• 2018 Annual Review

• Chair's Message
• CEO's Report
• Our Impact
  • Building community resilience
  • Supporting lifelong learning & education
  • Acting on environmental challenges
  • Building economic strength and sustainability
  • Developing organisational resilience & capacity
  • Promoting health and social wellbeing
  • Contributing to a culturally vibrant community
• Our Donors & Partners

CEO's Report - Extract

A snapshot of our fundraising, granting and influencing activities throughout FY2017/18.

There are many ways in which FRRR delivers on its mission, but grantmaking is at the core. Alongside this, we aim to build capacity in rural, regional and remote communities and influence debate on the issues that matter to them. The strategic and business plans for the 2017/18 financial year set ambitious objectives for FRRR, with a significant focus on strengthening the organisation’s foundations for sustained growth and deeper impact.

We have made positive strides toward these goals, in particular through the introduction of a donor-management database and an online grants management system, both of which are improving efficiency for us and enabling better reporting of activities and outcomes.

FRRR is in a very healthy position, with operational income covering operational costs. With thanks to our donor partners we were able to expand the breadth of support we provide to our communities, as the information below demonstrates.

Fundraising

FRRR continued to grow its donor and supporter base. Collectively, more than 530 donors contributed $7.5 million. This came mostly from corporate and philanthropic partners, although there were many individual donors as well, who generally supported projects with fundraising accounts.

FRRR is pleased to play a role in unlocking philanthropy for many communities, helping raise much-needed funds for projects at a local and regional scale through Not-for-Profit Fundraising Accounts, Community Foundation Accounts and Giving Sub-Fund Accounts. Some of the projects funded included community leadership programs, community infrastructure, such as community buses or local arts centres, and economic development initiatives.

• Raised more than $7.5 million via 686 donations;
• Grew our donor partners to more than 530 comprising of 420 individuals, 82 giving multiple times;
• Partnered with 62 groups, raising a total of $2.0 million through fundraising accounts for approved community projects.

Grantmaking

This financial year we set out to grant $7-8 million, and I’m pleased to report that we awarded almost $7.2 million via 22 programs, making 673 grants. As the chart below shows, this year most funds went toward supporting lifelong learning and education. More than half of all grants supporting lifelong learning and education (51%) were funded via Not-for-Profit Fundraising Accounts and the Back to School program.

We received 1,374 grant applications, requesting more than $13 million in support. In dollar terms, we were able to award around 54% of all funds requested (although in terms of the number of applications, it was only 49% of those received). Of these, around 7% would have been funded, had the funds been available. A further 78% of projects were good projects that needed further development, while the balance (15%) were ineligible under the program guidelines.

Expanding national reach

Another focus in 2017/18 was to broaden our national reach. While we still have a bias toward the east coast consistent with population density, our granting into SA, NT and WA is increasing. As the map below shows, the number of grants awarded more closely reflects the population distribution across the country. We are seeing stronger grant applications and more requests from new towns and organisations as a result of our increased outreach and presence in communities. The team also spent more than 250 hours on the phone, answering questions and providing guidance and support.

Influencing

This year we endeavoured to extend and deepen our reach and influence in key areas of need and priority for rural, regional and remote communities. We share what we know about life in rural communities with policymakers and other funders through roundtables and presenting at various events.

The Impact Report was a key document to inform these discussions. The findings were shared with Australian Government representatives, as well as key stakeholders and donor partners. The report directly led to one major new partnership and influenced several others.

I am proud of all we have achieved this year, but none of it would have been possible without the support of our donor partners; the hundreds of committed and passionate community leaders across the country; FRRR’s highly experienced Board; and especially our staff.

Looking ahead, we will use the achievements of this past year to drive some key initiatives that will strengthen our efficiency and effectiveness in delivering on the FRRR mission.

Natalie Egleton
Chief Executive Officer

To read the CEO's full report, please click here.

We acknowledge and extend our appreciation to the Dja Dja Wurrung People, the Traditional Owners of the land on which our Foundation is located in Bendigo, and to the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which our programs are assessed and delivered. We pay respect to their ancient and continuing cultures, their connections to the land, and to the Elders, past, present and emerging.