A new and exciting initiative that will benefit the Wingecarribee Shire is being developed by the steering committee of the Wingecarribee Community Foundation.

The steering committee has been working to develop the concept over the past year and has already received considerable support.

The work of the Wingecarribee Community Foundation will differ from other foundations in that the focus will be broad ranging, involving the social, cultural, economic, environmental and heritage needs and interests across the Wingecarribee community.

The purpose of a community foundation is to work with and support community development across a wide range of activities.

As such, a community foundation facilitates and encourages individual, businesses, families or groups of people to give back to the community by way of gifts or donations for specific community projects, or to leave in their wills bequests for areas of specific interest and need within the community.

The Wingecarribee Shire Council has backed the initiative with a ‘seeding grant’ of $5000.

The Foundations convenor, Dr Helen McCue, said that ‘such support, in addition to the $5000 feasibility study grant received from the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal, highlighted the need for such development in regional Australia and supports the findings of our feasibility study which reported considerable community interest in the proposed foundation.

In Australia community foundations are new but a rapidly growing phenomenon.

The first Australian community foundation was the Tasmanian Community Foundation that was established 17 years ago.

Rural and regional community foundations have recently been established in the Bega Valley Shire, as well as in Mildura, Bendigo, Geelong, Broken Hill and East Gippsland with more community foundations including Wingecarribee and Canberra at the planning or initial start-up stage.

Community support for such foundations is considerable with the community foundation in Geelong recently receiving a gift of $2 million.

As part of its ongoing community consultation, the Wingecarribee Community Foundation steering committee will be holding a public education and information evening regarding this proposal on Thursday August 9 at 7.30pm at the Wingecarribee Shire Council theatrette in Moss Vale. All are welcome.

For further details contact: Mr Richard Ruhfus on 4861 3559.