Granting and Partnership Services

FRRR was established to harness and connect the collective resources and investments of philanthropy, business, government and individuals and direct this support to communities beyond our big cities.

The generous support of our donor partners is fundamental to what we do. Some of our donors and partners are listed here, but there are many, many more. We particularly acknowledge our founding members: the Australian Government, and the Sidney Myer Fund.

In addition to receiving donations into our core programs, FRRR works with donors and partners in many different ways – from running a program on their behalf, to collaborating on programs addressing a specific issue, or simply sharing our expertise and networks.

Click on the tabs below to explore the different ways that we partner with those who want to support remote, rural and regional communities, or get in touch with the Partnerships team to discuss your options.

Would you like to discuss options?

Please contact our Partnerships Team.

Email: partnerships@frrr-bricks.staging67.com
Phone: 03 5430 2399

“FRRR sits alongside communities and within community, it doesn’t dictate to communities how things should happen. They are very much there as a trusted partner and enabler. I knew FRRR would deliver and would do it in a way that respected the agency that communities need to have in these times of disaster.”
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Michelle Gortan
CEO, Macdoch Foundation

“What we thought was so good about it was that they do lots of small, small grants to non-DGR status charities. This suited our Foundation enormously.”
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Neville Bertalli
Founder, Bertalli Family Foundation

“I love that phrase about FRRR rebuilding the social fabric; we often align our giving to the longer-term recovery, because of course, that’s what takes so much time once the bricks and mortar have been rebuilt.”
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Mary Jung
CEO and Company Secretary, Pinnacle Charitable Foundation

“Philanthropy is such a great way to learn about the world around us, so don’t wait until you’re an expert. Seek out experts like FRRR and reap the benefits of their networks. Work with people you trust, who have access to projects you could never reach and enjoy the learning that comes from branching out.”
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Paula Thomson
Philanthropy Manager, Portland House Foundation

“It has been a delight working with the FRRR team who listened, understood and helped identify how best our grant could be applied. The FRRR team have kept us informed of the process and will provide regular updates of the impact of the program.”
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Kim McDonnell
CEO and Founder, Thankful4Farmers

“The local approach that the FRRR team take in ensuring that the grants get to those communities who need it most was also a key part of the decision to partner. The belief that “local leaders are best placed to know what their community needs” resonated with us quite strongly.”
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Esme Borgelt
Managing Director, Kellogg’s Australia and New Zealand

“The structure and grassroots connections of FRRR give us confidence that money gets to where it’ll most help. We also like the fact it is well-managed, that proper protocols regarding charitable giving are in place; and the pedigree of the other organisations that are attracted to and donate to FRRR also gave us confidence that FRRR was right organisation.”
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Mark Muller
Editor-in-Chief, R.M.Williams Publishing (OUTBACK magazine)
Many businesses partner with FRRR because they recognise our expertise in getting funding to where it is most needed in remote, rural and regional Australia.

This can be via one of FRRR’s existing programs (such as Strengthening Rural Communities, Community Led Climate Solutions or In a Good Place), or by garnering FRRR’s experience, governance, deep connections and networks to deliver a bespoke community grants program on their behalf.

For example, the Kellogg Australia Charitable Foundation’s mission is to help solve food insecurity in regional and rural areas, so FRRR was a great fit. The Foundation started a three-year partnership with FRRR in 2021 and its donations contribute to FRRR’s Strengthening Rural Communities (SRC) grants program. Kellogg Australia Charitable Foundation chose to partner with FRRR because of SRC’s collaborative granting approach and its ability to be flexible and focused to respond to communities’ needs. As a result, this partnership is still going today, five years since its inception.

The ANZ Seeds of Renewal small grants program was established in 2002 and has given more than $5 million over that time to help build and sustain rural communities, to ensure the ongoing prosperity of regional Australia.

Current partners

The long-running ANZ Seeds of Renewal program focusses on and aligns with ANZ’s core giving objectives. It is updated as they evolve.

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Telstra’s Connected Communities Grant Program supports community-led efforts that embrace technology and improve digital literacy or capability.

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Grants strengthen resilience by undertaking community-identified and led long-term disaster recovery activities with a public benefit.

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The Nutrien Ag Solutions Community Grants contributes to the success, vibrancy and wellbeing of remote, rural and regional communities nationwide.

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Over many years FRRR has partnered with numerous established philanthropic trusts and foundations, who have trust and faith in FRRR to deliver funding where it is most needed.

Some partnerships centre around giving large donations to an existing FRRR grant program, like Strengthening Rural Communities. Other philanthropic foundations have asked FRRR to develop a granting program that targets a specific geographic location or centres, or funding to support specific issues.

Philanthropic foundations partner with FRRR to Give Now or Give for the Long Term. Or, explore the approaches below…

Philanthropic foundations can partner with FRRR to create a tailored grants program that responds to a particular geography or need. For example, the Sally Foundation has partnered with FRRR for many years to create opportunities for young people in Central West NSW, as well as supporting FRRR led programs such as Heywire and Takeover.

The Sally Foundation partners with FRRR to support programs that empower young people in rural and regional Australia, build leadership skills, increase social participation and learning opportunities and encourage youth voices to be heard.

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FRRR and the Vincent Fairfax Family Foundation (VFFF) have most recently partnered to deliver Backing the Future. It’s an exciting program that supports innovative ideas benefitting young people in Queensland and New South Wales.

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The Yulgilbar Foundation has been a long-time supporter of FRRR and partnered with us to run The Yulgilbar Foundation Fund program, which supported communities in the Clarence Valley and surrounding regions who had a desire and need to strengthen their capacity and resilience in response to the 2019/20 bushfires, flooding and continued challenges across the region.

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Philanthropic foundations can also choose to partner with FRRR on long-term initiatives. For instance, the Investing in Rural Community Futures program, which aims to build and support the capacity of grassroots community organisations was initially supported by VFFF, before the Snow Foundation, Bendigo Bank Community Enterprise Fund, and the Australian Government joined us to roll it out in eight NSW communities. Following its success, Helen Macpherson Smith Trust, the Jack Brockhoff Foundation, The Ross Trust and William Buckland Foundation joined forces to bring the program into VIC. Similar collaborations have enabled the delivery of FRRR’s Disaster Resilient: Future Ready program in NSW, QLD and VIC.

Get in touch with the FRRR Partnerships team if you’d like to discuss ways that your foundation can support remote, rural and regional communities.

The Australian Government was one of the two organisations that founded FRRR in 1999 and it continues to be an important partner.

The partnership currently includes the Future Drought Fund’s Helping Regional Communities Prepare for Drought Initiative, which provides funding to help remote, rural and regional communities, and farmers, become more prepared for, and resilient to, the impacts of drought. The Fund is part of the Government’s Drought Response, Resilience and Preparedness Plan and follows on from their $15 million donation to the Tackling Tough Times Together (TTTT) grants program that helped communities access the resources they need to support one another through the ongoing effects of the drought. The Australian Government joined the program as a funder, following its establishing with other philanthropic partners, having seen the success of the program.

This is similar to the Strengthening Rural Communities program, where funding was rolled out through the Australian Government’s  Rebuilding Regional Communities stream to support COVID recovery in regional communities.

State Governments too have partnered with FRRR. One of the first was the Victorian Government, which oversaw the Victorian Bushfire Appeal Fund (VBAF) following the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires. FRRR managed and delivered a series of grants programs focussed on the long-term recovery of affected communities, which evolved as needs changed in the ensuing years. The final program – Grants for Resilience & Wellness – had a specific focus on providing assistance towards community-strengthening and resilience-building projects. Started in 2012, the program recently finished and over that time gave nearly $3 million for resilience building projects that strengthen the many bushfire-affected communities. The NSW Government has partnered with FRRR more recently to support COVID recovery.

Get in touch with the FRRR Partnerships team if you’d like to discuss ways that FRRR could deliver a grants program on your behalf to support remote, rural and regional communities.

At FRRR, our commitment to Insights and Community Engagement is central to our mission of fostering vibrant, resilient communities across rural, regional, and remote Australia.

Since 2000, FRRR has connected and built trust with community leaders, not-for-profit organisations, and local residents to understand their unique challenges, aspirations and opportunities. Through these interactions, together with our granting programs and capacity building support, we gather valuable insights and data that inform our programs and initiatives, ensuring they’re tailored to meet the specific needs of each community and they’re efficient and sustainable. We share these insights with key stakeholders across the philanthropic, corporate and government sectors, to inform decision-making and drive action.

Contact the FRRR Partnerships team to find out more about our Insights and Community Engagement work.

Explore other ways to give to FRRRExplore our priority funding needs
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Amy Crawford

Amy Crawford has an extensive career in complex public policy and its intersection across government and communities.

Amy is the Chief Executive Officer at the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA), representing 537 councils across the nation. Amy holds over 20 years’ experience in the Australian Public Service. She has a deep understanding of federal government policies and structures, with over 10 years’ service in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and has worked for the federal Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories. Amy has shaped a wide range of policies and programs including regional development, telecommunications, immigration, emergency management, social policy and pandemic preparation.

Amy is a Board Director of Austroads and represents ALGA on the Public Skills Australia Industry Advisory Group, and the Australia-New Zealand Emergency Management Committee. She is also a Board Director for the Canberra Youth Theatre which provides voice for Canberra’s youth through intelligent and challenging theatre.

Amy holds a Bachelor of Laws (honours) and Bachelor of Arts (Media and Communications) from the University of Queensland, is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and an alumnus of the Cranlana Centre for Ethical Leadership. Amy was appointed to the FRRR Board in January 2025.

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Kylie Hansen

Kylie brings leadership and management experience from across academic, corporate, not-for-profit, social enterprise and impact investment sectors, having deep dived into a myriad of specialisations and systems. Her six tertiary qualifications are equally as diverse and complimentary, covering commerce, politics, international development, community development, project management and law. Her breadth and depth of experience enables her to draw on a number of disciplines and innovative ways of working and thinking, and she is well recognised as consistently delivering work and services of a high quality.

Kylie uses her strong background in sustainability, governance and impact measurement to support collaborative initiatives across sectors oriented at improving social outcomes, and to support socially conscientious businesses to articulate their social impact. As founder and director at Impact Seed she has been instrumental in developing the impact measurement, evaluation, learning and ESG practice which advises numerous corporates, and is passionate about supporting First Nations empowerment particularly in the context of regional economic development.

Kylie is also a Director of the WA Social Enterprise Council, a member of the B Council (B Lab Australia and New Zealand), and a Governor of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

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Hon. John Anderson AC

The Hon. John Anderson AC is a sixth-generation farmer and grazier from NSW, who served in the Australian Parliament from 1989 to 2008.

He was a senior Cabinet minister in the government led by John Howard (1996 to 2005), including six years as Leader of the National Party and Deputy Prime Minister.

In the latter role, Mr Anderson played in important role in FRRR’s history, working closely with Baillieu Myer AC and others on a proposal to establish a philanthropic organisation to benefit rural Australia. The concept was discussed at the National Regional Summit in 1999 and FRRR was established shortly thereafter.

Mr Anderson currently hosts a regular podcast, where he is in conversation with thought-leaders from around the world, and is a regular media commentator.

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Regina Cruickshank

Partnerships Specialist (WA)

Regina supports FRRR as the WA Partnerships Specialist. With over two decades of experience in partnerships and marketing, she has a deep understanding of Western Australia’s social impact landscape. She brings a strong passion for leveraging purpose-built networks to create positive change.

Regina previously worked with Playgroup WA and founded a Health Promotion Charity dedicated to supporting Social Emotional wellbeing for underserved communities. She’s excited about the opportunity to connect with partners and explore ways to make a meaningful difference in WA.

She lives in Perth with her family and enjoys mindful moments of connection to Country, whether on horseback, on foot or underwater.

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Anna Palmer

People and Culture Manager

Based in Central Victoria, Anna is a senior Human Resources, Organisation Development and Industrial Relations professional, with significant private and public sector experience across every facet of people and culture leadership.

Her most recent roles have been with Don KR in Castlemaine and Mount Alexander Shire Council. She has also held senior HR roles with Victoria Legal Aid and the TAC among many others.

From Mildura originally, Anna has postgraduate qualifications in Change Management and a Masters in Organisation Dynamics.

Anna is currently completing a Bachelor of Fine Arts to balance her creative pursuits and work as an HR professional.

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Philippa Twaddle

Management Accountant

Carolyn joined the FRRR team in March 2017, and is responsible for providing executive support to the CEO, effective coordination of the FRRR office and general administrative support to the management team. A key responsibility is supporting the administration of FRRR’s Donation Account Services.

She has over fifteen years’ experience working in local government in the Tourism and Arts Sector, Civic and Event Management and Community engagement.

Carolyn has a Bachelor of Arts in Librarianship, majoring in psychology, and grew up on farming communities in Cohuna and Echuca and currently lives in Bendigo.