The Investing in Rural Community Futures Program has been expanded into the Bega Valley thanks to an injection of $1.3 million through the Australian Government’s Black Summer Bushfire Recovery Program.

Unlike other IRCF communities, there is no grant program attached to the IRCF program. Rather, NFPs in Bega Valley will be supported and strengthened through a mix of local on-the-ground support with local facilitators, and access to workshops and training opportunities in collaboration with other local community groups.

An important part of the program will be to develop a ‘roadmap’ for the local not-for-profit and community sector, to identify common areas of interest, shared assets and needs for capacity building. Once these needs are identified, the IRCF Community Development Project Officers will develop relevant resources and help facilitate training and other support to help NFP’s to maximise the impact of their work. They will also provide support in accessing other grant funding for the various groups that get involved.

The program will also deliver leadership training into the community, thanks to a partnership with the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation.

In Bega Valley, the program is building on work done as part of a 12 month Investing in NFP Capacity program delivered by FRRR through funding from the Paul Ramsay Foundation.