Deadline: 26-Sep-22
The Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal is pleased to announce the Helping Regional Communities Prepare for Drought Initiative – Community Impact Program to support community members and not-for-profit organisations in remote, rural and regional Australia to drive local action that helps prepare for drought.
It is part of the Australian Government's commitment through the Future Drought Fund to support Australian agricultural communities to build drought resilience.
Priorities
- Demonstrated understanding of drought preparedness as it relates to local needs and the unique geographical, climatic and community context;
- Demonstrated community readiness to support the project at a local level;
- Demonstrated collaboration and reach with a diverse range of community-based organizations at a local and/or regional level;
- Alignment with other Future Drought Fund investments, such as Regional Drought Resilience Planning, Drought Resilience Research and Adoption Program or other community resilience initiatives;
- Motivation and intent for participation in the program that is aligned with supporting long term social connection, capability building and an increased capacity for people and communities to adapt to change over time; and
- Engagement and participation of the local community, specifically young people, and First Nations community members.
- Applications that include locally based community organisations that have participated in the Future Drought Fund’s Regional Drought Resilience Planning, where applicable, will be prioritised. Where Regional Drought Resilience Planning is not yet underway, applicants will not be unduly penalised.
Details
- Through this initiative, with the Australian Government’s support, they’re investing in the future, enabling agriculture-dependent communities to identify and act on their drought preparedness priorities at a grassroots level.
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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 organizations 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).
Funding Information
- The program will provide 35 grants – one for each region – with a maximum total value of $12.1 million, to be implemented over a two year period.
- The grant size for each region will be negotiated as part of the multi-stage application process and may range between $200,000 and $500,000. Should total demand for funds exceed the grant funding available, grant values will be reduced proportionately.
Eligible Activities
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Eligible activities must contribute to the outcomes of the Community Impact Program and may include, but are not limited to:
- Community-focused activities that support priorities in a Future Drought Fund Regional Drought Resilience Plan;
- Networking events such as field days, conferences, forums, summits and seminars relating to drought preparedness that build depth of social connection, a shared sense of purpose and longer-term community belonging that can be drawn upon in future drought;
- Initiatives that improve capability, coordination, and collaboration between professional, social or community networks, or other community organizations and sectors in local communities that can be drawn upon in future drought;
- Projects, initiatives or events that increase skills, knowledge and understanding of the risks posed by drought and climate change;
- Leadership or other capacity building activities where local people and communities have opportunities to develop the skills and knowledge to face the unique challenges caused by drought in remote, rural and regional Australia;
- Capability development support for local community organisations so that they can better serve the interests of their community;
- Initiatives that support, encourage, or extend the participation in current or future Regional Drought Resilience Planning, particularly in remote or very remote locations;
- Minor infrastructure improvements, or equipment upgrades to new and existing meeting places to support community wellbeing, improve connectivity and increase knowledge sharing that specifically relates to drought preparedness. This should constitute no more than 10% of the overall project budget; and
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Staffing, and reasonable program delivery costs to support the coordination and delivery of planned activities.
Outcomes
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The Program is designed to support a wide range of locally relevant initiatives that will result in the following outcomes:
- Communities identify and adopt innovative and transformative ways to build drought resilience;
- A change in awareness of and attitudes to drought preparedness at the community level;
- Communities learn and share innovative ways to build drought resilience;
- An increase in the reach and activities of community leaders, mentors, networks, and organizations driving action on drought resilience;
- Improved access to and greater use of community infrastructure;
- Communities build their local leadership, networks, and social support; and
- Community leaders, networks and organizations have stronger capability to undertake strategic drought resilience planning.
Eligibility Criteria
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Applications are sought from locally based not-for-profit organizations that:
- Agree to undertake community drought preparedness initiatives within the focus regions listed in the Eligible Regions and LGAs document.
- Applicants must nominate a singular region, and proposed list of project delivery locations by Local Government Area (LGA), that may be some or all of the LGA's listed in each region, or neighboring regions;
- Agree to act as the lead applicant and work in collaboration with other local organizations to plan and undertake activities over a multi-year period that contribute to the stated program outcomes;
- Agree to work collaboratively with other delivery partners of the Future Drought Fund where relevant to maximize local investment and ensure a 'joined up effort'; and
- Agree to work collaboratively with both FRRR, ARLF and an Evaluation Partner throughout the delivery of the program.
- Applications that include locally based community organizations that have participated in the Future Drought Fund's Regional Drought Resilience Planning, where applicable, will be prioritised. Where Regional Drought Resilience Planning is not yet underway, applicants will not be unduly penalized.
- Lead applicants may submit a maximum of one application for a Community Impact Grant.
- While proposals should reflect collaboration from multiple organisations, the primary applicant, known as a Community Partner Lead Organisation, must be a single legal not-for-profit entity.
- One grant allocation will be provided for each region. If more than one group of local community organizations applies in each region, FRRR may work with applicants to explore the potential to expand the partnership opportunities under the strongest application.
To apply, your organization must meet the following criteria:
- Applicant organizations must be a not-for-profit organization with either an Incorporation Certificate and/or an ABN.
- Organizations with or without DGR-1 endorsement are eligible;
- The proposed project must be for charitable purposes and offer clear public benefit;
- Organizations can submit one application per grant round;
- Projects must benefit communities in remote, rural or regional Australia that are agriculture-dependent.
Ineligible
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Please note, you 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 organization that is not a legal entity (ie 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 additional information on the second tab);
- Final report/s from any FRRR grants awarded in the previous seven years have not been acquitted (delivery organizations should check with legal organization 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 a likely to follow up missing documentation after applications have been submitted.
For more information, visit FRRR.
For more information, visit https://frrr.org.au/funding/disaster-resilience-and-climate-solutions/impact-program/#Apply