Helping Regional Communities Prepare for Drought Initiative – Small Network Grants

The Small Network Grants are designed to support simple initiatives that build stronger connectedness and/or strengthen social capital that enables regional people and communities to be more prepared for, and resilient to, the impacts of drought.

Funded through the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund, this is part of the commitment to support Australian agricultural communities to build drought resilience.

Small Network Grants are designed to support a wide range of locally relevant initiatives that will result in the following short-term outcomes:

1. Improved communication, social connection, and collaboration within and between communities to support drought preparedness.
2. Improved access to services, infrastructure, and facilities that support drought preparedness.
3. A greater diversity of community members and organisations contributing to drought preparedness activities.
4. Increased knowledge and understanding of strategies by communities, volunteers, and not-for-profit organisations to prepare for and adapt to drought.
5. Improved implementation of place-based practices to build and enhance resilience to drought.
6. Strengthened individual leadership capacity to support community and drought resilience.
7. Growth and improved strength of community-based networks.

In the long term, projects and initiatives will contribute towards:

1. Stronger connectedness, and greater social capital within communities, contributing to wellbeing and security.

Applications are sought from locally based, not-for profit organisations that seek to undertake simple, one-off, or seed-type activities or initiatives that contribute to the stated program outcomes. Local collaboration is encouraged.

• The Program will offer Small Network Grants in two streams.
• Organisations may apply for no more than one request per round.
• There is no minimum request.
• This is Round 2 of 2.

Eligible Local Government Areas (LGAs) include:

Stream 1

All LGA’s in an agriculture-dependent remote, rural and regional locations (except Stream 2 locations). Priority will be given to locations where previous HRCPD activity has not been undertaken.

An indicative funding pool of $1,175,954 is available for Stream 1. Applications up to $20,000 will be accepted.

Stream 2

All LGAs from NSW Far West, NT Tablelands, NT Arid Lands, Northern QLD Dry Tropics and WA Great Southern regions only. Click here to view the list of Stream 2 eligible LGAs.

An indicative funding pool of $1,296,352 is available for Stream 2. Applications up to $50,000 will be accepted. Cross-border (Federal NRM, State and Local Government) applications are allowable where locally relevant and will be considered on their merits.

Organisations may apply for no more than one request per round. There is no minimum request.

Priorities for program investment, which will be used to inform decisions about which applications receive support, include:

• Activities and initiatives that focus on long-term social connection, capability building, and an increased capacity for people and communities to adapt to change over time.
• Activities and initiatives that can make a clear and distinct linkage to building drought preparedness in local communities.
• Simple, one-off, or seed-type initiatives tailored to meet local needs and the unique geographical, climatic, and community context.
• Delivery locations with a higher potential for drought impact, outside the geographical reach of existing Future Drought Fund investment locations.
• Demonstrated community readiness to support the project at a local level.
• Opportunities for collaboration with a diverse range of community-based organisations at a local or regional level.
• Initiatives that specifically engage local young people and First Nations people or communities.
• Project alignment with other Future Drought Fund investments or other community resilience initiatives.

Stream 1

All LGAs in an agriculture-dependent remote, rural and regional locations are eligible to apply for Stream 1 funding (except Stream 2 locations). Priority will be given to locations where HRCPD activity has not been undertaken.

Stream 2

All LGAs from NSW Far West, NT Tablelands, NT Arid Lands, Northern QLD Dry Tropics and WA Great Southern regions only can apply for Stream 2 funding. A list of eligible LGAs can be found here: Stream 2 LGAs.

Cross-border (Federal NRM, State and Local Government) applications are allowable where locally relevant and will be considered on their merits.

Applications are sought from locally based, not-for profit organisations that seek to undertake simple, one-off, or seed-type activities or initiatives that contribute to the stated program outcomes. Local collaboration is encouraged.

The Small Network Grants will fund networks, community events, training initiatives, community infrastructure, development and learning initiatives that assist local people and communities to strengthen social capital and capability to prepare for future droughts.

Projects may include:

• Networks: Initiatives to strengthen the capacity, capability, and coordination of professional, social, or community networks.
• Community Events: Field days, conferences, forums, summits, and seminars that facilitate professional, social, and community connection to build understanding of drought and climate change-associated risks.
• Training: Initiatives to improve skills and capacity in community risk management, planning, and project delivery in relation to drought.
• Community Infrastructure: Small-scale community infrastructure projects to improve connectedness, wellbeing, and facilities.
• Development and Learning: Initiatives to facilitate professional, personal, and leadership-related development and learning to support drought preparation.

There are a range of areas that we cannot fund through this program, including:

• Projects that are not located in remote, rural, and regional Australia.
• Projects that support the core business and areas of responsibility of Federal, State, and Local Governments.
• Applications from sporting organisations need to clearly demonstrate charitable outcomes and benefits to the wider community that are above and beyond the sporting activities of the club, with a clear linkage to drought resilience. 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 primarily result in economic or environmental outcomes relating to drought preparedness, not social outcomes.
• 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 that enhance the public good in agricultural-dependent communities.
• 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 that has 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 aimed at selling or attracting investment.
  • Developing, building, or producing commercial prototypes to commercialize 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 or master plans.
  • 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; and
  • major construction or large capital works.

If unsure, please contact us to discuss your eligibility prior to lodging your application.

Please note: Staffing and reasonable program delivery costs to support the coordination and delivery of planned activity or project are considered an eligible expense.

To apply, your organisation must meet the following criteria:

• Applicant organisations must be a not-for-profit organisation with either an Incorporation Certificate and/or an ABN
• 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:

• The application is submitted by individuals, sole traders, or private/commercial businesses.
• The application is submitted by an organisation that is not a legal entity (registered not-for-profit) without consent from the governing body.
• Required financial documentation is not included with the application.
• There are overdue final reports from any FRRR grants awarded in the past seven years.
• The application is for a project or activity that has already occurred or is ongoing before funding is announced.
• The application is incomplete. Note: Applications are assessed based on submitted documentation, and FRRR may not follow up on missing documents.

Every application needs to include an organisation that holds either an ABN or Incorporation Certificate. If your organisation doesn’t have that, FRRR may still fund the project but you need another organisation’s support, which we refer to as the ‘legal organisation’ (with your organisation being the delivery organisation). This situation often occurs when the organisation delivering the activity or project is a branch of an overarching organisation – such as a local CWA or YMCA branch. In this case, the CWA or YMCA would be the legal organisation.

Even though your organisation may complete the application (and will be doing the work), it’s the ‘legal 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.

Applications received without the requested financial information are ineligible. Providing incorrect financial information is currently the most common reason why applications are not able to be considered. You must attach the following:

• For organisations that have audited financial reports: Attach the most recent annual audited statements.
• For organisations that do not have an annual financial audit: Attach the most recent 12 months Income and Expenditure Statement. If available, also submit a Balance Sheet.
• 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.
• Please 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 any changes in these statuses, please provide the reasons.

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 would be used for and that also 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 $45 per hour.

For more info on costing volunteer labour, visit: https://explore.fundingcentre.com.au/help-sheets/valuing-volunteer-labour.

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 broad 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, we encourage you to make it really clear that your community is ready and able to deliver the project and if required, can provide ongoing support for the initiative.

Helpful resources:

• Tips for great applications
• Project Planning Tool Download

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.

• Drought Resilience: The ability to adapt, reorganise, or transform in response to changing temperature, increasing variability and scarcity of rainfall, and changed seasonality of rainfall, for improved economic, environmental, and social wellbeing.
• Agriculture-Dependent: Agriculture-dependent communities refer to remote, rural, and regional communities with a high economic dependency on agriculture and related industries.
• Networks: An interconnected and open-ended circle of people linked by a shared interest, occupation, etc.
• Not-for-Profit: An organisation that does not operate for the profit, personal gain, or other benefit of particular people (for example, its members, the people who run it or their friends or relatives).
• Strategic Drought Resilience: Drought resilience achieved through a considered and collaborative process (with involved parties/stakeholders), which includes a plan to achieve a particular outcome.
• Innovative Activities: Generating, diffusing, and applying knowledge in order to do new things or do existing things in new ways.

¹ Derived from https://www.macquariedictionary.com.au/features/word/search/?search_word_type=Dictionary&word=strategy, retrieved 2022
² Department of Agriculture, Water & Environment (2022) National Agricultural Innovation Agenda: Digital foundations for agriculture strategy (awe.gov.au). p.37