Investing in Rural Community Futures Victoria
Investing in Rural Community Futures (IRCF) is a grassroots program that aims to build the capacity of not-for-profit (NFP) organisations.
After being piloted and delivered in eight NSW communities, beginning in 2018, the program is now coming to three Victorian communities, thanks to the support of four philanthropic organisations – Helen Macpherson Smith Trust, Jack Brockhoff Foundation, The Ross Trust, and William Buckland Foundation.
Run over five years, the program offers flexible and tailored support, including grants, workshops, and participatory planning processes, to strengthen the local NFP sector, so it can work collectively to more effectively advocate on shared issues, contribute to a thriving community and achieve long-term impact across agreed priority areas. You can learn more about the program below.
IRCF Victoria partner communities
After an extensive research and community engagement process, drawing on the learnings and successes from the NSW program, three Victorian communities have emerged as ready to maximise the opportunity the IRCF program offers and achieve significant positive impact.
These communities are Colac, Maryborough and Swan Hill. Over the next five years, each community will travel their own path, guided by local voices and actions, which will be informed by the development of a Community Roadmap. The Roadmap will establish each community’s goals and priorities for the not-for-profit sector and be a living resource that will evolve throughout the program.
Hear from our IRCF Victoria Partner Communities
Local leaders from our new partner communities share their thoughts about what it means to join the IRCF program.
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Media Releases and Resources
Community Roadmap Workshops
Colac, Maryborough and Swan Hill NFP groups and local leaders joined Community Roadmap Workshops in their area. These workshops considered the four key capacity building pillars of the IRCF program and identified local goals and priorities for the NFP sector to work towards over the next five years.
What can we achieve together?
Explore the Community Roadmaps for our NSW partner communities, as well as other shared resources on the FRRR IRCF hub.
What’s next?
In the coming weeks we’ll be carefully reviewing and recording all the information gathered at the three workshops to create the first draft of the Community Roadmap for each Maryborough, Colac, and Swan Hill.
We will then invite feedback to further contribute to the Roadmap before finalising the first version which will be made available here. This Roadmap will inform program activities and how available funding is invested over the next 12 months.
Colac Maryborough Swan Hill
Currently recruiting: Local Community Facilitator Roles
A locally based Community Facilitator plays a key role throughout the five year IRCF program, fostering relationships and building partnerships in each community. The Facilitator is a local conduit with the FRRR team, supporting the delivery of the Community Roadmap, liaising with NFPs to develop, seek funding, and deliver projects aligned to the IRCF priority areas, and assisting with program evaluation activities.
We’re excited to now be recruiting for these roles and are seeking dynamic community networkers with a can-do attitude and deep understanding of community capacity building. If this sounds like you, please go to our Work With Us page and check out the position description for each community and details to apply. To be successful in this role you must currently live in one of the three partner communities (Colac, Maryborough, Swan Hill) or in nearby townships that are connected to it through services or other means.
I have a question, who can I talk to?
If you have a question about the program or Community Workshops, please don’t hesitate to reach out:
Jo Kemp, Program Manager [email protected] or 0448 990 800
Emily Duffield, Program Officer [email protected] or (03) 5430 2339
How IRCF works
IRCF offers a combination of a locally based Community Facilitator, community-led and informed grants (approximately $600,000 per community), participatory planning processes, skill building workshops to support individual and community capacity, local networking and collaboration on shared objectives.
The approach focuses on small to medium sized NFPs and is intentionally flexible, progressing at the pace of the community over five years. IRCF can support a range of priorities for NFPs, including but not limited to, governance capability and strategic planning, volunteerism, organisational systems & processes, and local partnerships.
Community-wide conversations are facilitated to identify and activate shared goals based on local priorities. This process creates a Community Roadmap that is revisited on annual basis and is readily accessible on the FRRR website alongside other relevant resources and program information. An evaluation partner helps track progress and guide next steps.
You are welcome to explore the Community Roadmaps for our NSW partner communities as well as other shared resources on the FRRR IRCF hub.
Program elements
These are the important program elements that together can strengthen NFP organisations in rural areas to achieve positive change in their community. The program provides an opportunity to explore each element with engagement from across the NFP sector, building towards a shared vision for the future and activation of ideas.
The four Pillars
These four pillars guide the program and are the focus areas for investment to help strengthen organisational capacity, activate ideas, and achieve community-led change.
Some examples of the projects funded under each pillar in NSW communities are:
Many more funded projects can be found on FRRR’s website.
Insights from NSW partner communities
Recording the stories and voices of local people and leaders involved in the program is a fantastic way to share their experiences about what it’s like to be a partner community and what’s possible through the program.
Click on the picture to watch a short four-minute video.
If you’d like to learn more, we have recently launched an Impact Report sharing insights from Leeton, Junee, and Nambucca called Lessons and impacts from Investing in Rural Communities Futures pilot.