Gippsland Climate Change Network Incorporated’s (GCCNI) application to FRRR’s Community Led Climate Solution’s (CLCS) grant program highlighted the multi-faceted transition required in response to the planned closure of coal fired electricity plants in the Latrobe Valley, on Gunaikurnai land in Victoria. Organisations such as GCCNI see a range of potential benefits from the closure of coal-fired power plants.

The Network was established in 2007 to effectively co-ordinate community, institutional and business networking to advance renewable energy. Their work also alleviates community apprehension about job losses, while working to ensure a thriving local economy. Their core mission is well-aligned to one of the main objectives of the Community Led Climate Solutions (CLCS) program – to provide support to communities navigating a just transition towards a socially, environmentally and economically vibrant and sustainable future – where no one is left behind.

With the support of a $20,000 CLCS grant, the GCCNI Gippsland New Energy ‘PowerPops’ project was able to activate one of their identified initiatives on their just transition journey. This initiative developed informative and engaging material that will enhance community awareness and understanding of ‘new energy’ opportunities. They are providing independent information and guidance on how the local community can engage and direct the outcome of these proposals. These resources included VR headsets offering virtual tours of renewable energy industries (e.g. wind farms), a listing of job opportunities and links to businesses.

By providing targeted information and resources, the project seeks to empower individuals to actively participate and benefit from the transition to renewable energy.

The second part of the project is disseminating resources at ‘pop up’ workshops hosted at community markets, shopping centres and/or school training expo sites. The locations were chosen to help reach individuals who, historically, have not been engaged in sustainability / new initiatives. By taking these workshops to locations where they’re most likely to be, particularly younger people, they hope to inform them.

A recent progress shared with FRRR reported that the VR displays are proving engaging, allowing for informative 350-degree experiences from local and overseas developers. They’ve also purchased a VR mini-game / training tool titled ‘Day in the Life of an Offshore Wind Tech’, and hosted 10 successful sessions across the Latrobe Valley and wider Gippsland region. Feedback and awareness sessions have been organised with groups including Venturer Scouts, Wellington Youth Council, Latrobe Valley Sustainability Group, Environment Victoria’s Action Network, Uplift Youth, and Gunaikurnai Aboriginal Land & Water Corporation. The organisation has had several offshore wind proponents keen to extend the program.

There is strong interest in future awareness events across the Gippsland region, both demonstrating the effectiveness of a locally-led and impactful climate solution project.

Beyond the Bell Great Southern Coast applied to the In a Good Place program, on behalf of the Southern Grampians Live4Life Partnership Group, for funds to support the implementation of the Live4Life model in the Southern Grampians Shire.

Live4Life is a community-grown, evidence-based, rural youth mental health model designed to prevent youth suicide. The Live4Life model aims to ensure that young people, teachers, parents and the wider community are better informed about mental ill health so they can be proactive in identifying the signs and symptoms of an emerging mental health issue before a crisis occurs.

The Live4Life model focuses on an ‘upstream’ approach to mental health education and suicide prevention to build resilient young people and communities. This is achieved by ‘wrapping’ protective factors around young people such as supportive relationships, support at critical times, positive help-seeking attitudes, connection to family, school and community and positive peer role models.

The school-based project to support Youth Crew activities and mental health education was all geared up ready to go when COVID first struck and schools and communities across the country went into lock-down.

After a year of navigating the challenges of not being able to deliver face-to-face programs and other challenges such as the loss of the Youth Engagement Officer, who normally coordinates the crew activities, the group developed new strategies and approaches that enabled them to successfully deliver the activities in a COVID-safe manner, including a new model of blended Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) training.

The group was highly successful in maintaining the momentum of the project, despite delivering a personal development program and training in a lock-down environment. They launched a social media presence on Instagram during Mental Health Week and created various collateral and promotional materials such as stickers, posters and help-seeking flyers to use in info packs to be distributed to students at in-school promotional events.

Once the Partnership Group was able to recommence activities within the community, they successfully delivered a series of Leadership and YMHFA courses and training sessions using a mix of face-to-face session and a blended online model via Zoom, reaching across six schools and eight allied community-based organisations that work with young people.

The organisation reported that what they were most proud of about the expansion of the Live4Life project into the Southern Grampians Shire, which they estimate has directly benefitted at least 950 people, was the engagement of the young people who joined the Live4Life CREW. They also mentioned the local YMHFA Instructor training, which has increased the community’s capacity to deliver more training across the Southern Grampians region.

The lastest news on the project from the Southern Grampians Live4Life website reports:

The project has led to increased community capacity and shared awareness of preventative mental health strategies through the MHFA training, as well as a deeper engagement with the Partnership Group in a broader context. They report that there is a noticeable increase in collaboration across the Southern Grampians area, possibly due to participation in the Live4Life initiative that connected people and agencies / organisations, and promoted collaboration centred on young people in the Shire.

“I think the most rewarding part of being in the Crew is seeing the difference you’ve wanted to achieve happen. Getting people into the idea of talking about mental health is hard but I think it’s slowly starting to happen, with the Crew being a part of that change.” – 2023 Crew member, Southern Grampians

Community meeting places are integral to the social fabric of society. In the small dairy community of South Purrumbete in Victoria, the local school closed in 1993 and in the following decade, the local hall and churches were sold; the footy club folded; and the community lost a vital space to come together. After an extended period of time of neglect and inactivity, the Recreation Reserve building, which was the last remaining community asset in this small dairy community, was set to be sold.

However, the community united and re-established the South Purrumbete Recreation Reserve (SPRR) committee of management in 2015 to retain ownership, with a vision to create a vibrant community hub. Since then, they’ve undertaken works to remove hazardous trees and control weeds, as well as fencing and revegetation of the Reserve.

The next stage of their efforts to strengthen the community was to embark upon the the rejuvenation of the disused but much sought after Reserve as a community hub, and this firstly involved upgrading the electrical infrastructure. This was necessary to ensure safety and reliability and the availability of essential services such as toilets, water and power to potential users, and to enable further restoration works to continue.

The committee received a 2020 Gardiner Dairy Foundation Community Grant for $4,870 for the designated electrical works, just before the global pandemic hit. Despite the challenges caused by a shortage of contractors due to ongoing lockdowns, this small group of fewer than five volunteers engaged with local landholders, businesses and the wider community, and commenced the massive task of reinvigorating this heart of the local community. Trenches were dug, electrical upgrades took place and basic building drainage issues were addressed.

While the physical infrastructure upgrades could be considered the whole point of the project, the ultimate aim of the project is to build resilience by improving infrastructure at a local meeting place that will facilitate community connectedness. Community support for the project is gaining momentum, with the long-lasting and significant benefit from this small infrastructure project clearly evident in the South Purrumbete community. The consequential coming together of community volunteers has stimulated further plans to upgrade septic systems and renovate the grounds further to meet their ambitious goal of restoring the Reserve buildings and grounds to a safe and suitable condition to enable large gatherings at future community events like markets.

The Romsey Ecotherapy Park Inc (REP) group persevered for 14 years to deliver a very special place in nature for local community members and visitors to the Macedon Ranges region in Victoria. Their multi-stage project transformed a derelict historic school site into a unique park that is enhancing health and wellness in nature for all ages and abilities. It was finally completed in November 2022.

REP Committee member, Jenny Stillman, said the park is proving popular already. “There are almost always people of all ages using the Park (including engaging with its inspired-by-nature art installations). Earlier this year, Macedon Ranges Shire Council focused its youth initiative program activities at the Park. A celebratory “Party in the Park” community event held in February 2023 was incredibly well attended. All of the artists involved in the project were present and spoke about their work. In addition, the potential for the Park’s future use was showcased with music performance and story-telling included in the event’s program.”

FRRR joined REP’s journey in July 2020, partnering with them to support their ‘Art in the Park’ fundraising campaign, through a Not-for-Profit Fundraising Account. This allowed all those who donated to the project to receive a tax-deduction for their gift.

In total, REP raised around $108,000 through their partnership with FRRR, which was used to fund the art installations during the Stage 2 (Sensory Therapeutic Space) construction phase.

Ms Stillman said that the engagement and overall partnership with FRRR was outstanding.

“Thank you for all of your support and wise counsel. It has certainly been great for our project and our community group. The FRRR not-for-profit fundraising account has been incredibly important to REP’s capacity to launch and run a successful fundraising campaign. We have strongly recommended FRRR partnerships to other groups embarking on significant projects!”

Ms Stillman went on to explain that a hugely significant flow-on effect was the subsequent funding from Regional Development Victoria to cover the Park’s Stage 3 works, which resulted in the completion of Romsey Ecotherapy Park.

“We believe this commitment (in addition to RDV’s significant Stage 2 funding commitment) was partly facilitated by the success of REP’s ‘Art in the Park’ campaign, which RDV was very aware of.”

While they are justifiably proud of the achievements, Ms Stillman said that the Romsey Ecotherapy Park Inc committee members are, understandably, tired. The impact of a 14 year (total) project on these volunteers cannot be underestimated. There has been much learnt about resilience, determination, compromise and partnerships, while staying committed to their vision.

REP generously shared some of their key learnings, in the spirit of helping other community groups embarking on a major project:

1. Identify the need for your project and back it up by referencing stakeholder (e.g. Council) documents.
2. Be prepared to take risks (“No guts, no glory”) especially to promote a project that has a demonstrated “need” and which you genuinely believe in.
3. Communication is critical. Speak to anyone and everyone you need to for information gathering and support (financial and otherwise).
4. Partnerships with other local organisations are important, even if only to get volunteer help from them at fundraising events.
5. Be prepared to acquire new skills if needed (e.g. marketing, graphic design, word smithing etc).
6. Be prepared to play the “long game” (hopefully not as long as ours was – 14 years!). Persistence, determination and resilience were essential in this project.

Could your community group use fundraising support? To learn more about FRRR’s Fundraising Accounts for not-for-profits and community foundations, get in touch with Jo Kemp, our Philanthropic Services Manager.

Funding helps local preparedness projects get off the ground

Local groups in Korumburra, Myrtleford and Whittlesea township and surrounds, are taking an active approach to preparing their regions for future disaster, thanks to a partnership with FRRR’s Disaster Resilient: Future Ready (DR:FR) Victorian program.

As part of the place-based DR:FR program, the three regional communities are sharing a total of $120,839 in grants. These funds are already being put to use, with communities leading local initiatives designed to improve wellbeing, increase preparedness and strengthen resilience so that each place has greater capacity to endure, adapt and evolve positively when faced with the impacts of climate, disasters and other disruptions.

Nina O’Brien, FRRR’s Disaster Resilience and Recovery Lead, said that FRRR is the DR:FR initiative is an active partnership between FRRR and the communities.

The premise of the DR:FR program is to partner with local groups and community members, and provide them with the tools and resources to identify what their community needs to prepare for the impacts of climate change, natural disasters and broader disruptions.

“The priority projects have been under development since March, so it’s a major milestone to see the local groups getting these important ideas off the ground.  We are inspired by the passion and persistence shown by each group and their eagerness to make a difference when the next emergency arrives. “We look forward to continuing to partner with these communities to better prepare their regions to withstand the impacts of future disasters,” Ms O’Brien said.

Community updates

Korumburra

Korumburra is setting up a Helping Hub, to be run from the local Community House.

The Helping Hub will match community volunteers with those in need of assistance via a website, social media and six-monthly volunteer expos.

The Hub will build community networks and provide connection to residents who need support, improving resilience generally and in emergencies such as storms or heatwaves.

Myrtleford

Mytrleford is fortunate to have a range of community groups and resources that can be mobilised to support the community during a disaster.

FRRR funding has been used to engage a person in a Community Connector Role for the Myrtleford neighbourhood to understand each group’s facilities and resources.

They will continue to work with the groups to plan how they can collectively support residents in the first 72 hours of an emergency event such as flooding or bushfire, and develop a Contacts Directory and Community Assets Map to make communication and co-ordination of resources easier in an emergency.

Whittlesea Township and Surrounds

Whittlesea Township and Surrounds’ Community Resilience Committee (CRC) is using their grant to employ a project officer to support a range of initiatives.

The CRC is keen to ensure that grassroots community action in future events is recognised in the formal Municipal Emergency Management Plan (MEMP) and, therefore, by the formal disaster response agencies. They have received support from the MEMP Committee and are currently rewriting a previous Community Emergency Management Plan, to be endorsed later in 2023.

A key project for this group is to set up a Community Emergency Response Network (CERN) of local residents and community organisations. For future large fires and storms, the CERN would be recognised as part of the formal emergency response and would coordinate the local community-level relief efforts.

The DR:FR initiative is collaboratively supported by many generous donors, who are acknowledged on the FRRR website.

For more information about this program, visit https://frrr.org.au/drfr-victoria/.

Grants round out 14 years of dedicated bushfire recovery funding 

FRRR has awarded $207,812 in grants to community groups across the Kinglake Ranges region, for 13 projects that will strengthen the social connectedness and continued recovery of Victorian communities impacted by the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires. 

These grants mark the final round of FRRR’s Grants for Resilience & Wellness (GR&W) Kinglake Ranges program and closes out the Victorian Bushfire Appeal Fund (VBAF). In total, VBAF has funded 492 community-led projects, with an investment of $7,436,642, thanks to funds raised by the general public following the bushfires. 

In this final round of GR&W Kinglake Ranges grants, locals continue to seek to strengthen community identity and a shared sense of place. Funded projects will create opportunities for people to come together and connect, such as The Foggy Mountain Music and Arts Festival 2023 bush dance, or through improvements made to the accessibility and function of shared spaces like Kinglake Ranges Neighbourhood House’s Community Garden or the Toolangi District Community House’s C J Dennis Hall. Other places, like Flowerdale Community House, are preparing for future disasters by building community capacity through planning and education. 

Nina O’Brien, Disaster Resilience & Recovery Lead at FRRR, said the Foundation is humbled to play a small, yet consistent, role in the Kinglake Ranges’ recovery journey. 

“For the past 14 years, FRRR’s Grants for Resilience & Wellness program has been dedicated to supporting the recovery of Victorian communities impacted by the historic bushfires. And it’s thanks to the Victorian Bushfire Appeal Fund, and the generosity of everyday people, that we have been able to fund local recovery initiatives, for the long-term. 

“Grant programs, like GR&W Kinglake Ranges, demonstrate the complexity of disaster recovery and the need for long-term funding to support affected communities, especially those in remote, rural and regional areas. 

“In Kinglake Central, Kinglake West, Pheasant Creek, Toolangi and Flowerdale, we have seen how priorities and needs have shifted and evolved throughout the recovery process. From the initial planning of pathways to further local investment, to training and education to build resilience and foster wellbeing, to small infrastructure projects that provide a safe space for locals to connect and prepare for future disasters. 

“We know that the Kinglake Ranges region will continue the process of recovery, and for each community, that will look different. While this is the final round of GR&W, FRRR will continue to support the communities of Kinglake Ranges through our Strengthening Rural Communities grant program. 

“It’s important that the people in these communities know that they are supported now, and into the future,” Ms O’Brien explained.  

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

Twenty-eight community-led projects will share $123,850 in grants, thanks to a partnership between FRRR and the Gardiner Dairy Foundation.

This is the 21^st year of the Gardiner Dairy Foundation Community Grants, which provide up to $5,000 for locally-led projects that strengthen Victorian dairy communities.

Allan Cameron, Gardiner Foundation Chief Executive Officer said that local community groups and not-for-profit organisations play a critical role in the sustainability of Victoria’s dairy communities and it’s great to be able to support them to bring their ideas to fruition.

“Once again, we’ve seen creative projects come through from community groups to address persistent issues. Our commitment to the Victorian dairy industry values these groups and their ability to create vibrant communities broadly benefitting all residents including those involved in dairy. We look forward to hearing about the impacts as these projects are implemented in the coming year,” Mr Cameron said.

This year, the program attracted lots of interest, with community groups reporting challenges in local fundraising following two years of COVID interruptions and increasing operational costs hitting hard in the current economic environment.

Despite this, these local groups show a determination to overcome challenges and invest in projects and initiatives that enhance local opportunities or help fill gaps in service delivery, explains FRRR’s CEO, Natalie Egleton.

“In the applications this round, we saw a range of programs, activities and event equipment purchases that at their core build the social capital of the communities. From supporting a new community choir to several programs for engaging and enabling young people in learning, social and physical development. These and many other projects ensure that community facilities are fit for purpose to support meetings and activities, and that programs such as creating an edible garden present new opportunities for volunteers to develop skills and knowledge.

“This diversity of projects reflects that each of these communities is different and, therefore, so too are their needs and priorities. We are grateful to the Gardiner Foundation for recognising the importance of communities being able to access flexible funding to fill these gaps and for partnering with us for so long to provide this funding,” Ms Egleton said.

Among the projects funded are:

Gippsland

Northern Victoria

South Western Victoria

A full list of grant recipients is detailed below.

While it had a short life as a gold mining area, the Tanjil Valley in eastern Victoria is a long established dairy farming area with a keen local History Gatherer’s Group.

The Group brings together older people from across the district to share family stories and evoke long forgotten memories of farming techniques and innovations. These evenings, held at the Hill End Community Centre (HECC), are very popular and the social interaction contributes to a strong sense of community belonging and connectedness.

As the elders in the settler families age, their families, as well as more recent community members, were keen to preserve and capture their local history. Some short stories have been shared in the free monthly ‘Hill End Herald’ community newsletter, which is distributed to almost 500 families throughout the Tanjil Valley. The community always responds positively and people urged the Group to collate their histories into book form. So, some local historians got to work, extending and gathering these stories into a manuscript.

With a $3,400 grant from the Gardiner Dairy Foundation Community grants program, the History Talks – Settlers’ Histories A Generation On was collated and published.

By all accounts, the collation of the book was a monumental effort! It hardly needs saying that COVID presented a major challenge, especially as the contributors to the book were mostly older community members for whom the risks of COVID were great. The authors themselves are older people with significant health challenges, who live in different towns, yet these two women determinedly worked together to get the project finished. All the final checks and corrections were done by phone or by emails and, as the two authors also live in different towns, they had to do all their final editing in the same way.

The book launch occurred at the Australia Day 2022 community event to great acclaim. Despite COVID risks and stormy weather, which did affect numbers at the event, nearly 80 copies were sold on the night. The book, which features stories from more than 30 district families, and cover art by well-known local artist Liz Bowley, has been featured in The Hill End Herald, and mostly sold through word of mouth. The book has almost sold out in the four months since it was launched and the group is planning a re-print.

The authors generously handed over the ISBN and all the books to the Community Centre to sell and to use all the profits for the benefit of the community centre.

In acquitting their grant, Hill End Community Inc. told us how proud they are of the authors’ efforts to push through the restrictions of COVID to produce the book.

“We are also proud of the commitment of the contributing farmers and their families to provide information and search out their historical family photos. We are proud too of the contribution the book has, and continues to make, in documenting the history of the settler families of the community and sharing that with the broader community and newer community members.”

For the elderly members of the monthly History Gatherers Group, the book project reconnected them after two years of being shut down by COVID restrictions and fears. Tanjil Valley Settlers’ History will ensure that the farming histories of this district will not be lost as settler families age but will be preserved, celebrated and shared for years to come.

In Victoria’s Alpine Valley shire, Alpine Radio is a vital and much-loved way for the community to stay safe and connected. It’s run by Kiewa Valley Community Radio Association Inc, a not-for-profit community radio station located in Mount Beauty in north-east Victoria.

Alpine Radio broadcasts local information into the Kiewa and Ovens Valleys and Harrietville about events and activities, along with music programs and local interviews. It is also an official Emergency Services broadcaster for the region.

Like many of the organisations that responded to our 2021 Heartbeat of Rural Australia study, the station receives most of its funding from local businesses and benefactors. However, the downturn in tourism following the 2020 fires resulted in a loss of income by local businesses, which was further exacerbated by the pandemic. This meant that several of the station’s supporters stopped their contributions entirely or suspended their payments. 

In a bid to regain sponsors and attract new ones, Alpine Radio used a $6,000 grant from the News Corp Bushfire Recovery Fund, managed by FRRR, to bring in external expertise. A Sponsorship and Marketing Manager was engaged part-time for six months to keep in touch with current sponsors during the lockdowns. If they couldn’t pay their sponsorship fees because of the downturn in income, the business continued to be mentioned on air (free of charge) or was suspended until the business could reopen. The radio station also contacted many of the local businesses that were not necessarily sponsors but were changing their business model to offer takeaway meals and drinks, and they broadcast these changes to the listening public for free.

This strategy created a lot of goodwill within the community and, as a result, Alpine Radio signed up several new sponsors once businesses were able to open up and start getting regular income again. Previous supporters also came back on board too.

The grant helped bring financial stability to the station, which in turn enabled them to continue to employ a paid station manager. This means that Alpine Radio can continue to deliver local communications, media and play a critical role during emergencies.

The station’s President, Nicholas Brown, said that the goodwill created across the Kiewa and Ovens Valleys is what they were most proud of.

Tomorrow Today Foundation (TTF) is the community foundation for the Benalla region in Victoria. It connects people, resources and ideas to create a stronger, more resilient and prosperous rural community.

Like many community foundations, Tomorrow Today has a community fund that receives donations to their corpus, and the income generated from that investment provides grants for Benalla and district projects. In FY22, they distributed more than $89,500 in grants to groups, families and individuals across the region.

Their fundraising is supported in partnership with FRRR through a Community Foundation Fundraising Account, which enables tax-deductible donations to be received on behalf of TTF.

One of the key projects Tomorrow Today fundraises for is their Education Benalla Program (EBP) – an initiative that aims to improve educational outcomes for Benalla’s children. In FY22, they worked with over 120 local partners to run activities that give every Benalla child the chance to thrive in life.

Their transformative program aims to create systemic changes to educational, social and environmental challenges, with the overall goal of raising the education and training completion rates of Benalla’s 17-24 year olds to equal or above the Victorian average to break the self-perpetuating cycle: poor school retention leads to life-long social and economic disadvantage; and disadvantage results in poor levels of school retention. The program starts at the very beginning of the education journey, working with families from the earliest ages and stages to prepare children for school and ensure they are ’ready to learn’.

And the results are in: there is significant quantitative and qualitative evidence indicating that the initiative is having the desired impact. In the 10 year anniversary publication of the EBP released earlier this year, Tomorrow Today’s founder and former EBP Convenor Liz Chapman OAM described how the last 10 years has been ‘a wild ride’. In that time, the percentage of children deemed developmentally vulnerable on one or more domains has decreased significantly, bringing Benalla much closer to state and national averages (source: 2021 Australian Early Development Census, which measures how young children are developing in their first year of full-time school).

“If there was a Tomorrow Today in every town, the positive contribution to community, education and engagement with young people would solve most of the common problems we face. I have enormous respect for the work they do.”

Danny O’Donoghue, Executive Officer of the NE Tracks Local Learning & Employment Network in the EBP 10 year anniversary publication

You can add your support by donating securely online, or check out the Tomorrow Today Foundation website to learn more about their work. To learn more about FRRR’s Fundraising Accounts for not-for-profits and community foundations, get in touch with Jo Kemp, our Philanthropic Services Manager.