Community
29 August, 2025
Funds flow for P and A Society, Mt Elephant
CAMPERDOWN Pastoral and Agricultural Society (P and A Society) and Derrinallum’s Mount Elephant Community Management are among 99 organisations to benefit from Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal (FRRR)’s latest round of its grants program.
The $1.2 million in grants was awarded through the Strengthening Rural Communities (SRC) program, which provides between $1500 and $50,000 to not-for-profit organisations to implement a wide range of projects that will enable their communities to be more vibrant, resilient and sustainable places to live, work and invest.
The P and A Society received $3813 to fund a new attraction for the upcoming Camperdown Show.
P and A Society member Cheryl McMahon said the grant will fund a virtual header experience, which aims to foster youth engagement with the show whilst also inspiring agricultural careers and bridging the town-country divide.
“I’ve had it booked for over two years, so it’s taken a bit of time for it to be available to us which is good.
“We’re also going to purchase four grain mills, so kids can have a go at milling grain, as well as having information about where the grain’s grown, how it’s grown and what sort of grain is grown in our area.
“Our area is predominantly canola, which is very visual at show day because all the canola seeds are flowering then - we thought it would tie in well with our show because it’s very visual thing with all the fields of yellow in the north.”
The Mount Elephant Community Management was also provided funding under the SRC program, receiving $10,000 to go towards upgrading outdated signage at Mount Elephant.
Mount Elephant Community Management treasurer Lesley Brown said the grant would help to encourage more visitors to the township.
“The project is $32,000 and we’re upgrading all our signage around the mountain - that’s around eight signs.
“They’ve been around for about 20 years, so they’re pretty worn out and some of the information is out of date, so we’re going to replace everything and update the information.
“It will improve the look of everything at the mountain and help people get around.
“The other grant is from the Berrybank Wind Farm - that was for $10,000 through the Corangamite Shire - and $2000 from the Bendigo Community Bank, with the Borbidge Fund also contributing.
“We’re very lucky and grateful to receive all those grants this year.”
FRRR head of granting Jill Karena said programs like SRC are a vital source of funding for the hundreds of remote and rural not-for-profit organisations that continue to fill the service gaps in their communities.
“Locally-led, grassroots organisations are key to ensuring vital community services continue to be delivered,” she said.
“That takes committed volunteers, and we are seeing more not-for-profit organisations working hard to attract and retain volunteers by making improvements to amenities, purchasing new equipment and offering training and mentorship.
“This not only makes things easier and more efficient for current volunteers but helps to encourage a new generation of people to step up, which is critical to the sustainability of these organisations.”
FRRR always accepts applications to the SRC program, which typically awards funds four times a year.
Local not-for-profit organisations and community groups are encouraged to review the program guidelines and apply.
More information about the SRC program is available at www.frrr.org.au/src.
Read More: Camperdown, Derrinallum