Forgive me if I harp on...

The below was written by Natalie Egleton, CEO of FRRR:

In case you missed it, earlier today we announced that 79 community groups across remote, rural and regional Australia will share in more than $730,000 in grants through FRRR’s flagship Strengthening Rural Communities (SRC) program.

I read every single one of the projects that we fund. While I am sometimes dismayed that groups have to seek external support for something as little as a $600 grant to enable the P&C of a small school to run a children’s first aid course - I am always inspired by the tenacity, passion, creativity - and often ingenuity - of the local volunteers who come up with the ideas and articulate the impacts these grants will have in their community. It’s a highlight of every quarter!

Communities missing out

However, increasingly, there are vital projects that most likely won’t come to fruition, simply because FRRR doesn’t have the money. In this round alone, there were 60 ‘funding-ready’ and worthy projects in the small and vital stream - seeking $680,000 - that are missing out.

So, forgive me if I harp on about the role that these grants play. Because sadly, that means that those who live in remote, rural and regional communities continue to experience persistent and worsening inequity around things that most of us would consider essential standards of living – such as access to health services, reliable (and available) telecommunications, fresh food, energy security and affordability, or feeling safe in the face of inevitable disasters, to name a few. The more remote, the worse these issues become and, in smaller populations, the harder it is to compete for investment.

The small grants that we’ve just announced support the work of local not-for-profits and community groups, most of which are run by volunteers. Without being able to access flexible funding for the issues that the local communities prioritise, the identity and liveability of many towns will die and opportunities will be lost, affecting Australia’s prosperity as a nation.

Unfortunately, investing in community leadership, the strength and sustainability of local NFP organisations or the next generation of volunteers is often seen as less impactful or not as important as big infrastructure.

But after nearly 25 years of providing small grants, FRRR knows that when these groups are strong, they can play a huge role in attracting funding and resourcing for important community needs and driving economic prosperity. In the scheme of things, it’s not that expensive and there's an incredible return on investment – and one of rural Australia’s biggest assets.

Small grants reduce inequities

So, while I’m proud to be putting $730,000 into communities to help address projects that range from establishing a community garden to address food insecurity and encourage healthy habits to refurbishing buildings for a Neighbourhood House, I know that there are many well-considered projects, endorsed by the community and ready to go that won’t be funded. That means the inequity continues.

It’s that lost opportunity that underpins my constant reiteration of the importance of small grants. It’s why we’re working hard to build our corpus, so we have more discretionary funding to direct toward these community-led projects – which we know make a tangible impact. Because often our grant will be the seed funding that these groups leverage to make amazing and impressive things happen; other times, the funding enables them to buy a photocopier or fund the catering or room hire for a community event, removing barriers to participation and strengthening social cohesion and resilience.

But as my colleague Jill Karena recently explained, the impact of these grants is about so much more than money. For the volunteers, it means being seen; that someone cares about them and what they are trying to do in their community. It gives them the confidence to go on and tackle the bigger challenges.

There’s no doubt that significant systemic change is needed to truly address many of the inequities that exist. But in the meantime, we know that small grants make a big impact. And that’s why you’ll keep hearing me ask for your support of our small grants work.

Because I know just what a difference those grants can make.