Muirhead, Corporate Affairs Advisor at Nutrien Ag Solutions.

“In 2023 alone, we granted more than $252,000 to 57 community-led projects across remote, rural and regional Australia. These projects are designed to strengthen and invigorate our communities, making them even more vibrant and prosperous.”

“We’re a local employer across hundreds of communities, so we know what a privilege it is to live and work in regional Australia. Our community investments are underpinned by one aim – contributing to a successful, sustainable and safe future for agricultural communities,” said Ms Muirhead.

The Nutrien Ag Solutions Community Grants Program has supported more than 160 local projects since its launch in 2021, including the redevelopment of fire shed facilities at Carabost, New South Wales; the restoration of the historic Buangor Cobb and Co at Buangor, Victoria; and the construction of a stage shelter at the agricultural showgrounds in Millicent, South Australia.

“We work in partnership with our communities to support them at a grassroots level, in ways that best suit the specific needs of that community,” said Ms Muirhead.

The Nutrien Ag Solutions Community Grants Program is run in partnership with the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal (FRRR).

FRRR Place Program Lead, Jill Karena, says that it’s wonderful to partner with Nutrien Ag Solutions to support local not-for-profits that know just what’s needed to make their communities more livable, vibrant and sustainable.

“Whether it’s an initiative to engage local young people, enhancements to community facilities to bring people together and facilitate connection, or providing access to services many of us in urban areas take for granted, the Nutrien Ag Solutions Community Grants Program has the flexibility to respond to local priorities identified by local people. We look forward to seeing what those needs are this year and to help bring those great ideas to fruition,” said Ms Karena.

Applications for the 2024 Nutrien Ag Solutions Community Grants Program are open now and close on 8 August 2024, with successful applicants announced in October this year.

An online webinar will be held to support grant seekers from 12.30 – 1.30pm (AEST) on Tuesday 16 July. Sign up here: https://events.humanitix.com/nutrien-ag-solutions-grantseeker-workshop.

For more information and to apply, visit: https://frrr.org.au/funding/place/nutrien/.

FRRR today welcomed a new $600,000 partnership with Telstra, which will see a new grant program launch in March 2023.

Telstra’s Connected Communities Grant Program will boost support for NFPs and communities across remote, rural and regional Australia to improve resilience, environmental sustainability and liveability through the power of connection.

The program will offer grants up to $10,000 for not-for-profit community organisations that are providing access to information, technology, education and facilities to support their communities to embrace new technologies and ways of working to build social capital and digital capability.

FRRR’s Acting CEO, Sarah Matthee, said that this is a wonderful new partnership that will help address one of the biggest gaps identified in FRRR’s Heartbeat of Rural Australia study in 2021.

“The Heartbeat study really highlighted a significant digital divide for remote, rural and regional not-for-profit organisations, particularly when it comes to capacity to access digital resources and the opportunity to improve knowledge and skills to harness technology to maintain and create connections. But we also know that connections are so important in building resilient communities, as well as sustainable communities. So this contribution from Telstra is very welcome, as it will help to address some of those challenges and harness many of the opportunities in country Australia. We very much look forward to launching the program next month,” Ms Matthee said.

Read Telstra’s full announcement or learn more on Telstra’s Connected Communities Grant Program page.

Twenty-seven community-led groups in remote, rural and regional NSW will share in $912,505 awarded through the Resilience NSW COVID Regional Community Support (CRCS) program.

Funded by the NSW Government and administered by the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal (FRRR), the grants were allocated to grassroots community groups and not-for-profit organisations that helped their communities navigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

NSW Minister for Emergency Services and Resilience and Minister for Flood Recovery Steph Cooke said the funding stream would help these groups build resilience and better mitigate the impact of pandemics and other disasters across their communities.

“We awarded between $3,363 and $50,000 to organisations, to support a wide range of regional capacity building initiatives to help enhance community wellbeing, create stronger local economies, and enable a greater ability to respond to future challenges,” Ms Cooke said.

“The pandemic has posed plenty of difficulties for people and families in remote and regional areas over the past two years, and community-led organisations played an important role in navigating those challenges.”

Ms Cooke said some of the common requests from community groups involved facility improvements, food security and assisting with the increased demand on local services in flood-devastated areas such as the Northern Rivers.

“We’ve been able to address some of these needs through this funding stream, to ensure these groups and the communities they work with are in better stead for the future.”

Some of the 27 funded projects include:

• Agape Outreach Inc in Tweed Heads to improve staff and volunteer resilience and increase capacity to support the community through mental health and wellbeing training – $36,600.
• Forster Neighbourhood Centre Inc in Forster to promote organisational capacity and support local access to essential services by contributing to the fit-out of the new Forster Neighbourhood Centre – $50,000.
• Gunnedah Meals on Wheels Association in Gunnedah to improve the capacity of Gunnedah Meals on Wheels to support vulnerable community members through a hamper program and the purchase of a large deep freezer – $8,150.
• LeaderLife Ltd in Dubbo to grow organisational resilience and support skills development in local youth through a new syntropic farming system – $50,000.
• Sustainable Agriculture and Gardening Eurobodalla in Moruya to increase organisational capacity and promote food security in the Eurobodalla Shire through the hiring of a Business Manager – $50,000.

Natalie Egleton, CEO of FRRR, said the grants acknowledge and will strengthen the capacity of regional organisations in NSW who played such a critical role in supporting communities throughout COVID-19 challenges. 

“The impact of the pandemic has been significant and is still being felt,” Ms Egleton said. “The flexibility of this program recognised that every community is different and requires tailored support and funding to ensure that they can continue to provide vital services, bring people and community organisations together and enable locally-led responses as and when required.

“Being able to support the many community organisations and not-for-profits who have gone above and beyond for their communities during such difficult times and enable them to be better prepared in the future is important to the ongoing sustainability and vibrancy of these communities.”

A complete list of the projects supported is below.

Grant funding is now available to support communities in remote, rural and regional Queensland and New South Wales who have been impacted by this year’s flooding events.

Suncorp and GIO have partnered with the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal (FRRR), through the Rebuilding Futures program, to offer $500,000 in grants of up to $25,000 to help not-for-profit groups and local community organisations to rebuild and recover from this year’s flood events.

Suncorp’s Head of Flood Response and Recovery, Cath Stewart, said that this funding recognises that while the initial clean up may have concluded, many community groups still have a lot of work to do to support their community’s ongoing recovery.

“The floods were devastating and, sadly, some places were affected more than once. On top of weather events and the impacts of COVID, not to mention the increased costs of living that are putting pressure on local businesses and community members, many groups are finding it really hard to access resources they need to support their community.

“These grants, which can be used to support locally-identified recovery and rebuilding priorities, will hopefully relieve some of those pressures and allow the communities to start moving forward,” said Ms Stewart.

FRRR CEO, Natalie Egleton, said that Suncorp and GIO’s support means that there is flexible funding available to help communities rebuild and be better prepared for future disaster events.

“We know that local community leaders are the ones who are best placed to know what their community needs. That’s why we made sure these grants can fund a wide range of activities, events, initiatives and small-scale infrastructure or equipment projects. The aim is to ensure that the community can build resilience by improving facilities for mitigation and preparedness and creating opportunities to reconnect, share experiences or support overall wellbeing and improved mental health, in whatever way makes most sense to that community.

“We look forward to engaging with these groups and are hoping that for some the grant opportunity can be a catalyst for projects that reduce the impact of future disasters on community wellbeing and physical infrastructure,” Ms Egleton explained.

For more information about who is eligible and what can be funded, visit www.frrr.org.au/Rebuilding-Futures.

A Grant Seeking Workshop including a Q&A on the Rebuilding Future’s grant program will be held online from 1 – 2pm AEST Tuesday 23 August 2022.

Applications close 28 September 2022.

After supporting more than 50 local projects in 2021, the Nutrien Ag Solutions Community Grants Program is back for a second year, offering grants of up to $5,000 for projects across rural and regional Australia.

Nutrien Ag Solutions Director of Corporate Affairs Carissa Buckland says the program supports projects that strengthen, connect and enhance rural and regional communities.

“We have thousands of employees living and working in rural and regional towns right across Australia. So, we have a deep understanding of what makes a community thrive – and it’s all about the people” says Ms Buckland. 

“Covid placed significant unanticipated stress on grassroots organisations and groups that work tirelessly to support their local communities. With face-to-face events restricted over the past two years it’s been challenging for these groups to rely on their regular fundraising efforts.  Nutrien Ag Solutions is so proud to provide a much-needed boost to the rural and regional communities we are a part of,” says Ms Buckland.

Ms Buckland says grants are available for a wide range of meaningful community-led projects.

“Last year we supported 57 projects across the country including the installation of monkey bars at Coonamble Pre-School for their occupational therapy program and weatherproof speakers for the Mansfield Armchair Cinema. We also supported the upgrade of a space for regional artists to exhibit their work in Moora, an excursion to visit local farmers for students at Belltrees Public School, and a fence to improve the safety of the public playground at Deniliquin,” says Ms Buckland.

“We were also proud to support the return of medical services at the Penneshaw Community Health Rooms on Kangaroo Island, with funding used to provide air-conditioning for the consulting room and disability access to the bathroom, including a mobility toilet and grab rails.”

The Nutrien Ag Solutions Community Grants Program is run in partnership with the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal (FRRR).

FRRR CEO, Natalie Egleton, says that access to flexible funding through programs like Nutrien Ag Solutions Community Grants Program is really important for local not-for-profits and community groups to sustain their communities.

“The cumulative impacts of fires, floods, drought and COVID has put significant pressure on many remote, rural and regional community groups – yet as our Heartbeat of Rural Australia study showed last year, their work is more important than ever.  Flexible grant programs like this one, which can support a wide range of community needs, are more important than ever. We are delighted to once again be partnering with Nutrien Ag Solutions to enable this funding to get to the community groups that need it most, so they can help build stronger rural communities.”

Applications for the 2022 Nutrien Ag Solutions Community Grants Program are open now and close 5pm AEST 12 August 2022, with successful applicants announced in October this year. For more information and to apply visit: www.nutrienagsolutions.com.au/nutrien-ag-solutions-community-grants-program.

Spirit of charity shines bright in a tough year to help rural communities adapt and evolve

A unique Australian charity significantly increased its year-on-year grantmaking, giving remote, rural and regional communities across the country a much-needed funding boost as they adapted to the impacts of natural disasters and COVID-19.

FRRR (the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal) supports small not-for-profit organisations across rural Australia through a mix of grant funding and capacity building activities. Their aim is to ensure local grassroots groups have the tools and support they need to implement projects that strengthen and sustain the vitality of their communities, and their organisations.

Last financial year, FRRR awarded nearly $20 million through 917 grants, an increase of around a third on the prior year. A significant portion ($4.1 million) went toward 203 recovery projects in communities impacted by the Black Summer bushfires, who were also grappling with economic and social fallout of COVID-19.

For the last 20 years, FRRR has created collaborative partnerships with Government, philanthropy, business and private funders to provide support to local organisations to fill the gaps, and address inequities in services in these areas and, critically, to strengthen community resilience.

Despite it being a tough year, everyday Australians and the philanthropic sector in particular continued to give, enabling FRRR to reach some of the smallest and most remote communities.

FRRR CEO Natalie Egleton said that while many grants to community groups are project-based, last year, in response to community needs, the organisation adapted its approach to also support more operational costs.

“The places we support are really small communities – sometimes just tens or hundreds of people – and so very few volunteers carry a lot of the load. Between the impacts of bushfires, drought, floods and COVID-19 restrictions, traditional fundraising was simply not possible. We were able to step in and support projects in more than 540 different postcodes across the country.

“With these communities being so resourceful, most projects don’t actually need all that much funding. In fact, our median grant was only around $13,000. While that figure has increased over time, we still award many grants that are just a few thousand dollars.

“It’s surprising just how big an impact can be created with relatively little, especially when people come together and given collaboratively, as they have this year,” Ms Egleton said.

“While it’s been a tough 12 months, thanks to the support of our corporate and philanthropic partners, and hundreds of individual donors, we are proud to have been able to sustain and indeed strengthen many rural communitites,” Ms Egleton concluded.

FRRR’s FY2020/21 Annual Review is available at www.frrr.org.au/AR21.

More than 50 communities to benefit from Nutrien Community Grants

Community organisations across rural and regional Australia will share in more than $250,000 as Nutrien Ag Solutions, in partnership with FRRR, announced the recipients from the first round of the Community Grants Program.

This year the program will deliver 57 small grants for projects, leaving a big impact in their local communities.

The funding is directed towards projects that will create long-term positive outcomes that benefit and strengthen local communities.

The projects that have been funded reflect the diversity of communities in which Nutrien Ag Solutions operates and the different needs found in each place. Some of the 57 projects awarded include:

• Hay Inc, NSW – Hay Inc Rural Education Program: Increase access to agricultural training and mentoring through their Rural Education Program – $5,000
• The Historical Society of Katherine, NT – Refurbish Outdoor Function Equipment: Refurbish outdoor function equipment to enhance the facilities and attract Museum visitors – $5,000
• Central Highlands Science Centre Inc, Emerald QLD – Curiosity Club – Exploring STEAM through Engineering, Technology and Robotics: Support and foster inquisitive minds to explore STEAM through engineering, technology and robotics resources – $5,000
• Coomandook Amalgamated Pastime Club, SA – Coomandook Community Postal Agency – Reverse cycle air conditioning unit: Boost volunteer vitality by installing reverse cycle air conditioning at the community-operated Coomandook Postal Agency – $2,685
• Northern Midlands Radio Initiative Inc, Longford TAS – Northern Midlands Radio Initiative Inc Community Radio Development: Build organisational capacity by equipping two new community radio stations – $5,000
• The Trustee for The MAC Trust, Mansfield VIC – No More Silent Movies: Boost access to community activities with the provision of speakers for the Mansfield Outdoor Cinema – $4,335
• Katanning Regional Business Association Inc., WA – Summer Ready: Get summer-ready and build community resilience through disaster preparedness workshops – $2,560

Natalie Egleton, CEO of FRRR, said that this was one of the most popular programs that FRRR has run in recent years, thanks to both its flexibility and the strong connections that local Nutrien staff have in their communities.

“Like FRRR, Nutrien recognises the critical role that community-led groups play in ensuring access to vital services and creating dynamic and vibrant places to live and work. Most of the requests were for infrastructure and equipment, such as mowers and generators, or to upgrade community spaces, and to improve access to services and activities. These things can often be hard to fund, especially in really small communities.

“Thanks to Nutrien’s support, we’ve been able to give some really important community projects the boost they need to address local needs and take advantage of opportunities that will encourage engagement and foster community wellbeing,” Ms Egleton explained.

Carissa Buckland, Nutrien Ag Solutions Director of Corporate Affairs, said that Nutrien is proud to support the rural and regional communities that play such a central role in achievements of the agriculture industry. 

“With the ongoing impacts of disasters, including fires, floods and drought, and of course the restrictions of COVID, local fundraising has been a challenge, so we are delighted to be able to fund these important community projects, and help relieve the pressure that many groups are under,” Ms Buckland said.

“We know this seed funding will also allow community groups to leverage the grant and attract the additional funding or in-kind contributions they may need,” Ms Buckland said.

Most of the applications came from outer-regional, remote or very remote areas (75%), again reflecting the challenges in securing funding in those areas. Around a third of the communities that applied have fewer than 500 people. The average funding requested was just under $4,700 and the smallest request was for just under a thousand.

Community groups looking for similar flexible funding are encouraged to visit www.frrr.org.au/funding to explore what other grant programs are available.

If you would like to support grants like this through FRRR, make a tax-deductible donation at https://frrr.org.au/giving/.

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

Support needed now more than ever for communities hit by multiple disasters

Port Macquarie, on the mid-north coast of New South Wales, is just one of many towns reeling from the effects of cumulative disasters. In their case, it began in July 2019 with devastating bushfires that affected many communities across the region. The fires burned until January 2020. Homes, livelihoods and, sadly, lives were lost.

Then in March 2020, COVID-19 hit, decimating visitor numbers and the vital income they bring with them, and restrictions hampered bushfire recovery activities. These cumulative impacts meant many retailers, cafes, pubs, restaurants, tourism and accommodation providers were forced to let staff go or, for some, to close.

In March 2021 – with COVID-19 and bushfire recovery still ongoing – the region was inundated by a one in 100 year flood. Thousands of people were evacuated, and five months later, many have still not been able to return to their homes. Today, pockets of the community are still without electricity.

Fewer resources, but more to do

The struggle for small organisations trying to support their community is very real, even in normal times. So, when events like the bushfires, floods and COVID-19 place greater demands on their services, their capacity is challenged. But they fight on!

Make a Difference Port Macquarie (MAD PMQ) is a local support agency helping their community to respond to these events. Over the last year, they’ve had to work through how to do more, with fewer people. When COVID-19 hit, MAD lost their volunteer base almost overnight because most of their volunteers are elderly or retired and are very vulnerable. The pandemic also had a huge impact on the organisation’s fundraising. Like many small community organisations, MAD PMQ relies heavily on events to raise the funds required to deliver their services.

Volunteer Erin Denham said they generally run four or five fundraising events a year but were only able to run one in the last year, and that’s had a massive impact on revenue. MAD PMQ was supported by an FRRR grant that funded the stage for that event and the fit out of their mobile coffee van. 

“When we got the FRRR grant, it took so much pressure off us as a charity – we hadn’t been able to run a fundraising event in nine months, and we couldn’t see a way out of COVID-19. The grant allowed us to continue our plan for our projects and support our community.”

As successive disasters have hit the community, MAD PMQ has adapted and expanded its role.

“Our focus has shifted dramatically since our inception,” Erin said. “It was originally homelessness. Now we’ve moved to supporting a wider range of disadvantaged people, so our work shifts and adapts based on the needs of the community and what’s happening around us, like fires or floods. The homeless population is transient, but there are just as many people in the community who need our help that go beyond that demographic.”

When the floods hit in March, their greatest priority was helping to address the immediate needs of those affected by the floods, particularly getting people back in their own homes by supplying white goods such as fridges, washing machines and ovens.

“It’s been a massive effort,” Erin explained. “We’ve raised approximately $50,000 so far, which we’ve since redistributed in white goods and other requests. But it feels like the funding is starting to dry up, and the demand is greater now than it was immediately after the floods.”

Emerging impacts

In fact, demand for MAD’s services is the highest they’ve ever seen, and Erin says she thinks it will continue to increase as the full impact of the “triple-whammy” of disasters takes effect.

Erin said that while there was lots of help immediately following the fires and floods from external organisations and agencies, the responsibility is now falling on the small organisations within the community to pick up the load and continue to meet the ongoing needs of a community impacted by natural disasters.

“Most of the people provided with emergency accommodation until the end of June or early July are starting to have to move on, and demand for assistance to MAD PMQ is increasing.

“Everyone’s gone back to business as usual, you can’t tell by driving through town that anything happened,” Erin said.

“Just last week we came across a gentleman who is still living in his flood-affected caravan, with no power or running water. His caravan was written off, but he’s got nowhere else to go. We provided him with a generator, so he at least has some power.

“And I’m aware of a 65 year old man who was living in a tent in his back yard, while his wife was in emergency accommodation. They were separated for months after the floods happened. The housing crisis and gentrification are big problems, with people relocating from Sydney, and many people being pushed out of the rental market. And while they might be eligible for grants, often they can’t meet all of the requirements that’s needed and therefore they miss out on funding.”

Erin said that support through FRRR, such as the new Suncorp Rebuilding Futures program, allows community organisations to be responsive in the aftermath of the situation. By offering funding support for charities like MAD, the program will allow them to help residents get back into their homes faster.

Images: Alex McNaught

Warddeken, an Aboriginal owned not-for-profit company, combines traditional ecological knowledge with Western science to manage and protect one of Australia’s most unique environments.

Arnhem Land covers 97,000 sq km of the top end of the Northern Territory.

During the second half of the twentieth century, many Traditional Owners were encouraged to move away from either remote parts of Arnhem Land and join missions, or larger communities to search for more ‘traditional’ work opportunities.

As a result, many parts of the area were left without people and ‘Country was orphaned’ – the term used for land without its people.

Over a number of decades fine-scale fire management was replaced by raging yearly wildfires, feral animals and invasive plants severely impacting the native species.

The plants and animals that make up the local ecosystems had previously evolved to rely on Bininj (the Aboriginal people of Western Arnhem Land), however the disruption in traditional Indigenous land management diminished the ecosystem and led to plummeting numbers of small to medium–weight mammals. This included culturally important species like djabbo / northern quoll and bakkadji / black-footed tree-rat. Refugia, including rainforest patches shrunk and fresh-water places were destroyed.

Getting things back on track

Warddeken is an Aboriginal-owned, not-for-profit company that combines traditional ecological knowledge with Western science to manage and protect one of Australia’s most unique environments.

Warddeken operates out of the remote homeland communities of Kabulwarnamyo, Manmoyi and Mamadawerre in west Arnhem Land. Each year up to 180 Indigenous rangers work on a variety of projects including fire management and carbon abatement, invasive weed and feral animal control, rock art conservation, education and cultural heritage management. 

Curbing the decline

Djabbo populations identified by the monitoring project are actively considered in annual early burning and wildfire suppression activities, and are targeted for further investigation for the purposes of building population resilience.

With meaningful involvement and employment of landowners and rangers, Warddeken will seek to define quoll and major predator feral cat population density and distribution to inform the design of predator suppression strategies if required.

Indigenous rangers, living and working on Country, are best placed to curb the decline in native biodiversity loss and improve habitat for future generations.

Rangers in West and Central Arnhem Land tirelessly blend Indigenous ecological knowledge and western science to control threats and help native species begin to thrive in their natural environment.

CEO of Karrkad Kanjdji Trust, Stacey Irving says “Warddeken’s vision is to have healthy people living and working on healthy country. The generous support of the ANZ Seeds of Renewal program is helping rangers care for species like the Djabbo.’’

Terrah Guymala, Senior Warddeken Ranger adds, “When we, Bininj people, see animals, we get excited because they play a big role in our life through our ceremonies.

“This year we have seen lots of animals that we love, but we hope this number increases so we can physically show our children rather than relying on rock art to tell the stories,” Terrah says.

ANZ General Manager Business Banking Jenefer Stewart says the ANZ Seeds of Renewal program has been providing grants for important initiatives in regional and rural Australia for nearly 20 years.

“Each year I look forward to seeing the difference the grants are able to make in these communities, many of which find it difficult to access the resources they need to grow, develop and prosper,” she says.

Written by Karly Dwyer, ANZ

Funding awarded for 112 locally-led projects

FRRR has awarded $1,589,612 in grants for 112 projects that will help build the resilience and long-term vitality of smaller remote, rural and regional communities across Australia, through its Strengthening Rural Communities (SRC) program.

The SRC program is collaboratively funded, and its broad scope enables smaller remote, rural, and regional communities to receive funding for a wide range of initiatives that are led by local people and address local needs. The awarded grants will give these rural places a boost to achieve long-term viability and vitality.

This round of SRC includes funding across three streams – Small & Vital, Larger Leverage and Bushfire Recovery grants. Grants range from $323 for first aid and snake bite kits for the Harts Range Amateur Race Club in remote Northern Territory, through to a $25,000 grant to support healing and the preservation of culture by providing the opportunity for Kullilli people to travel to Thargomindah in Queensland and be on Kullilli country to celebrate NAIDOC Week.

For regions continuing to recover and renew following the 2019/2020 bushfires, grants range from $2,500 to encourage locals to participate in recovery activities at the Maclean Spring Festival in New South Wales, through to $25,000 for the installation of local fauna sculptures that will increase connection to place and enhance public spaces in Marlow, Victoria.

Natalie Egleton, CEO of FRRR, said this round of SRC has seen rural communities across Australia seek funding for inspiring initiatives that build community resilience and support individual and community health and wellbeing at a local level.

“Many communities have been impacted by multiple disasters, including the recent flooding in NSW and parts of QLD. For these regions, economic recovery from the disasters has been severely challenged by COVID-19. For community organisations, the pandemic has hampered fundraising efforts and their capacity to provide services. Understandably, local volunteers are pretty worn out. In response, we have awarded a number of grants for projects that will relieve volunteer-fatigue and alleviate the pressures that many volunteer-led groups are dealing with.

“Rural communities gain strength and vitality when locals have places to gather and connect, so it’s not surprising that we continue to see strong demand for projects that build community resilience by investing in local community assets and infrastructure, particularly the maintenance of community halls. And, as gathering restrictions ease, we are seeing more requests for work on outdoor spaces and for community events, as people come together to strengthen community engagement and participation,” Ms Egleton said.

The Small & Vital grants stream provides funding of up to $10,000 for local initiatives that enhance the wellbeing, strength and resilience of rural communities. This round of SRC has seen 52 projects in places across all States and Territories sharing in a total of $356,342 in Small & Vital grants.

Larger Leverage grants provide funding of up to $25,000, generally for remote or very remote parts of Australia. The larger grants are intended to help overcome logistical barriers that can limit the opportunity for multifaceted projects in these regions. A total of $595,362 has been awarded to 27 projects through the Larger Leverage stream.

This round the Bushfire Recovery stream awarded a total of $637,908 in grants to 33 initiatives designed to help seed and strengthen the recovery of communities impacted by the 2019/2020 summer bushfires. Further information on these Bushfire Recovery projects is available here.

Some of the 79 Small & Vital and Larger Leverage projects awarded include:

• Cootamundra Development Corporation Limited, Cootamundra NSW – Capable Coota! – $3000 – Help volunteer organisations in Cootamundra to attract high quality executive members by providing Governance training.
• Circulanation Ltd, Borroloola NT – Indigenous Entrepreneurship Facilitators Training Manual – Language Translation – $10,000 – Support Indigenous women to develop entrepreneurship and employability through translation of facilitator’s training manual into Kriol language to enable locally-led delivery of the training program.
• MultiSkill Centre Ltd, Cloncurry QLD – Work-it-out Room – $9,910 – Improve access to social and physical wellbeing opportunities for disadvantaged youth in remote township by provision of an exercise room.
• Wudinna RSL Memorial Kindergarten, Wudinna SA – Wudinna RSL Memorial Kindergarten – $25,000 – Provide pre-school children access to safe, sun-smart outdoor educational play areas by building a permanent roof structure.
• Derwent Valley Community House Inc, New Norfolk TAS – Blair Street Community Facilities – $10,000 – Boost the use of a Community House through an upgrade of facilities.
• Barengi Gadjin Land Council Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC, Wail VIC – Educate, Regenerate and Inspire – Dalki Garringa Arboretum Biodiversity Program – $25,000 – Strengthen connection to local culture through the development of a First Nations educational project.
• Environs Kimberley, Broome WA – Strengthening the Kimberley Community Seedbank: a sustainable social enterprise – $24,995 – Build Indigenous business skills and support a sustainable bushfoods industry through establishment of two seed collecting enterprises.

The SRC program is collaboratively supported by a number of generous donors, which are listed here.

The current round is accepting applications until 24 August 2021, with funds to be awarded in December 2021.

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

Jump to : ACT | NSW | NT | QLD | SA | TAS| VIC | WA