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Echuca Neighbourhood House leads the way

01 June 2003

The Echuca Neighbourhood House has recently been successful in attaining funding under the Small Grants for Small Rural Communities program supported by Australia’s only national philanthropic foundation dedicated to rural and regional Australia, FRRR – The Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal.

Over 250 applications totalling just under $1 million worth of requests from rural and remote Australian communities were submitted to FRRR in the most recent funding round of Small Grants for Small Rural Communities. Many community-based organisations across the country are now turning to the young and innovative Foundation for assistance in providing communities with the resources to ensure their future is a viable one.

The Echuca Neighbourhood House will receive support from FRRR to enable them to run a number of courses including Literacy, Creative Writing, and Computer skills, for people of all ages, including the town’s young, aged and community members of all abilities. This type of training has been limited in the local Echuca Community before and the committee believes that, on a local level, this project will ‘bring together’ the many diverse aspects of the community.

Ms Liz O’Byrne, Coordinator of the Neighbourhood House said that ‘ we are very pleased to receive this funding. It means that we are able to continue to run our very popular courses at low cost which makes them accessible to all community members.

FRRR CEO Ms Sylvia Admans said that ‘It has become clearly evident that there are many communities across Australia in desperate need of support. FRRR’s Small Grants Program provides the assistance that many of these communities have been previously unable to access.’ The themes that have emerged from this round of funding include support for;

  • Community Buildings and Halls
  • Community Radio Stations
  • Information technology and communications
  • Indigenous communities
  • Rural Education

A great number of exciting and worthwhile projects were supported. Communities from as far north as Aurukun on the tip of Cape York across to Derby in Western Australia and as far south as The Furneaux Islands were successful in attaining funding this round.

The collaborative approach for funding Small Grants is designed to: make better, targeted use of funds improving access for rural and regional communities; provide a simpler application process, and enhance efficiency and effectiveness for philanthropic trusts and foundations who wish to support small communities. FRRR gratefully acknowledges the support of current funding partners The Myer Foundation, Perpetual Trustees, RE Ross Trust, the William Buckland Foundation and The Pratt Foundation.

Natalie Elliott, Marketing Manager FRRR 03) 5443 7300 or natalie@frrr.org.au top