Media Release

Media Release Gardiner Foundation Presentation July 2007

23 July 2007

20 July 2007

COMMUNITIES GRANTED OVER $100,000 IN GARDINER FOUNDATION/FRRR SMALL GRANTS PROGRAM

Twenty-four community groups have shared in over $100,000 in Small Grants funding from the Gardiner Foundation for local projects to improve infrastructure in their communities.

In the fifth year of the partnership between the Gardiner Foundation and the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal (FRRR), the latest grant recipients were jointly announced this week at a reception in Bendigo by the Gardiner Foundation Chairman, Chris Nixon and FRRR Chairman, the Rt Hon Ian Sinclair, AC.

Mr Nixon said that Australia is very highly urbanised with less than 15% of its population living outside the large towns and cities.

“Communities can rapidly become fragile if the underpinning infrastructure is left to decline,” he said.

“Our partnership with FRRR enables us to select the best projects from dairying communities across Victoria that have been carefully thought out and have clear community benefit,” he added.

Mr Nixon said that applications for Small Grants exceeded the funds available.

Ian Sinclair said that Grants made in the previous year had been warmly welcomed and appreciated in the communities receiving them.

“The real strength of the Grants is that they address issues that are fundamentally important to communities and they support solutions proposed by the people themselves,” Mr Sinclair said.

Representatives of organisations which received grants in 2006 were among guests at the reception and provided useful feedback, several saying that the grant was a catalyst to attracting further support for their projects.

Gardiner Foundation Chief Executive, Paul Ford said that the Grants are widely distributed across the State, and efforts will be made in the coming year to encourage applications from communities not included to date in the Small Grants Program.

Among this year’s successful applications are Grants to support community projects including sheds for neighbourhood houses at Camperdown and Cohuna, a day room for a bush nursing centre at Lockington, a playground at Macorna and fit out for a community building at Toolamba.

Other Grants will support a theatre group at Kyabram, an environment learning centre at Tongala, a community kitchen program at Numurkah, a community hall at Neerim South, a fitness centre at Boisdale and a kindergarten at Korumburra.

Overall the FRRR/GF Small Grants Program has provided over $550,000 of Small Grants to more than 100 small communities across Victoria. The next Small Grants Program will be offered early in 2008.

Print quality photographs available on request – please phone 9606 1911 Cynthia Mrigate

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For further information contact:

Jan Mahoney/Cynthia Mrigate, Gardiner Foundation, 03 9606 1900