The FRRR team recently received some lovely feedback from the Management Committee of The Lakes Entrance Mechanics Community Hall. In 2021, they applied for a Strengthening Rural Communities grant to make upgrades to the community hall. Here’s what they had to say…

The Lakes Entrance Mechanics Hall Management Committee is delighted to announce that the new chairs, purchased with the support of a grant from the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal (FRRR), have arrived and are ready to use.

The Lakes Entrance Mechanics Institute Hall is the hub of community events. Ceremonies, celebrations, meetings, community clubs, federal and state elections, breakfasts, parties, dances, concerts and bingo all take place within its four walls.

Our old chairs were dilapidated, heavy, hard to stack, hard to move, and took up half of our storage space. Committee spokesperson Pennie Anderson is delighted. “I love these chairs’, she said.

“They are lightweight, ergonomic and stack easily on specially designed trolleys, so a whole stack of 20 can be moved by an average sized person. They take up half the space of the old ones in the storeroom”.

Purchased locally from Workplace Systems in Bairnsdale, the chairs have been met with approval from the regular hall users. Below are some of the comments from community members:

“They are awesome– very easy to move and set up for our productions” – Di Dixon, President, Lakes Entrance Amateur Dramatic Society

“We found the handling of the chairs a much easier exercise all round. Also, when chairs were moved around during the meeting there was not the annoying scraping noise on the floor” – Stan Barker, President, Lakes Entrance Garden Club

“They look very smart and are much quieter on the floor” – Bingo, Lions Club

Since 2006, the Tablelands community in Far North Queensland has experienced three cyclones, floods in 2015, bushfires in 2018 and higher than average monsoonal rains – and the impacts of climate change will likely increase the frequency, duration and severity of these weather patterns and natural disasters over time. With such a small population, this community must be largely self-reliant when it comes to initial disaster responses. So, they need to ensure they are ready when the next disaster strikes.

Thanks to the support of a private donor, the Tablelands Regional Council was awarded a $25,000 grant through FRRR’s Strengthening Rural Communities (SRC) program to run a series of free workshops across the shire. Presented in partnership with Queensland Fire and Emergency Services, these programs were designed to better prepare residents before and during disasters and build resilience for the recovery process.

Seven different workshops were delivered, including First Aid training, Psychological First Aid training, Leadership in Disasters Workshops, Exercise Ready2Respond and Queensland Disaster Management Arrangements (QDMA) training. The workshops aimed to support inclusive and resilient communities, build community capacity and cultivate integrated health and wellbeing. They also helped prepare the community for the impacts of climate change, including more intense weather events in future years.

The funding made it possible for 270 people across the region to participate in the training. In particular, the realistic, scenario-based Community Disaster Team exercise helped the community prepare for the upcoming disaster season. The workshops provided valuable ideas to help families, homes and businesses recover from adversity and many community members provided positive feedback.

Officer in Charge of the Atherton Queensland Ambulance Service, Terry Cumming, felt the training had not only better informed the Atherton community but also alleviated the pressures on Emergency Services during a disaster.

“The effort of getting our community involved in training, and capacity building can only strengthen community resilience and help all emergency services in times of need.”

The Dongara Patchwork Club meet in the WA fishing town of Port Denison, which is located almost four hours north of Perth. Every three years, the club hosts a ‘Hanging of the Quilts’ event to exhibit new works completed by club members and the event draws tourists into town, supporting the local arts economy.

In October 2019, the Dongara Patchwork Club used a $4,403 Strengthening Rural Communities grant to fund the event. The grant was used to support venue hire, catering, printing, raffle tickets and advertising. The club members transformed the stadium at the Rec Centre into a Quilters Haven for the day and created ‘themed rooms’ that helped visitors to get inspired, be introduced to the craft or just to appreciate the talents of the local quilters.

The event featured quilts that had never been displayed, as well as demonstrations, art displays, raffles, quality market stalls, and a vintage car display that was located adjacent to the building. The 2019 ‘Hanging of the Quilts’ event also provided an opportunity for other local community groups to get involved, with the Veteran Car Club, Dongara Denison Art Group, Geraldton Spinners/weavers and Lace Makers and the Pottery Club participating along with local producers who showcased their wares.

Not only did the event drive local arts tourism but the community also reported an increase in creative expression, strengthened social connectivity and reduced social isolation. The funds raised at the festival were enough to cover the groups running costs and their work within the community for the next three years.

Gooniyandi Country

The town of Yiyili is located six hours east of Broome in the heart of the Kimberley region. At the town school, 90% of the time, fewer than one third of students are in attendance. This is often due to young people being impacted by intergenerational trauma and grief, family and domestic violence and drug and alcohol abuse, all of which are contributing to poor mental and physical health in the youth of Yiyili.

With engagement in education and work steadily decreasing, last year the Yiyili Aboriginal School decided to start ‘BikeRescue’, a program where young people could attend multiple workshops each week to refurbish and repair second-hand bikes.

Supported with a $25,000 Strengthening Rural Communities grant, funded by John T Reid Charitable Trusts, the training was carried out by Youth Councillors, as well as bicycle maintenance and refurbishment specialists. During the sessions, the students were taught how to adjust gears, fit new brakes, clean and maintain bikes and organise the workshop to function more efficiently. There was also a strong focus on self-management, resilience and self-regulation.

At the end of the program, the students sold the bikes to give them an understanding of how to run a small business. As an added benefit, this meant that there were affordable bikes available to children and adults in the community. The students that participated in the program were also allowed to each keep a bike for themselves.

As a result, the young people were really proud of the bikes they had managed to rescue, and of having invested their time and energy into a productive project. By participating, they also strengthened their community connections and developed more positive attitudes towards school and work.

As an added bonus, community members have been employed by the school on a casual basis to help students run the bicycle repair workshop and the Yiyili community group have secured funding to continue running the program.

117 community-led projects funded

One hundred and seventeen projects set to strengthen small remote, rural and regional communities across Australia have received a much-needed boost, with the community-driven initiatives sharing in $1,382,453 in grants.

Funded through FRRR’s Strengthening Rural Communities (SRC) program these grants support projects led by local people in small communities throughout the country.

In this round of funding, 59 Black Summer bushfire recovery initiatives are sharing $894,313 in grants for recovery and preparedness projects. This includes expanding the iconic Horsepower Highway tourist trail to kickstart Gnowangerup’s local economy in WA by adding two new installations, and installing a kitchen at the Big Swamp Community Centre in Coomunga, SA to support the community during future bushfire events.

There are also 58 projects spread across Australia sharing in $488,140 in this round of grants through the Small & Vital stream. These grants range from $1,595 to improve internet access for the local museum and its volunteers in Chiltern, VIC, through to a $10,000 grant for filmmaking workshops in Wilcannia, NSW.

Jill Karena, Place Portfolio Lead at FRRR, said that as COVID lockdown restrictions have eased and communities adapt to a new COVID normal, people are eager to connect, engage, celebrate and recover, but they are also keen to ensure that their community is stronger and more resilient for what may come.

“Our Heartbeat of Rural Australia study last year highlighted that among the biggest challenges for people was not being able to connect, so it was no surprise that many of the applications we saw in this round of SRC were about bringing people together. This ranges from making facilities more comfortable and welcoming, such as air conditioners or new furniture, to better IT equipment, internet connections or communication tools to engage with their communities. We have also seen some wonderful arts-based projects, which again bring people together, especially for those who were affected by the Black Summer bushfires.

“Underlying most of the requests however is a desire to be stronger in the future – to be more resilient. Sadly, some of those communities that are receiving grants, have felt the effects of another disaster. For those who have to put their projects on hold because of the floods, we understand. FRRR will be here to work with you, and if there is now a higher priority for your community, do get in touch as we are keen to assist,” Ms Karena said.

Some of the 117 funded projects include:

• Richmond Valley Council – Rappville, NSW – Supporting Community Recovery by Honouring Rappville’s Military History – Commemorate sacrifices of Rappville community with replacement of WWI, WWII and Vietnam War Honour Rolls destroyed in fires. $25,000 (Bushfire Recovery)
• Red Dust Role Models Limited – Nauiyu, NT – Red Dust Community Art Collaboration – Strengthen community and support healing with the creation of three murals celebrating and connecting community to culture. $5,000 (Small & Vital)    
• Muckadilla Community Association Inc – Muckadilla, QLD – All-abilities Access to Muckadilla Community Hall – Provide access to the Muckadilla Community Hall for all by installation of a disability access ramp and safety handrails. $10,000 (Small & Vital)
• Peterborough History Group SA Incorporated – Peterborough, SA – Wiring Upgrade for YMCA – Provide a safe environment for volunteers and support visitor engagement through the upgrade of electrical wiring. $10,000 (Small & Vital)
• Seymour Community Action Group Inc – Seymour, TAS – Seymour Community Wetland Restoration and Reclassification Project – Support volunteers to restore natural habitat and strengthen community connection to the environment through the development of a weed eradication project. $10,000 (Bushfire Recovery)
• Brookton Community Inc – Brookton, WA – White Goods for New Shared Buildings – Increase community participation and capacity by fitting out kitchens in two new shared community buildings. $7,370 (Small & Vital)
• Corryong College & Corryong Neighbourhood House Inc – Corryong, VIC – Enabling digital storytelling in the Upper Murray – Support college students to recover from a natural disaster through creative storytelling and technical skill development. $16,671 (Bushfire Recovery)

A full list of grant recipients is available on FRRR’s website.

The SRC program is collaboratively supported by many generous donors, which are acknowledged on FRRR’s website.

This program always accepts applications and thanks to recent support from the Australian Government, there is now a COVID-recovery stream – Rebuilding Rural Communities. Local NFPs and community groups are encouraged to review the expanded program guidelines and apply. More information about the SRC program is available at www.frrr.org.au/src.

To support grants like this through FRRR, make a tax-deductible donation at frrr.org.au/giving/.

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

Significant funding to rebuild and recover from COVID

The Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal (FRRR) has welcomed a significant boost to its flagship Strengthening Rural Communities (SRC) grant program, following an investment of more than $5 million from the Australian Government.

This funding, which will be available over the next two years, recognises the significant and long-lasting impacts of COVID and the localised effort needed to recover and rebuild vibrant remote, rural and regional communities.

From today, community groups and not-for-profit organisations in remote, rural and regional communities can apply for funding to support the recovery process, reduce social isolation, foster stronger, more resilient communities, or sustain these vital local organisations in their work.

The Australian Government’s support means that there will be $800,000 available in this round of SRC grants specifically for COVID-related projects. The COVID stream will have two tiers of funding  – one will offer grants of up to $10,000 to groups working in communities of fewer than 50,000 people, while a second tier will offer grants of up to $50,000 for groups in remote, rural or regional communities (as defined by Australian Bureau of Statistics’ Australian Geography Standards).

Natalie Egleton, CEO of FRRR, said that the Australian Government’s investment is sorely needed and will be greatly appreciated by local organisations that have been struggling with raising funds, and coping with the effects of volunteer fatigue.

“At the end of last year, FRRR commissioned the Heartbeat of Rural Australia study, which confirmed that the pandemic has weakened the ability of community organisations to play their various roles in the community, at a time when, for many, demand for their services has increased.

“Many community groups that took part in the study – especially grassroots organisations with revenue of less than $50,000 – saw significant reductions in income as a result of not being able to run fundraising events and income-generating activities and, in some instances, funders redirecting their support. It’s also impacted the number of people able to volunteer, meaning that those remaining have been called on to do more, for longer. It’s no wonder people are exhausted.

“This program will help to rebuild rural communities by funding projects that respond to the ongoing impacts of COVID and will help communities get back on their feet.

“We’ve deliberately kept the SRC program flexible, as we know needs will be different from place to place, and from group to group. Projects eligible for funding could include supporting, training or attracting volunteers; running events; enhancing community facilities; developing services that assist people experiencing disadvantage; or purchasing equipment or resources that strengthen local organisations. We are very grateful for the Australian Government’s support and the commitment that they are showing to strengthen and rebuild rural communities,” Ms Egleton said.

In addition to the COVID funding stream, the SRC program still has grants available to support communities affected by the 2019/20 Black Summer bushfires. There is $650,000 available this round, through grants of up to $25,000. A third, more general stream of funding offers Small & Vital grants of up to $10,000 for initiatives that strengthen and support communities of 15,000 or fewer in remote, rural or regional areas.

To learn more about the program, and to apply, visit https://frrr.org.au/SRC. Applications close 31 May 2022 at 5pm AEDT.

Acknowledging the Wongutha people

Goldfields Girl is about leadership, confidence and building aspirational behaviours. Much more than a pageant, it’s a program that involves personal development, work readiness and community engagement activities for young Indigenous women between the ages of 16 and 25 from the Goldfields region, in south eastern corner of Western Australia. It’s based on the successful Kimberley Girl program, and has been operating since 2017.

Goolarri Media Enterprises (the operational arm of Broome Aboriginal Media Association Aboriginal Corporation) is behind the program, which is part of the overarching Young Women’s Pathways Program, helping young Indigenous women to realise their self-worth, gain confidence to dream big and to build goal setting behaviours.

In 2020, Goolarri’s aim for the program was to engage and participate up to 10 young women from Leonora in the program and workshops. Goldfields Girl is a contemporary cultural activity, and in the remote town of Leonora, there is nothing else like it for Indigenous women at this age and stage of life. The work readiness training and leadership development it provides can be transformational, providing a pathway for successfully navigating transition from school to employment. A significant 43.7% of the Pathways Program participants from 2004 to 2015 were employed, compared to 29.8% employment rate across Indigenous women in all of Australia, in the same age range (and this number is known to be much lower in remote areas.)

With funding from the Kapikarnpi Community Fund, FRRR supported the inaugural Goldfields Girl program in 2017 with a $5,000 grant to the Tjupan Ngalia Land Council Aboriginal Corporation. For two years, activities were held in Leonora and Kalgoorlie. In 2019, there were fewer Leonora participants, and so they were brought to Kalgoorlie for the workshops with their travel, accommodation and meal costs covered. But Leonora is a priority site for the program, and Goollarri wanted to support young women from the town, so they didn’t feel isolated because they were many kilometers from their home and Country.

Goolarri sought funds from the Strengthening Rural Communities program to run a series of 10 smaller, non-accredited workshops based in Leonora in the two weeks prior to Goldfields Girl 2020, to keep the young women engaged as much as possible. They were successful and started planning.

With the programs initially locked in for March 2020 delivery, everything fell apart when the country went into lockdown. Suddenly the risk of these young women feeling isolated became even greater. But the organisation was committed to finding a way forward. 

Unsure how to proceed and unable to access the Leonora community, Goolarri got the Broome and Kalgoorlie-Leonora teams together on Zoom to determine a way forward.  They agreed to commence the program online by filming fun videos to engage the girls in the accredited training. With a small window in which to keep participants engaged, while not ideal, the plan was better than nothing. So, they developed online modules, videos, adapted content and updated COVID plans as the environment changed.

In the final report, the organisation wrote: “We did everything in our power to ensure this project went ahead, to the point where our organisation invested heavily in developing accredited training materials and training videos for the girls, so they did not think we had just walked away and left them.”  

“None of it was easy but we did it for the young women.”

Past Leonora participants were trained in the delivery and support of the materials and this was a wonderful outcome that has enabled additional skill sharing for other young women in the community.

“We know from their feedback that these young women gained so much out of this and enabling them through trust in on the ground delivery gave them additional ownership for future activities such as this.” 

While they didn’t achieve all the results they had hoped for with this adapted delivery model, they hope that we can make a bigger impact in future years delivering the full program in person.   

“We know we touched the lives of those girls who did participate and hope to keep them engaged for future delivery.” 

The resolution of issues causing frequent flooding of the carpark for the Burrum District Community’s Men’s Shed in Howard, QLD, has enabled more seniors to have safe access to opportunities to learn new skills with like-minded community members.

The carpark was flooding constantly due to weather issues and stormwater runoff, making access to steps and a ramp difficult for senior members, meaning some were not able to visit the shed.

A $2,200 FRRR Strengthening Rural Communities grant funded drainage and an all-weather carpark. Members also contributed by pitching in to clean up weeds – a project that need to be repeated when the project was stalled due to COVID-19 closures of the facility.

Burrum District Community Men’s Shed President Mark Wake said the facility provides a safe, friendly and healing environment with the emphasis on men’s health and encouraging social inclusion. Members can work on meaningful projects at their own pace, in their own time and in the company of others.

“The shed provides a friendly, relaxing environment that encourages men and assists with social isolation. It also provides support in times of bereavement, ill health, redundancy and other life changing events,” he said.

“The success of this project will see our shed becoming a welcoming environment in any weather as a drop-in centre for lonely, isolated men in the community,” Mr Wake said.

Among the improvements are access to the main shed during inclement weather, wheelchair access to the ramp and access to the metal work shed. An additional benefit was an increase in usable off-street parking leading to an increase in membership and community members inquiring about other services such as woodwork lessons.

Just off the South Australian mainland you will find Kangaroo Island (KI). Australia’s third largest Island, KI is known for its stunning nature reserves and wildlife. During the 2019/20 bushfires, the flora and fauna of KI was severely impacted. Around 210,000 ha was burned, which destroyed numerous bushland patches of reserves and private property. The true damage of what this has done to the environment and its habitats is still being determined; it may take years to properly understand the impacts.

With this in mind, all remaining vegetation across KI is now considered to be highly important for conservation. Protecting the wildlife that live within these bushland areas is a high priority to organisations like the Nature Foundation. Their vision is to inspire people to connect with and conserve the natural habitat of South Australia for future generations. The Nature Foundation is involved in a number of projects that educate the broader community, provides scientific research and raises funds and awareness for their conservation work.

One of their more recent and ongoing projects is completely eradicating feral cats from Dudley Peninsula, which is located on the eastern side of the Island. Conservationists report that the feral cats living on KI are preying on small animals and birds that are already under threat from the mass loss to their habitat after the bushfires. They are also known carriers of parasitic diseases (Sarcosporidiosis and Toxoplasmosis), which have caused economic impacts on the island’s primary producers. These diseases are known to affect sheep across the island.

To help reduce the numbers of feral cats, the Nature Foundation received a $25,000 Strengthening Rural Communities (SRC) grant, which was funded by the Fire Fight Australia Fund from donations received during the concert for national bushfire relief in February 2020. The SRC grant was used to purchase and install equipment needed to monitor the cat numbers and their movements around the peninsula. The Nature Foundation has built a cat proof fence that separates the peninsula from the remainder of the Island. They made sure to include gaps in the fence so other wildlife like Kangaroos can get through to the other side. The cameras were installed at the fence breaks to monitor the effect of the fences and to determine the best way to control feral cat numbers.  

Since installing the fence and the cameras, it has been reported that numbers and diversity of species within the enclosed area have almost doubled. As reported by the ABC, the current traps set up along the fence are proving to be extremely successful in reducing the number of feral cats to the area.

Grants of more than $800,000 support bushfire recovery and community resilience

Seventy-nine community-led projects that will boost remote, rural and regional communities across Australia are sharing in $809,234 in funding, thanks to FRRR’s Strengthening Rural Communities (SRC) program.

Funded by generous contributions from a number of donors, the SRC program offers two streams of funding. The Small & Vital Stream offers grants of up to $10,000 for locally-led initiatives that strengthen community resilience and capacity, while the Bushfire Recovery Stream offers grants of up to $25,000 to support recovery from the Black Summer bushfires in 2020/21.

In this round of funding, $446,638 will support 55 Small & Vital projects, while $312,596 will be shared across 22 bushfire recovery initiatives.

Grants awarded range from $1,800 to upgrade the Gujarati Cultural Association of Darwin website, through to $25,000 for Wangaratta Rural City Council, which will be used to purchase and install a generator in their Neighbourhood Safer Place – Bushfire Place of Last Resort.

The funding follows the recent release of FRRR’s Heartbeat of Rural Australia Report, which highlights the challenges that local community groups across the country are facing in funding the vital community-strengthening activities that they undertake.

Natalie Egleton, CEO of FRRR, says that the diversity of projects reflects the critical role that these groups play in the vitality of their communities.

“As we found in our Heartbeat study, rural community groups and NFPs really are the heartbeat of rural communities. However, many community groups have found it tough to access funding, especially over the last two years, so we are delighted to be able to step in and support them to deliver on local priorities.

“We are seeing initiatives address local needs ranging from enhancing organisational capacity, to providing training so that the groups can better support their communities, to upgrades in critical community infrastructure so that people a safe and accessible space where they can meet.

“This diversity of projects confirms that these community organisations are best placed to lead the way when it comes to supporting their communities, facilitating recovery, and building resilience,” Ms Egleton said.

One particularly notable aspect of this round of grants is the total value of the projects being supported in the Small & Vital Stream.

“We often hear from community groups that the funding they receive from FRRR helps them secure the balance of funds for their projects. While we are awarding $446,638 toward Small & Vital projects, the total value of the projects we’re supporting is nearly $3 million. This means that, on average, for every $1 awarded by FRRR there’s another $6.50 going into the community either in cash or in-kind. That’s wonderful to see and we’re delighted to be able to help local organisations make progress toward getting these critical initiatives up and running,” Ms Egleton said.

Some of the 79 projects awarded include:

• The Community Charity Shop Incorporated – Rylstone, NSW – Volunteer Celebration and Expo – $10,000 – Celebrate volunteerism and encourage local involvement through a two-day volunteer expo and celebration of local volunteer groups.
• Gong-Dal Aboriginal Corporation – Gapuwiyak, NT – Miyarrka Homelands Mobile Bush Studio and Pilot Project – $10,000 – Upskill youth in video production skills and build a library of video resources for cultural education as well as the purchase of video equipment to develop On-Country bush video studio.
• Fassifern District Historical Society Incorporated – Boonah, QLD – Ride on Mower – $6,200 – Increase volunteer safety and bushfire preparedness through purchase of a ride on mower.
• Port Neill Progress Association Inc – Port Neill, SA – Health and Connectedness for our Community – $2,860 – Support physical and mental health for residents of Port Neill, through weekly fitness sessions throughout 2022.
• Bruny Island District School Association Incorporated – Alonnah, TAS – Billabong Playground Upgrade – $10,000 – Improve educational, physical and social outcomes, by installing an age-appropriate outdoor play area for preschool children.
• Goulburn Region Pre-School Association Inc – Violet Town, VIC – Violet Town Bush Kinder – $4,264 – Enhance early learning andappreciation of nature through the development of a bush education program for kindergarten children.
• City of Albany – Goode Beach, WA – Albany Community Preparedness and Resilience Project – $8,350 – Building community resilience by supporting community planning and preparation for emergencies or disasters.

A full list of grant recipients is available on FRRR’s website.

The SRC program is collaboratively supported by a number of generous donors, which are listed on FRRR’s website.

The next round of SRC applications is currently being assessed and will be announced March 2022.

More information about the SRC program is available on FRRR’s website.

To support grants like this through FRRR, make a tax-deductible donation at frrr.org.au/giving/.