Nowra IRCF Journey
Welcome
Hi, I am Meg Stratti, your IRCF community facilitator.
My role is to support Nowra and Kangaroo Valley’s not-for-profit organisations (NFPs) to connect, build relationships and work together on improving your capacity and sustainability. The vision of the Investing in Rural Community Futures program, with the financial support of The Snow Foundation and The Australian Government, is to deliver stronger organisations for stronger Nowra and Kangaroo Valley communities.
Contact us:
Meg Stratti – Nowra IRCF Community Facilitator
0439 470 086
My work days are Tuesday & Wednesday
Proudly supported by
News & Events
IRCF Timeline
Participating NFPs
Nowra IRCF Goals
Nowra is a town on the lands of the Yuin nation. This major service town is on the Shoalhaven River of the South Coast NSW. The IRCF program extends from Nowra up to the Kangaroo Valley.
With a population of 37,000 people, the major service town is supported by more than 80 not for profit organisations.
The community roadmap articulates the goals decided by the community, for the community. Applications for funding should be for projects that align with the goals found in the community roadmap.
Community Roadmap
project funding
Developing leadership capabilities, a renewed sense of community spirit and fostering skill development to create strong organisations that bring together various leaders, groups and residents.
- Recruitment – attracting and retaining the people who are needed (new goal)
- Our people maintain good health and wellbeing and are taken care of
- People have the skills and capacity to do their work well
- Develop trusting relationships to enable NFPs to work with Indigenous communities
- Volunteers who are well skilled and connected
- Organisations have programs to support leadership
- Creating pathways for young people (new goal)
project funding
Fostering relationships and practises that support efficient and effective collaboration with other not-for-profits to enhance community impact.
- Collective approach to accessing and maximising funding opportunities (sustainable)
- To have the skills to deliver our services and shared learning experiences (updated)
- We have a strong collective to share knowledge and coordinate services
- Access to grants database and support to apply for grants (moved from Strategy & Structure)
- To have a shared pool of resources and shared spaces
- Organisations have programs to support leadership
- Volunteer recruitment (new)
project funding
Supporting community leaders to input new insights and energy to effort by providing lessons, systems and structures that demonstrates best practice.
- Cultural audits for organisations (new goal)
- Tailored and integrated IT infrastructure that is well maintained and adaptable
- Well promoted local NFPs with good brands and active PR, marketing and social media
- Well documented policies, procedures and induction processes
project funding
Providing tools and measures that support and enable the sustainability of organisations well into the future.
- We are clear about the needs of our community
- For organisations to have the capacity to manage change and growth
- Organisations have the capacity and tools to measure our impact
- Organisations Develop and Implement Reconciliation Action Plans (RAPs) (updated)
- Organisations to have a master plan
- For organisations to have strategic plans
- We have fundraising strategies for sustainability
FRRR Contribution
$505,448
Partnership Grants
WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO DATE AND WHAT IS ON THE HORIZON
Click on the arrows on either side of the page to move back and forth through the activities
Round 3 Partnership Grants for Nowra
During Round 3 of the Partnership Grants for Nowra, ten NFPs shared in $114,911 for projects to meet the goals identified in the community roadmap. These recipients and their projects are outlined below. [ninja_tables id="5839"]
2023 Nowra and Kangaroo Valley Roadmap Reviews
During July 2023, not-for-profit organisations came together in Nowra and Kangaroo Valley to explore the roadmaps and projects that have been developed during the IRCF program. You can explore the learnings and wisdom shared during the day in the Roadmap Review Newsletters below. Kangaroo Valley Roadmap Review Newsletter Nowra Roadmap
Shoalhaven’s IRCF First Nation Community Facilitator Appointed
Hello, I am Natalie Lloyd, Shoalhaven's IRCF First Nation Community Facilitator. My role is to support NFPs throughout the Shoalhaven local government area to build relationships, connect and work together. My role has a particular emphasis on supporting first nation organisations and assisting them to participate fully in the IRCF
Nowra NFPs Networking for Success
In March 2023, new community facilitator Meg Stratti hosted a morning tea for the local NFPs. After listening to the sector over the last few years the need to share ideas and network is always high on the agenda. We followed Art Of Hosting practice following the participatory practice principles
New Nowra Facilitator Appointed
Hi, I am Meg Stratti, your local community facilitator. I have lived in the Shoalhaven for the last 10 years working to support local communities through my roles in adult education. I am passionate about building stronger and more resilient communities. My role is to support Nowra and Kangaroo Valley’s
Nowra Fundraising Workshop
Thursday 24 November 2022 On Thursday 17 people from 14 different organisations came together in Nowra to discuss the question ‘what can we learn together about fundraising for our future’. We were also joined by Phoebe from NEMA on behalf of the Australian Government who are helping to fund workshops
Round 2 Partnership Grants for Nowra
During Round 2 of the Partnership Grants for Nowra ten NFPs shared in $161,455 for projects to meet the goals identified in the community roadmap. These recipients and their projects are outlined below. [ninja_tables id="4396"] *This project was unable to proceed with the organisation returning these funds to FRRR.
2022 Partnership Grants Open
Eligible not-for-profits in Bateman’s Bay, Bay & Basin, Nowra and Ulladulla are now invited to apply for a partnership grant, with the 2022 grant round now open until 27 July 2022. Projects must: Align with the IRCF priority areas,Address a priority or goal identified in the relevant community roadmap, and
2022 Roadmap Review
During June 2022, community not-for-profits came together across the South Coast to consider the question, 'How can we create stronger organisations for a stronger community?' The question was posed as part of the annual roadmap review for the ICRF grant program. Past participants of the IRCF program, and new community
First Program Evaluation Underway
The South Coast Communities (Batemans Bay, Bay & Basin, Nowra and Ulladulla) are currently undertaking their first evaluation. Occurring annually, this first evaluation will focus on establishing the base line health and capability of the organisations who have recently received funding through the program. Evaluations are conducted online with organisation
Funding Boost for Capacity Building in Bay & Basin, Nowra and Ulladulla
NFPs in Bay & Basin, Nowra and Ulladulla will receive additional support and capacity building opportunities thanks to funding from the Australian Government's Black Summer Bushfire Recovery Program. The additional investment means that even more of the ideas and initiatives identified through the IRCF program to continue the ongoing recovery
New South Coast Program Manager Appointed
Helping South Coast NFPs to make the most of the IRCF program is the recently appointed Program Manager, and South Coast local, Carolyn Ardler. Carolyn comes to FRRR and the IRCF program with extensive experience in place-based delivery to support communities to build capacity and reach their aspirations from the
Nowra Facilitator Appointed
Hi, I am Kate Dezarnaulds your local community facilitator. I have lived in the Shoalhaven for the last 12 years working to support the strategic vision and financial sustainability of a range of local and national NFPs as a consultant and as a Board member. I am passionate about regional
Round 1 Partnership Grants for Nowra
In the first round of Partnership Grants in Nowra, seven not-for-profits (NFPs) are sharing in $135,471. Now in the second year of the IRCF program in Nowra, the successful applications were announced in September 2021. These seven organisations and their projects are outlined below. [ninja_tables id="3256"]
Community Roadmap Workshop for Nowra
In June 2020, a range of volunteers, board members and team members from not-for-profit organisations in the Nowra area came together.
Nowra Startup Grants Announced
Nine Nowra NFPs will share in more than $208,000 in start-up grants as part of the IRCF program launch on the South Coast. The Start-Up Grant round is the first investment of the IRCF program in Nowra. The grants were provided to local organisations to prepare the community for the
Nowra Coordinator Engaged
Nowra not-for-profits (NFPs) will have greater on-the-ground support following the appointment of a Coordinator to help guide the Investing in Rural Community Futures (IRCF) program as it rolls out across the Region. During the online sessions between FRRR and Nowra NFP’s, it was clear that there is a great demand
Nowra announced as an IRCF community
The Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal (FRRR) and The Snow Foundation announced a $2.5 million, multi-year partnership that will help boost the confidence, ability and skills of not-for-profit organisations (NFPs) in Batemans Bay, Nowra and Ulladulla. To kick start the program, each community received up to $175,000 in Start-Up Grants for NFPs.
Evaluation – NFP Health Check
The IRCF program is being independently evaluated by our delivery partner Matrix on Board for the life of the program. As part of this evaluation, FRRR is measuring the change and impact of the program at three different levels, this is being measured by using a series of tools.
There are three components to the evaluation of the IRCF program:
1. The change and impact on the capacity and sustainability of the individual NFP organisations involved in the program. One of these tools is an organisational self-assessment for committees to collectively discuss the current health of their organisation. It was designed specifically for the program looking at the four pillars of Strategy, People, Systems and Efficiencies. The assessment measures each pillar using a 5 point scale out of 12 areas of organisational competency, giving organisations a score out of 60, we are using a mean of this score across the funded organisations to monitor an overall health of these organisations and to track any impact, the program may have. All funded organisations take part in the self-assessment. These assessments are undertaken every twelve months, with an additional one-on-one interview with each organisation.
2. The impact of the program on overall community change as a result of the work of the organisations. This will be measured through the engagement of all organisations in the community through a Community Workshop facilitated by the Evaluation Team using the Harwood Index. In each community there has been a range of external individuals to the project selected that meet with the evaluation panel every 6 months for breakfast to discuss the impact IRCF is having.
3. FRRR’s own impact on the program. Most of this performance is in the form of measurable data such as dollars spent, the number of organisations who have been able to participate in the program and the number of people impacted by the programs/projects delivered. Reporting and interviews are employed to capture the effectiveness and impact of the Community Facilitators employed to support the organisations.
We acknowledge and extend our appreciation to the Dhurga and Dharawal language speaking peoples, Traditional Owners of the lands on which we work, play and live.
We pay respect to their ancient and continuing cultures, their connections to the land, and to the Elders, past, present and emerging.
