What is the Strengthening Rural Communities?
The Strengthening Rural Communities program gives small rural, regional and remote communities across Australia the opportunity to access funds that can benefit and help secure their future prosperity. Grants are available for a broad range of initiatives that directly and clearly benefit local communities.
Background
The Strengthening Rural Communities program is an evolution of the long-running Small Grants for Rural Communities (SGRC) program that FRRR ran for 34 rounds over a 16-year period.
The program criteria are deliberately flexible, and with applications being accepted all year round, communities have increased access to funds that can be used where and when a community knows it’s needed.
Funding
The Strengthening Rural Communities program has two funding tiers:
Small & Vital grants
Small & Vital grants are all about meeting an immediate small scale need within a community, or for giving a boost to a larger initiative. This grant provides funding of up to $10,000.
Larger Leverage grants
Through the Larger Leverage grants, small rural, regional and remote communities now have an opportunity to access funding to support more aspirational objectives, think bigger and leverage the ideas, creativity and resources of communities for bigger impacts and stronger, more connected communities.
The Larger Leverage tier is focussed on supporting two types of projects:
- Projects delivered in remote or very remote communities;
- Projects that require more financial support in order to enhance the community or organisational capacity and accelerate the outcomes to be achieved.
The larger leverage grants provide funds between $10,001 to $25,000.
Eligible Projects
Applications must clearly demonstrate a focus on one project activity area from FRRR’s Project Activity Tree:
- Building Community Resilience
- Developing Organisational Resilience and Capacity
- Enhancing Environmental Sustainability
- Fostering Cultural Vibrancy
- Lifelong Education and Training
- Economic Strength
- Improving Community Health and Social Wellbeing
Visit the Strengthening Rural Communities webpage for examples of what can be funded in each activity area. These are indicative only of the types of projects that can be supported. Applicants are encouraged to ensure project applications suit their local community’s needs, priorities and interests.
This program funds a broad range of initiatives and purposes, including:
- Delivering activities, programs and services;
- Purchasing or hiring equipment and materials;
- Community infrastructure projects.
Projects funded in this round should be undertaken between July 2020 – August 2021. Projects cannot be funded retrospectively.
Eligible Applicants
To be eligible, you must be:
- a not-for-profit community-based organisation from communities across rural, regional and remote Australia where funds support projects and activities that offer clear public benefit (i.e. are for a charitable purpose) and address a need in the community (see What Can be Funded below);
- an organisation with an ABN or Incorporation Certificate;
- an organisation with and without DGR endorsement;
An organisation is eligible to submit one application per grant round.
Applications are welcome from any eligible organisation for any eligible purpose; however, the following applications will be prioritised:
- Projects initiated and delivered by local community groups;
- Applications from communities fewer than 15,000 people;
- Organisations that do not have Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) tax status.
Timing
Round 5 applications close 24 March 2020.
