Deadline: 17-Sep-25
The Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal is seeking applications for Strengthening Rural Communities Small and Vital Stream.
The Strengthening Rural Communities (SRC) Small & Vital stream gives small remote, rural and regional communities across Australia the opportunity to access funds for a broad range of initiatives that directly and clearly benefit local communities.
Objectives
- Projects funded must align with one or more of the following charitable 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;
- Supporting diverse groups within remote, rural and regional communities, including but not limited to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, culturally and linguistically diverse individuals, those living with disabilities and LGBTQIA+ communities;
- 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 communitys social, cultural, or economic aspirations;
- Reducing the divide on access to digital technology and connectivity for remote, rural and regional communities;
- Enabling locally-led responses within rural, regional and remote communities endeavoring to reduce the impacts of the changing climate within their community.
Priority Areas
- In particular, priority will be given to projects that:
- Support communities to implement generational transition;
- Invest in outback, remote and less resourced communities;
- Build capacity and resourcing for a just and equitable energy transition;
- Support First Nations-led initiatives that strengthen culture, country, economic participation and reconciliation.
Types of Grants
- Small Grants: A broad range of grassroots, community-led initiatives that directly and clearly benefit local communities that strengthen local people, places and climate solutions with a preference for smaller communities (populations under 15,000).
- Targeted larger leverage Grant: Projects that focus on strengthening the digital skills, confidence and safety of adults enabling them to get online, build social connections, and access services, information, education and employment through training, as well as acquiring the digital and connectivity infrastructure where needed.
Funding Information
- Small Grants: up to $10,000.
- The timeframe to deliver these projects is up to 12 months.
- Targeted larger leverage Grants: up to $50,000.
- The timeframe to deliver these projects is up to 18 months.
Eligible Projects
- 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;
- Activities and resources that will strengthen your organisation (capacity building); and
- Community resource development.
- Additional specific funding is available for:
- Projects to strengthen the digital skills, confidence and safety of adults enabling them to get online, build social connections, and access services, information, education and employment through training, as well as acquiring the digital and connectivity infrastructure where needed;
- Projects that help alleviate poverty and/or disadvantage, or build inclusion and equality;
- Indigenous Australians or health and wellbeing projects that support disadvantaged women and children nationally;
- Projects that improve physical health and local food security and sustainable local food systems nationally;
- Environmental sustainability initiatives in grain-growing LGAs in WA, VIC, NSW and SA;
- Projects benefitting older people in VIC and QLD;
- Community-led projects addressing health, education, housing and employment challenges in VIC;
- Projects to support education of children and young people in the Mitchell Shire in VIC;
- Projects that support mental health, education and disadvantage in NSW;
- Projects to support ageing in Gilgandra and Warren in NSW;
- Social welfare and conservation projects in the Goulburn / Tarlo community in NSW; and
- Projects in the Wiluna and Leonora Shires in WA.
Ineligible Projects
- There are several areas that they can’t fund through this program:
- Projects that support core business and areas of responsibility of Federal, State and 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.
Eligibility Criteria
- To apply, you must meet the following criteria:
- 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 (e.g. if you are a Co-operative, Other Unincorporated Entity, Public Company or Trust), please contact FRRR;
- There are two streams of funding available within the Strengthening Rural Communities (SRC) Program: Small and Vital and Prepare and Recover.
- Organisations may submit their application in one of these streams per SRC grant round, and any other applications in this round will be considered ineligible;
- Project must be for charitable purposes and offer clear public benefit;
- Not-for-profit organisations with or without DGR-1 endorsement are eligible; and
- Projects must benefit communities in remote, rural or regional Australia.
Ineligibility Criteria
- 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-forprofit), without the written consent of the governing/partnering body who holds the ABN/Incorporation Certificate;
- Application is submitted without required financial information;
- 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.
For more information, visit FRRR.