The Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal (FRRR) is seeking applications for its Strengthening Rural Communities (SRC) program that aims to give the thousands of small rural, regional and remote communities across Australia an opportunity to access funding to support broad community needs.

The program criteria are deliberately flexible, and designed to be able to help communities address different needs and opportunities, as and when they emerge.

Funding Streams

• Small & Vital Stream:
  • $430,000
  • Requests up to $10,000
• Bushfire Recovery Stream:
  • $650,000
  • Requests up to $25,000
• Larger Leverage Stream:
  • $570,000
  • Requests up to $25,000

Types of Projects Supported

FRRR funds projects aligned with the following types of charitable projects and outcomes:

• 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, including remote communities;
• Enhancing places where communities gather;
• Promoting connection to place and enabling initiatives that champion a community’s social, cultural or economic aspirations;
• Increasing capacity and capability of local community organisations to support preparedness and recovery from natural disasters;
• Enabling locally-led responses within remote, rural and regional communities endeavouring to reduce the impacts of the changing climate within their community.

Eligibility Criteria

• Applicant organisations must be a not-for-profit organisation with an ABN or Incorporation Certificate;
• Project must be for charitable purposes and offer clear public benefit;
• Organisations with or without DGR endorsement are eligible;
• Organisations can submit one application per grant round;
• For Bushfire Recovery Stream, applicants must be in a declared fire-affected area;
• Projects must benefit communities in remote, rural or regional Australia.
• Please note, applicants will be considered ineligible if the:
  • 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;
  • 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.

For more information, visit FRRR.