Future Drought Fund’s Networks to Build Drought Resilience

The Future Drought Fund’s Networks to Build Drought Resilience program provides agriculture-dependent communities across remote, rural, and regional Australia with the opportunity to access funds for a broad range of initiatives that benefit local communities to strengthen their resourcefulness, adaptability, and capacity to thrive.

The program is designed to support community organisations to develop locally generated initiatives that build strong social connectedness, strengthen social capital, and support transformative activities to be more prepared for, and resilient to, the impacts of drought.

It is part of the Australian Government’s commitment to support Australian agricultural communities to be sustainable and productive.

The Networks to Build Drought Resilience program is a national program with funding available in all agriculture-dependent communities across remote, rural and regional Australia.

Thanks to a partnership between the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund, FRRR and a wide range of collaborative donors, the Networks to Build Drought Resilience program has funding available to support agriculture-dependent communities to be more prepared for, and resilient to, the impacts of drought.

The program will offer three tiers of grants to not-for-profit organisations totalling $4.5 million over an 18-month period. Round 2 aims to fund approximately 65 projects.

1. $10,000 to $20,000; (approximately 30 projects, events, or activities will be funded per round)
2. $20,000 to $50,000; (approximately 32 projects, events, or activities will be funded per round)
3. $50,000 to $150,000 (approximately 5 projects, events, or activities will be funded per round)

The Future Drought Fund’s Networks to Build Drought Resilience Program will fund community-led events, projects, activities, training, and small-scale infrastructure that assist communities to build their capacity by strengthening social and community networking, support, engagement, and wellbeing to be more prepared for, and resilient to, the impacts of drought.

Projects that are community-led and focus on locally defined solutions to building drought resilience will be prioritised.

Projects must relate to one or more opportunity types:

OPPORTUNITY 1: Projects that strengthen the capacity, capability, and coordination of professional, social or community networks in agriculture-dependent communities to build drought resilience.

• Increase social connection in local networks;
• Increase community engagement, a shared sense of purpose, and community belonging;
• Increase access, participation, and diversity in network participation; and/or
• Improve coordination and collaboration between social networks, other community organisations, and sectors in local communities.

OPPORTUNITY 2: Events that facilitate professional, social, and community connection to build understanding of risks posed by drought and climate change in agriculture-dependent communities throughout Australia.

Criteria: Applicants must address how the proposed project will contribute to one or more of the following outcomes:

• Increase opportunities for diverse people and communities to participate in networking events such as field days, conferences, forums, summits, and seminars;
• Build knowledge and understanding of the risks posed by drought and climate change;
• Contribute to building a positive community culture and provide people and communities with an opportunity to work collaboratively to solve problems;
• Foster higher rates of innovation in the local economy and agricultural sector; and/or
• Improve regional branding and recognition of local agri-food systems.

OPPORTUNITY 3: Training to improve the skills, understanding, and capacity of community network members to participate in community risk management, planning, and community-driven projects that build drought resilience.

Criteria: Applicants must address how the proposed project will contribute to one or more of the following outcomes:

• Increase access to information and training to build drought resilience in their communities;
• Build knowledge and understanding of the risks posed by drought and climate change; and/or
• Increase the role and profile of professional, social, and community networks in regional drought resilience planning.

OPPORTUNITY 4: Small-scale community infrastructure projects to foster connectedness, improve wellbeing, and make community facilities resilient to the impacts of drought.

Criteria: Applicants must address how the proposed project will contribute to one or more of the following outcomes:

• Improve new and existing meeting places so they can be used year-round to support community wellbeing, improve connectivity, and increase knowledge sharing; and/or
• Increase access to, broaden, and increase community usage of the facility.

There are a range of areas that we can’t fund through this program. If in doubt, please contact us.

• Projects that are not located in remote, rural, and regional Australia.
• Projects that support core business and areas of responsibility of Federal, State, and Local Governments.
• 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, and demonstrate a clear linkage to drought resilience. This is because the encouragement or advancement of sport, recreation, and social activities are not considered charitable activities under Australian law.
• Prizes, gifts, trophies, or awards.
• Projects solely focused on animal welfare.
• Activities that do not directly support agriculture-dependent communities.
• Activities that benefit a single individual rather than build long-term drought resilience and enhance the public good in agriculture-dependent communities.
• Activities that do not directly strengthen community networking, wellbeing, drought preparedness, or reduce the risk of social isolation associated with drought.
• Activities that duplicate existing projects or services in a particular community.
• Activities where costs have already been incurred because the activity has already been undertaken or will have been undertaken prior to the start of the activity.
• Activities outside of Australia or involving overseas travel.
• Activities that provide private and/or commercial benefit rather than not-for-profit or social enterprises activities.
• Business activities where the primary purpose is for profit.
• Activities already funded through another Australian, state or territory, or local government program.
• Provision of funding to any person or organisation who have outstanding final reports from a prior Australian Government grant of financial assistance.
• Any costs that are not directly related to carrying out the activity such as:
  • Preparation of grant application materials;
  • Protecting or patenting intellectual property;
  • Activities of a distinctly commercial or proprietary nature that are aimed at selling or attracting investment;
  • Developing, building, or producing commercial prototypes to commercialise a research project outcome;
  • Creation of new institutions;
  • Establishing new commercial ventures;
  • Core business expenses not directly related to carrying out the activity, including administrative, overhead (and infrastructure not specified in a project budget) costs, staff salaries (unless directly engaged in delivering the funding program), and relocation costs, travel, and living allowances;
  • Financial support for feasibility studies;
  • Hospitality or catering beyond reasonable costs for providing refreshments at activity-related events such as workshops or field days;
  • Purchasing of infrastructure not specified in a project budget;
  • The conduct of activities that could be considered part of normal business or ongoing operations, unless integral to the delivery of the activity;
  • Purchase or acquisition of land or buildings;
  • Capital expenditure;
  • Activities involving political advocacy;
  • Production of clothing, equipment, or merchandise for distribution;
  • Subsidy of general ongoing administration of an organisation such as electricity, phone, and rent;
  • Major construction or large capital works.

Please contact us to discuss your eligibility prior to lodging an application if you are unsure.

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 (for example, if you are a Co-operative, Other Unincorporated Entity, Public Company, or Trust), please contact FRRR.
• Not-for-profit organisations with or without DGR-1 endorsement are eligible.
• The proposed project must be for charitable purposes and offer clear public benefit.
• Organisations can submit one application per grant round.
• Projects must benefit communities in remote, rural, or regional Australia that are agriculture-dependent.

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 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 the legal organisation to see if there are any outstanding final reports).
• Application is for a project or activity that has already occurred or 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.

Every application needs to include an organisation that holds either an ABN or Incorporation Certificate. If your organisation doesn’t have that, FRRR could still fund the project (with your organisation as the delivery organisation) but you need another organisation’s support, which we refer to as the ‘legal organisation’.

Even though your organisation may complete the application (and will be doing the work), it’s the overarching organisation’s legal and financial information that needs to be provided. They also need to provide a letter of support, confirming they are willing to play this role.

This situation often occurs often when the organisation delivering the activity or project is a branch of an overarching organisation – such as a local CWA or YMCA branch.

Applications received without the requested financial information are ineligible. Providing incorrect information on financials is currently the most frequent reason why applications are not considered.

• For organisations that have audited financials: Attach the most recent annual audited statements;
• For organisations that do not have audited financials: Attach the most recent 12 months Income and Expenditure Statement. If you have a Balance Sheet, please also submit;
• For organisations less than one year old: Provide Bank Statements for the period you have been operating.

Please note:

• If financial documents are more than 18 months old, please provide an explanation as to why the organisation does not have more recent documents;
• Bank Statements are only acceptable as financial documentation if your organisation has been operating for less than one year;
• Explain any deficits and steps to sustain the organisation financially;
• Provide a brief explanation of any large financial surplus or current assets and reasons why FRRR funds are still required;
• Income and Expenditure statements must cover a full 12-month period;
• FRRR conducts a broad range of due diligence queries when reviewing applications, such as: reviewing current and past incorporation, DGR, and ACNC status. If your organisation has had a change in incorporation status, DGR status, or ACNC registration revoked or voluntarily withdrawn, please let us know the reasons for this.

Please contact us if you cannot provide required financials or you are unsure about what to provide.

You must include a project budget that clearly shows the items that FRRR grant funds will be used for and shows all income and expenses related to your project.

Budgets should be realistic and must add up – i.e. total expenditure must match total income.

Applicant contributions in cash or in-kind are highly regarded. Quotes or detailed rationale for items over $1,000 are required, where possible.

Note: FRRR suggests costing unskilled volunteer labour at $41.00 per hour.

Helpful resources:

How do I cost labour in my project?
Preparing your budget

FRRR strongly recommends that you provide supporting materials such as letters of support, community plans, survey results, photographs, media clips, and research reports that can show the wider community support and partnerships involved in the project.

Large documents should be referenced and explained in the application.

Helpful resources:

Tips on taking great photos

A clear description of exactly what the grant funds will be used for, when and where the project will happen, who will benefit and who will be involved in delivering the project, why the project and grant funds are needed, how funds will be spent and how the activities and success of the project will be recorded, evaluated and shared.

Where possible, also indicate that your community is ready to deliver the project and if required, can support the initiative ongoing – i.e. awareness of need is widespread, appropriate leadership, resources, skills and knowledge exist in the community.

Helpful resources:

Tips for great applications
Project Planning Tool Download

To help us do this, we have grouped the kinds of projects communities commonly ask us to help fund into seven areas, which we call the Activity Tree:

1. Building community resilience
2. Developing organisational resilience and capacity
3. Enhancing environmental sustainability
4. Fostering cultural vibrancy
5. Lifelong learning and education
6. Economic strength
7. Improving community health and social wellbeing

We ask you to nominate one of those seven areas when you apply. So, before you lodge your application, download the Activity Tree to help you identify your focus area.