SUPPORTING PUBLIC HOUSING COMMUNITIES IN LOCKDOWN

When public housing communities in Melbourne were sent into a hard lockdown in July 2020, Inner Melbourne Community Legal (IMCL) worked to fill gaps in public health and legal rights communication for affected residents. 

The National Crisis Response Fund (NCRF) moved quickly to support IMCL with a $15,000 grant for communications support. 

“With help from the NCRF, we were able to assist callers to our helpline and digital platforms with basic clarifications about the applicable directions and their rights,” says Nadia Morales, Strategy, Engagement & Projects Director at IMCL. 

“We were also able to provide practical assistance with accessing essential food and medicine. We would not have been able to respond to urgent community need without this grant.” 

SMALL GRANTS, BIG WINS

^{Tomorrow Movement (TM) has grown from strength to strength since receiving funding through the Rapid Advocacy Fund. TM’s campaigning for climate action and greater income support led to widespread media coverage during the pandemic. Photograph: Kaede James Takamoto.}

When the Covid-19 pandemic first struck Australia, community philanthropy was quick to act. Case in point: the Rapid Advocacy Fund, established in April 2020, raised $100,000 in its first month, quickly distributing $70,000 across 14 strategic advocacy projects.

Partnering with Australian Progress and the Australian Council of Social Service, Australian Communities Foundation launched the Rapid Advocacy Fund to facilitate nimble and responsive funding for grassroots organisations participating in policy debates during the Covid-19 health and economic crises.

“Funding for advocacy is best done at two speeds,” says Elise Dalley, Impact Director at Australian Progress. “The first is long term investment, which over time, enables advocates to build public support for social reform.

“Then there are moments in time when issues are most salient and dominating newspaper headlines, and rapidly deployed resources can make an extraordinary difference and secure lasting policy change.

“Covid-19 was one of those moments when almost overnight issues like social security, housing, health equity and civil liberties became headline news. As existing inequalities were exacerbated, communities had the unique policy solutions needed to secure better outcomes for their communities.”

To date, the Fund has pooled over $160,000 and funded 25 pandemic-related advocacy projects, spanning the range of issues brought to the fore by the crises: intersecting inequalities across health, social security, access to housing, participation in democracy and more.

“By taking a portfolio approach, and investing in the best advocacy organisations around the country, we knew a percentage would win – and they did,” explains Elise.

Some of those wins include:

• Two grants totalling $4,500 to the First Peoples’ Disability Network, supporting the launch of an urgent advocacy project calling on the National Cabinet to fast-track 100 Respiratory Clinics across remote and regional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to prepare for the spread of Covid-19. A month later, the Government announced a commitment to establish up to 100 GP-led respiratory clinics around the country.

• A $10,000 grant to Better Renting, supporting renters to become prominent spokespeople in the public debate and amplify calls for policies that protect renters, successfully securing eviction moratoriums in multiple states.

The Rapid Advocacy Fund was awarded Best Grant Program at the Australian Philanthropy Awards in late 2021.