FRRR has awarded $213,343 via Telstra’s Connected Communities Grant Program to 30 local groups and not-for-profits (NFPs) across remote, rural and regional Australia for projects embracing technology to foster the resilience, environmental sustainability and liveability of their communities.

This is the first round of Telstra’s Connected Communities Grant Program, which is the core of its new partnership with FRRR (announced February 2023).  The focus of the program is on fostering a resilient community, a more sustainable community or a more liveable community.

Awarded grants range from $1,849, which will be used to provide the Victorian community of Strathbogie with access to free Wi-Fi at the local hall, through to $10,000, for projects such as Collinsville Connect Telecentre Group’s cyber security workshop for older members of their Queensland community.

Loretta Willaton, Regional Australia Executive and Regional Customer Advocate at Telstra, said the program’s impacts go beyond simply supplying internet or technology.

“We’re really excited to see this program beginning to come to fruition and to see funding going to rural communities that have been doing it really tough the last few years.

“This round of grants has highlighted the ways in which digital connectivity goes hand-in-hand with social and cultural connectivity. How these factors complement one another has a strong impact on the liveability of a community, so it makes sense that a majority of funded projects are designed to equip locals with the skills to live, learn and work in a digital society.

“That’s what this program is all about – keeping people connected in the most important sense of the word,” Ms Willaton said.

This round saw most projects fall into the liveability category, with a range of initiatives being funded like the provision of Wi-Fi connectivity, new digital equipment, the training of volunteers and community members to build their digital knowledge, be it for cyber security, social media or simply navigating new computing hardware and software that would contribute to better operations of community events and organisations.

Natalie Egleton, FRRR’s CEO, said that there was a lot of interest in the program, with the Foundation receiving many applications for high quality projects.

“Keeping rural communities connected has never been more important, which was reflected by the strong response we received from communities all over remote, rural and regional Australia.

“Community organisations and local not-for-profits (NFPs) in rural communities are clearly keen to make sure locals have the equipment and the knowledge they need to engage in activities that are often taken for granted in metro areas. That might be spreading important information quickly, increasing opportunities for education or providing access to the electronic resources that become vital in emergency situations.

“With so many impressive initiatives on the table, we are grateful that Telstra increased its commitment this year to more than $213,000. There are so many different ways to keep a community connected, and more importantly, a lot of positive outcomes that can be achieved and we look forward to seeing these ideas come to life,” Ms Egleton said.

Some other examples of the projects being funded are below:

A full list of grant recipients is detailed below.

Community groups and NFPs can apply for up to $10,000

FRRR has announced the opening of the first round of Telstra’s Connected Communities Grant Program.

The aim of the program is to boost remote, rural and regional communities resilience, environmental sustainability and liveability.

Telstra has committed to funding this grant program until 2025. The annual commitment of $200,000 will make grants up to $10,000 available for not-for-profit community organisations that provide access to information, technology, education and facilities for the purpose of building both social capital and digital capability.

The new program has three goals. To foster:

• Resilient communities that are well prepared and socially connected when disaster strikes with the ability to renew and recover together;
• Sustainable communities that are diverse and inclusive, planning for the health, wellbeing, and prosperity of their people and the planet; and
• Liveable communities that have digital capability and help to equip individuals with the skills to live, learn and work in a digital society.

Loretta Willaton, Regional Australia Executive and Regional Customer Advocate at Telstra said the program is all about keeping people connected in a range of ways, both online and offline.

“At Telstra, we know how important it is to keep people connected. The last few years in particular have shown everyone the importance of connectedness within our communities. Rural and regional Australia has been doing it particularly tough in recent years and so we wanted to do our part in helping the country to rebuild.

“Obviously one of the best ways to keep people connected is through technology and digital equipment but we know access, understanding and management of these tools can be a barrier. We’ve designed this program to create opportunities for a wide range of projects to address these barriers such as a local event, an educational workshop or not for profit organisations embracing new technology or managing cyber security. We are open to support any kind of initiative that gives people better access to information that will enable a stronger social network, safer online interactions, or access to information for disaster preparedness or environmental sustainability,” Ms Willaton said.

FRRR’s Acting CEO, Sarah Matthee, said that programs like these, help people to maintain their connection to their community and play a key role in many different aspects of life in remote, rural and regional Australia.

“We’re excited to launch the first round of this new program in partnership with Telstra. Our Heartbeat study highlighted a significant digital divide for remote, rural and regional not-for-profit organisations, particularly when it comes to accessing digital resources and the opportunity to improve knowledge and skills to harness technology to maintain and create connections. We know that these connections are so important in strengthening each community’s ability to withstand future disruptions and maximise sustainability and liveability.

“We’re looking forward to applications from community groups that are facilitating local events and community programs that support local communities learning and adapting to change – be it accessing information for disaster preparedness or better environmental practices, implementing better e-waste solutions, boosting cyber-security, and much more” Ms Matthee said.

Applications close Thursday, 30 March 2023 at 5pm AEDT. For more information and the guidelines, visit https://frrr.org.au/telstra-connected-communities-program/.

Potential applicants are encouraged to sign up for an online Grantseeker Webinar for more information about the program and useful tips for applying at 12pm AEDT, Monday 6 March.

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.