Nutrien Ag Solutions Community Grants Program
Nutrien Ag Solutions Community Grants is a small grants program aiming to contribute to the success, vibrancy and wellbeing of rural and regional communities nationwide.
Nutrien Ag Solutions seeks to support local grassroots organisations with funding for projects that are meaningful for their communities.
We require organisations interested in applying for a grant to first contact a Nutrien Ag Solutions branded store Branch Manager to be endorsed. More information is provided in the guidelines and if you need help with this requirement simply get in touch with FRRR on the numbers below.
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Round 3 is now closed
Funding announced by: Late October
Recipient Announcements
How to apply
Please read the information on each of the three 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?
Danielle Griffin or Jane Crane
1800 170 020
info@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.
What are the program objectives?
Nutrien Ag Solutions is partnering with FRRR to invest across Australia in charitable projects that will contribute to the success, vibrancy and wellbeing of remote, rural and regional communities. By partnering with FRRR to provide funding for meaningful community projects, Nutrien Ag Solutions seeks to support the local grassroots organisations that are the heartbeat of remote, rural and regional communities across Australia.
Who can apply?
This grant is open to all communities in remote, rural and regional Australia. Organisations wanting to apply will need to have their project endorsed by a Nutrien Ag Solutions Branch Manager. Please contact FRRR if you do not know where your local Nutrien Ag Solutions branded store is located.
We understand that Nutrien Ag Solutions Branch Managers may themselves volunteer or be involved with local community or not-for-profit organisations wanting to apply for a project. When this is true, the Nutrien Branch Manager can still endorse the project, but simply needs to declare the conflict of interest in the endorsement ‘Letter of Support’ email, i.e. ‘In making this endorsement I declare a conflict of interest as I am affiliated with the applying organisation as a volunteer board member’ .
Nutrien Ag Solutions Branch Managers can endorse multiple projects in their community, so this will not prevent other local groups being endorsed to apply. Project assessments will be based on application merit and completed by an independent Program Advisory Committee.
Please note: Organisations that were successful in the 2022 Nutrien Ag Solutions Community Grant Round 2 are not eligible for funding through the program in 2023.
How much funding is available? Are there priority areas?
Thanks to the generous support of Nutrien Ag Solutions, grants up to $5,000 are available to not-for-profit or incorporated organisations in rural and regional Australia to deliver projects that have a charitable purpose to broadly benefit their local community, contributing to its strength and creating long-term positive outcomes. For example:
- Bringing people and community organisations together to foster stronger, more resilient communities;
- Fostering and celebrating a sense of identity, diversity and cultural connection within the community;
- Improving community health and social wellbeing;
- Enabling people to develop skills, knowledge and confidence to lead and contribute to the prosperity and renewal of their community;
- Building a sustainable volunteer base and/or supporting the wellbeing of volunteers;
- Celebrating and resourcing volunteer-led efforts;
- Increasing access and inclusion for vulnerable and disadvantaged groups;
- Enhancing places where communities gather;
- Promoting connection to place and enabling initiatives that champion a community’s social, cultural or economic aspirations.
What can be funded?
A broad range of charitable projects are considered under this program, including:
- Delivering, or providing activities, events, programs and services;
- Purchasing or hiring equipment and materials;
- Community infrastructure projects such as community facility upgrades;
- Organisational capacity building such as strategic planning; and
- Developing community resources such as volunteer programs, community gardens or providing access to training and skills development
Examples of projects up to $5,000 that have received funding through FRRR:
- Support community engagement and participation through the creation of a sensory garden.
- Improve health and welfare of Women through the delivery of a Women’s workshop during Women’s Health Week.
- Drive local tourism and strengthen community connection through the delivery of a community-based street art beautification project.
- Strengthen community access and inclusion through an upgrade of the entrance pathways to a well-used community facility.
- Improve volunteer support and the upkeep of community infrastructure through the purchase of appropriate gardening equipment.
What can’t be funded?
There are several areas that we can’t fund through this program. If in doubt, please contact us on 1800 170 020.
- Projects that support core business and areas of responsibility of Federal, State or Local Governments;
- Ongoing core organisational operational costs (e.g. rent, utilities, regular wages, loan repayments);
- The encouragement or advancement of sport, recreation and social activities are not considered charitable activities under Australian law. Applications from sporting organisations need to clearly demonstrate charitable outcomes and benefit to the wider community that are above and beyond the sporting activities of the club;
- Overseas travel and overseas projects;
- Prizes, gifts, trophies or awards;
- Political lobbying;
- Projects that primarily benefit private business, a sole trader or private interests;
- Projects solely focused on animal welfare.
Is my organisation eligible?
To apply, you must meet the following criteria:
- Applicant organisations must not have received a grant through Round 2 of the Nutrien Ag Solutions Community Grants program in 2022;
- Applicant organisations must be a not-for-profit organisation with either an Incorporation Certificate and/or an ABN. If you are unsure if your organisation is a registered not-for-profit (for example, if you are a Co-operative, Other Unincorporated Entity, Public Company or Trust), please contact FRRR;
- Project must be for charitable purposes and offer clear public benefit;
- Not-for-profit organisations with or without DGR-1 endorsement are eligible;
- Organisations can submit one application per grant round including a project budget and timeline of project delivery;
- Projects must benefit communities in remote, rural or regional Australia.
Please note, you will be considered ineligible if the:
- Application is received without an email endorsing your project from a Nutrien Ag Solutions branded store Branch Manager.
- Application is submitted by individuals, sole traders, private or commercial businesses (as per the submitted ABN);
- Application is submitted by an organisation that is not a legal entity (i.e. a registered not-for-profit), without the written consent of the governing / partnering body who holds the ABN / Incorporation Certificate;
- Application is submitted without required financial documentation (see below);
- Final report/s from any FRRR grants awarded in the previous seven years have not been acquitted (delivery organisations should check with legal organisation to see if there are any outstanding final reports);
- Application is for a project or activity that has already occurred / is occurring prior to the announcement of funding;
- Application is incomplete. NOTE: Due to the volume of applications received, applications are assessed based on the documentation received at the time of application. FRRR is unlikely to follow up missing documentation after applications have been submitted.
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:
Eligible legal entities
Every application needs to include an organisation that holds either an ABN or Incorporation Certificate. If your organisation doesn’t have that, FRRR may still fund the project but you need another organisation’s support, which we refer to as the ‘legal organisation’ (with your organisation being the delivery organisation). This situation often occurs when the organisation delivering the activity or project is a branch of an overarching organisation – such as a local CWA or YMCA branch. In this case, the CWA or YMCA would be the legal organisation.
Even though your organisation may complete the application (and will be doing the work), it’s the ‘legal organisation’s’ legal and financial information that needs to be provided. They also need to provide a letter of support, confirming they are willing to play this role.
Why is this important?
This program is only able to distribute funds to not-for-profit organisations with an ABN or Incorporation Certificate, and FRRR needs to know that the organisation with that ABN / Incorporation number understands and agrees to carry out their responsibilities in relation to your project, if successful.
Financial information
Applications received without the requested financial information are ineligible. Providing incorrect financial information is currently the most common reason why applications are not able to be considered. You must attach the following:
- For organisations that have audited financial reports: Attach the most recent annual audited statements;
- For organisations that do not have an annual financial audit: Attach the most recent 12 months Income and Expenditure Statement. If you have a Balance Sheet, please also submit this;
- For organisations less than one year old: Provide Bank Statements for the period you have been operating.
Please note:
- If financial documents are more than 18 months old, please provide an explanation as to why the organisation does not have more recent documents;
- Bank Statements are only acceptable as financial documentation if your organisation has been operating for less than one year;
- Please explain any deficits and steps to sustain the organisation financially;
- Provide a brief explanation of any large financial surplus or current assets and reasons why FRRR funds are still required;
- Income and Expenditure statements must cover a full 12-month period;
- FRRR conducts a broad range of due diligence queries when reviewing applications, such as: reviewing current and past incorporation, DGR and ACNC status. If your organisation has happened to have their incorporation status, DGR status or ACNC status changed or ACNC registration revoked or voluntarily withdrawn, please let us know the reasons for this.
Please contact us if you cannot provide required financials or you are unsure about what to provide.
Why is this important?
FRRR uses this information to understand your organisation’s financial viability and ability to manage grant funds.
Project budget
You must include a project budget that clearly shows the items that FRRR grant funds would be used for and that also shows all income and expenses related to your project.
Budgets should be realistic and must add up – i.e. total expenditure must match total income.
Applicant contributions in cash or in-kind are highly regarded. Quotes or detailed rationale for items over $1,000 are required, where possible. Note: FRRR suggests costing unskilled volunteer labour at $41.00 per hour.
Why is this important?
A clear budget helps FRRR to understand the size of your project, exactly how FRRR funds will be spent and helps demonstrate community support for your project through in-kind contributions either from your organisation or partners / community members.
Helpful resources:
Supporting materials
FRRR strongly recommends that you provide supporting materials such as letters of support, community plans, survey results, photographs, media clips and research reports that can show broad community support and partnerships involved in the project.
Large documents should be referenced and explained in the application.
Why is this important?
FRRR seeks to fund projects that are well-supported by the broader local community, are locally-led and delivered, show good partnerships and benefit multiple parts of the community. As FRRR is not always familiar with your community, our staff consider support material as evidence toward understanding the level of community need, benefit and support.
Helpful resources:
Clear project information
A clear description of exactly what the grant funds will be used for, when and where the project will happen, who will benefit and who will be involved in delivering the project, why the project and grant funds are needed, how funds will be spent and how the activities and success of the project will be recorded, evaluated and shared.
Where possible, we encourage you to make it really clear that your organisation is ready and able to deliver the project and, if required, provide ongoing support for the initiative.
Why is this important?
FRRR needs to clearly understand your project to assess its merits. Applicants should focus on addressing the what, when, where, who, why and how of the project, as this is the best way to clearly communicate the details of the project.
A ready community is best placed to achieve the aims of your project, so during assessment, our staff look for information that tells us that good leadership, skills and awareness exist in your community to support the project now and in the future.
Helpful resources:
Focus area
We have grouped the kinds of projects communities commonly ask us to help fund into seven areas, which we call the Activity Tree:
1. Building community resilience
2. Developing organisational resilience and capacity
3. Enhancing environmental sustainability
4. Fostering cultural vibrancy
5. Lifelong learning and education
6. Economic strength
7. Improving community health and social wellbeing
We ask you to nominate one of those seven areas when you apply. So, before you lodge your application, download the Activity Tree to help you identify your focus area.
Why is this important?
FRRR makes grants to communities, but we also need to be able to demonstrate to our funding partners where communities need support.
Need some more help?
We have a large selection of resources on our Grantseeker Resources Page to help you along the way.
Submit your grant application via the Grants Gateway
To apply for a grant, applicants need to contact their local Nutrien Ag Solutions Branch Manager to discuss their project idea and have it endorsed. The Nutrien Branch Manager will then send a ‘Letter of Support’ endorsement email that can be attached to the application. Please contact FRRR if you do not know where your local Nutrien Ag Solutions branded store is located..
Please contact FRRR if you have questions about any aspect of the Grants Gateway online application form.
Helpful resources:
It is time to submit your application. If it is helpful, you can download a copy of the 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.
Before you submit your application via the online Grants Gateway, please ensure you have:
If you have significant issues accessing a stable internet connection, please contact our team to discuss an alternative way of applying:
Ph: 1800 170 020 or Email: info@frrr.org.au
“The FRRR team and grants administration were wonderful in the whole phase from application, project delivery to final acquittal. The communications provided by FRRR were great, I felt up to date and aware of what was required throughout the funding/project. The COVID-19 disaster was also in the middle of the roll out of our project, so the longer time frame to complete the grant was appreciated and ideal. We are so excited for the opportunities this grant has provided.”
Stamford Race Club Inc – Canteen Amenities Upgrade
Inspiration – Past projects
Explore some of the projects we’ve previously funded to see how other organisations have helped their community thrive.
Funding supports return of medical service to Penneshaw
A $5,000 Nutrien Ag Solutions Community Grant has contributed to the refurbishment of facilities at the Penneshaw Community Health Rooms, which has allowed local medical services to be reinstated after state budget restraints meant services were centralised in Kingscote, a 120 km round trip for patients.
Nutrien grant provides improved facilities for children’s therapy
The Coonamble Pre School Association provides an occupational therapy (OT) program for local children aimed at developing motor skills critical to school readiness. They received a $5,000 grant through FRRR’s Nutrien Ag Solutions Community Grants program to purchase a set of monkey bars to be utilised as part of the program.
Focusing on youth wellness in Cunderdin, WA
The Shire of Cunderdin is an active promoter and supporter of youth. Together with several community groups, they run youth-focused events, activities and programs. They used a $5,000 Nutrien Ag Solutions Community Grant to run sessions focused on supporting children’s mental health resilience.
