A grant program will be opened more frequently for a wider range of community projects in an initiative designed to support charities and not-for-profits delivering to the public.

A total of $440,000 in grants will be made available for charities and NFPs that provide building programs to strengthen community resilience, offer education and learning and arts, make organisations stronger and improve environmental sustainability.

The Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal (FRRR) CEO, Natalie Egleton, said it would now support more programs with vitally needed funds: “Local leaders know what their community needs and where grant funding will make the most difference.”

Strengthening Rural Communities is an evolution of FRRR’s popular Small Grants for Rural Communities (SGRC) program and will be offered year-round with assessments quarterly, with larger grants also occasionally made available.

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“We’ve recently had feedback that sometimes groups weren’t quite ready to apply when our grant rounds were open and that they needed slightly larger grants because these days things cost more,” Egleton said of the decision behind the grants.

The Strengthening Rural Communities – Small & Vital grants round is a response to this feedback and will be made available year-round, with grants of up to $10,000 each.

Due to support from donor partners, specific funds are available for particular issues in several locations across Australia. Applications will also be prioritised for communities of fewer than 15,000 people and those whose size, remoteness and relative access to the services and funding and resources present particular ongoing challenges.

“This means that communities can seek support when it suits them,” Egleton said.

“The program will still be just as flexible as Small Grants for Rural Communities was, so groups can apply for virtually anything – including the kitchen sink – so long as it’s going to benefit the broader community.”