Helping Regional Communities Prepare for Drought Initiative – Community Impact Program


Through this initiative, with the Australian Government’s support, we’re investing in the future, enabling agriculture-dependent communities to identify and act on their drought preparedness priorities at a grassroots level.

It will do this by investing in projects that seek to strengthen social and community networking, support, engagement and wellbeing by delivering a tailored package of support that includes:

  • Community Impact Grants: Working with locally led community organisations to develop and deliver a program of support to strengthen community networks, capabilities and facilities that support drought preparedness (delivered by FRRR); and
  • Community Leadership Activities: Supporting community members to develop their leadership skills to contribute to drought resilience in their community (delivered by ARLF).  

Expressions of Interest (EOI) are now open for Lead Organisations in Central West NSW and Great Southern WA.

  • EOIs for both regions close at 5pm VIC time (AEST), 9 June 2023.
  • Outcomes from your EOI will be advised by late June 2023.

How to apply

Please read the information on each of the tabs below to make sure this is the right grant for your project.

If you want to explore other grant options, please go to Find Funding Now.


I have a question, who can I talk to?

Contact our Disaster Resilience & Climate Solutions team for any program related queries for the Community Impact Program.

  • Fiona Bradshaw or Alysia Kepert

Ph: 1800 170 020 or 
Email: futuredrought@frrr.org.au

Confirm you are eligible to apply for this grant

To make sure this is the right grant for your community, please read the grant information detailed in the Program Guidelines below carefully. Click on each headline to reveal the detail. If you need to share this information with others, you can download the guidelines below.

Gather information to support your grant application

Please read the information below to support the planning and preparation of your project. It also sets out what you MUST include for your project to be considered. There are plenty of helpful resources to support you along the way.

Please contact FRRR if you have any questions about the following information.

Your grant application MUST include:

Need some more help?

We have a large selection of resources on our Grant Seeker Resources Page to help you along the way.

Expressions of Interest are now open for Lead Organisations in Central West NSW and Great Southern WA.
Outcomes from your EOI will be advised in late June.

As part of the assessment process applicants may be interviewed by FRRR or our Future Drought Fund partners. As outlined here, those selected to move forward will then participate in a locally-based co-design process, which will help flesh out the project plan which is due to be lodged in early September.

Please contact FRRR if you have questions about any aspect of the application process.

Before you submit your Expression of Interest via the online Grants Gateway, please ensure you have:

  • confirmed you are eligible to apply for this grant
  • checked that you are an eligible legal entity
  • provided the financial information required
  • spoken to an FRRR contact person where you were unsure of any requirement
  • gathered community support for the project
  • checked the information you are providing to make sure it is clear and relevant to the project

Helpful resources:

It is time to submit your application. To help you plan and prepare your application, you can download a sample copy of the EOI application form.

Please read the instructions on how to use the Grants Gateway How-to Guide and have your questions answered with our Grants Gateway FAQs.

Impact Grants Program: Definitions and Frequently Asked Questions

Please read the information below to help you learn more about the program.

If you have any further questions, please contact Nina O’Brien, Disaster Resilience & Climate Solutions Lead, by emailing futuredrought@frrr.org.au or free call 1800 170 020.

Lessons learnt from previous drought shared amongst the network are of such high importance, and this funding has created a platform for us to be able to do that across our community: making brave decisions to pick up your commodity and move it to a more safer place off your farm where someone else looks after it; for fear of hanging onto it in a drought, would devastatingly mean losing it all together. It is important to share real & raw drought stories like this within our drought preparedness forums, as it allows others insight, energy and a safe educational space other to think outside the box.”

Grant recipient from Networks to Build Drought Resilience program

Inspiration – Past projects

Explore some of the projects we’ve previously funded through the Networks to Build Drought Resilience program to see how other organisations have helped their community thrive.

People standing and talking together in a vegetable patch.

Food Next Door Co-op strengthens connections in Mildura

Through a short training course and discussion forums with Young Farmer groups and local hobby farmers, this project is building drought resilience through increasing knowledge and understanding of the risks posed by drought and climate change at a local level. The training course and forums support information sharing about climate change impacts on food production and strengthening resilience for local farms, increasing the region’s capacity to prepare for the impacts of drought.

UniSA Vocal Locals August 2022

Vocal Locals strengthening wellbeing and support

The University of South Australia is assisting the Loxton community to support one another to improve wellbeing and strengthen networks to prepare for tough times ahead. They’ve run a community-wide mental health workshop, launched a campaign online and across neighbourhoods where locals share their personal journey, plus hosted workshops to strengthen connections. All these activities upskill and support others in the agriculture-dependent community.

Future-proofing the livestock industry

NT based organisation Young Livestock Exporters Network (YLEN) is using a $45,867 grant to run the YLEN Leadership Program: Future-Proofing the Livestock Industry.

This project creates opportunities through two training events, a leadership program and stockperson course, designed to bring rural youth together to discuss the impacts of difficult times, including drought.

Photo: Farm Online