An Australian foundation has provided over $2 million in grants for 43 local projects in a bid to help rural communities prepare for drought.
The Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal (also known as FRRR) distributed grants from the Future Drought Fund’s communities programmes, a third-year public-philanthropy initiative funded by the Australian government working alongside the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation.
Grants will go towards not-for-profit organisatons working with eighty-eight communities dependent on agriculture and farming (see full list of grantees).
The fund runs between 2025 and 2028, with $36 million expected to be invested in regional communities through both grants and ‘capacity-building activities’, such as leadership development and building community infrastructure.
Thirteen organisations are also sharing $1.1 million from so-called social outcome grants from the Regional Drought Resilience Plan (RDRP).
The next round of Regional Drought Resilience Plan Social Outcome Grants and Small Network Grants opens on 26 May 2026.
Rainfall was below average for all states and territories except for the Northern Territory in April, according to the Australian government, carrying risks to water storage facilities.
Some parts of Australia saw the worst droughts in living memory in 2025. Some parts of Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania saw record low rainfall, with farmers drawing comparisons as far back as 1914.
Shafi Musaddique is the news editor at Alliance magazine
