Talk about commitment to regional Queensland.
Kerry Grace and business partner, Dr Chad Renando moved to Stanthorpe in January this year to embed themselves in the community and learn what is happening, who is volunteering, what matters to the community, and how it is all playing out.
Why? Because in September this year, a three day conference – Social Impact in the Regions - will be held in Stanthorpe, with delegates arriving from across the country.
It’s a two year commitment, Kerry told the Town & Country Journal. The first year is research and the conference. The second year is support for the organisations.
“We go in 10 months before the conference, we learn what matters to that community, we set up a national program based on what’s happening, and then we follow through.”
Stanthorpe, like every regional village or town, has it’s own particular “taxonomy”. For instance, it might be in drought when nearby regions are flooding. It might have to rely on services based in nearby larger towns and miss out on local services.
The Social Impact in the Regions conference, now in its fourth year, is not about government funding or grants. Instead, it attracts not-for-profits from around the country who are interested in understanding and bolstering regional areas. Kerry and Chad use the conference to introduce social enterprises and philanthropists to valuable projects they can invest in, and opportunities that will make a difference.
The ultimate goal is to partner regional communities and funders to demonstrate that their regional investments are not just charitable, they are strategically building the enabling conditions for long-term social, environmental, and economic resilience in communities that national policy has historically underserved.
“We work mostly with philanthropy, we’ve never been funded by government to do anything,” says Kerry, who worked as the CEO of Regional Development Australia for seven years before embarking on Social Enterprise in the Regions. The first was held in Coffs Harbour.
Part of the effort is to prepare local organisations to be prepared as best they can to receive funding and support. Often, Kerry says, government grants will be thrown at local clubs and charities who are not quite prepared to maximise the funding.
Funding can come and go, with positive energy disappearing.
The purpose is to help a community “move forward without politics and factions stifling progress, without the need for a constant stream of grants and funding, move quickly in natural disaster and strategically in other times” , which is the subject of her book, Spiralling Up: A Guide to Accidental Leaders (Amazon).
The conference prioritizes local “micro suppliers” with 96% of the spend remaining within Stanthorpe. Kerry says the conferences always generate over $300,000 in economic benefits for the community.
One CEO described the conference’s two year plan as a “long-term play, firmly grounded in impact and outcomes. To any community offered this opportunity: take it with both hands, you wont regret it.”
Social Impact in the Regions will be held 2-4 September in the Stanthorpe Civic Centre. More information can be found at readycommunities.com.au or https://socialimpactintheregions.com.au/
Read More: Stanthorpe
