A name is a powerful thing.
It represents a unique person, company, or group. A name can evoke accumulated memories: to hear the name is to recall the person and all of their fine qualities and accomplishments. The NRCF understands the value of a name. Such a gift is priceless. It’s also priceless to our community and leaves a lasting legacy.
What is a Named Fund?
A Named Fund is a charitable fund you can set up at the Northern Rivers Community Foundation that acts just like your own Foundation.
Benefits:
- Make donations to the fund at any time
- Invite others to donate if you wish
- Then work with us to make grants from the fund to charities and projects you care about
- All funds are invested by the Northern Rivers Community Foundation to earn interest and income
- Like your own Foundation, but without the exorbitant fees
Why a Named Fund with NRCF:
- It’s simple. With our support you can focus on the granting while we manage the details.
- Flexible — you are able to direct grants to charitable organisations and causes of your choice.
- Impact — through grant assessment and reporting we ensure grants are effective, and we share this impact with you.
- You can have flexibility on how much you give into your fund and what causes you choose to support.
Why NRCF?
We are committed to helping you make the right decisions for you, your family and your community.
Our vast community knowledge — We are connected to the community and use our experience in grant making and social impact research to help you identify the right projects for maximum impact. We match your interest with the needs of the community.
Creating a better community — We want to support more and more individuals, families and groups with their giving as this can increase the number of donors addressing the critical current issues facing our community. Giving through the NRCF contributes to a growing public response to important social issues.
Lending a Name
The NRCF invites you to consider a very special kind of contribution: your name. A Named Fund may be established in your own name, or your company’s name, or, perhaps, in the name of a loved one or associate. These funds make a statement; they say something about values held, about influences felt, about relationships recognised. A Named Fund can express support for something you want to put your name behind. They can respect and honour the memory of a loved one or someone else whose life and name mean something to you.
Tony Narracott Memorial Youth Fund
Tony Narracott
For many years, Tony Narracott campaigned passionately to help make the Northern Rivers community he loved a better place for all.
It was Tony's wish when he died that his good work would live on for many years to come. And so he entrusted NRCF with keeping his dream alive, by leaving a bequest in his Will. Since his death in 2007, Tony’s financial legacy to NRCF and the people of the Northern Rivers has continued to grow, thanks to ongoing gifts in his memory from family and friends. The Tony Narracott Memorial Youth Fund is now held in perpetuity, while income from it forms part of an annual grants program helping to support and nurture the youth of our region.
Setting up a Named Fund
What do you care about? What does the person, organisation or business your fund is honouring care about? We work with you to establish the Special Purpose of your Named Fund. Your Special Purpose might support a general area or discipline: young people, environment and conservation, or people living with a disability, or have a more specific purpose such as "reducing obstacles of disadvantage for students in the Northern Rivers to enter higher education."
If you are considering leaving a substantial legacy to the Northern Rivers Community Foundation, the NRCF is a vehicle to help you achieve that goal. A Named Fund can be established by:
- a minimum commitment of $10,000 or more which can be contributed over four years;
- an ongoing commitment to continue to grow the fund;
- and/or via a bequest.
Either way, you can be assured that your gift will continue to give back to our community well into the future.
For more information please Contact us.
Or download the NRCF Named Funds brochure here 
.
NRCF INVESTMENT FUNDS
General Giving Fund
The General Giving Fund is the main pool of funds which we invest ethically, to grow the funds, and the income this earns goes to Northern Rivers causes that matter. This way your donation continues to increase its impact forever in the community, unlike other models of funding which simply flow through. Our General Giving Fund is an excellent way to donate if you are unsure how best to direct your donation, as it allows us to be responsive to events and needs at the time the donation is received (for example the devastating flooding evenets of 2022).
Ballina Shire Fund
Seeded in November 2011 by John and Libby Welch from Optus in Ballina, Lynda and Christopher Dean, Councillor Sharon and Bruce Cadwallader and the NRCF itself. The Fund aims to build a long-term asset for the Ballina community that will continue to grow and support worthy service organisations in the Shire.
Byron Shire Fund
Supported by Byron Shire Council, JHA Recruitment and Yes Optus Byron Bay to promote payroll deductions and regular giving, this fund is designed to further philanthropy in Byron Shire region. This fund grants to organisations delivering worthy projects across Byron Shire.
Lismore Shire Fund
Supported by Optus Lismore, APN and JHA Recruitment and established to promote payroll deductions and specifically assist Lismore based community projects.
Christopher and Lynda Dean Fund
Established as a general fund to support the broad aims of the NRCF and with a strong commitment to assist in the administration expenditures as part of the initial donation. Interested in supporting the arts and cultural events.
SCU Bowen Education Fund
Established by Dr Peter Bowen, his wife Julianne and Southern Cross University to support students from our region who show outstanding academic achievement but whose ability to further their education may be affected by financial disadvantage or hardship. Inspired by a gratitude for support received by Peter and the lifelong benefits of tertiary education.
Tony Narracott Memorial Youth Fund
Established by much loved local identity Tony Narracott, this fund is targeted to help the youth of Byron Shire. Tony had a close relationship with the Byron Youth Centre and recognised the importance of the Byron area to all the youth in the region – many travelling in to the Byron area from neighbouring towns to take part in various activities.
The Environment Fund
Established by George Lewin in 2006, with ongoing contributions from George and other members of the Northern Rivers community, the Environment Fund is dedicated to protecting our natural environment and building resilience in our communities.
Animal Welfare & Wildlife Conservation Fund
Seeded by Janet Moyle in 2018, the Fund aims to support animal welfare & wildlife projects across the Northern Rivers.
McGrath Northern Rivers Fund
The team at McGrath Real Estate in Ballina established the McGrath Northern Rivers Sub Fund in 2018. "Within the real estate industry we meet so many people moving to the area because of the beauty of our region, we feel the natural pull to help maintain the region's beauty. By supporting projects to help increase the health of our rivers we will in turn support business within our community."
Tweed Shire Fund
Established in 2018 by Luke Barker, with the aim to support and fund a broad range of projects related to children & youth, health & wellbeing, and environment & conservation in the northern reaches of the region. Luke kicked off the fundraising by running a half marathon up in Cairns in July 2019 and raised over $20,000 which was matched by the Macquarie Foundation.
Pike Morrison Family Fund
Peter and Amanda Morrison established the Pike Morrison Family Fund in 2018, to make educational opportunities available to the disadvantaged.
Sustainable Food & Agriculture Fund
This Fund was seeded at NRCF's Philanthropy night held at Rockinghorse Studios in April 2019, thanks to founder of Venture Organics Adam Gibson, and supported by Harvest Cafe, Newrybar and private donors. Once the fund reaches $50,000, NRCF can start distributing grants which will focus on supporting not for profit organisations with educational scholarships (eg. sending a young local person to study sustainable agriculture at university), site specific projects (eg. community gardens) and educational events such as Regenerative Ag or Biodynamic courses and workshops.
Gavin Greenoak Fund
Established by Suzie Deyris in honour of her partner Gavin Greenoak, this Fund will encourage, value and support protection programs for vulnerable, endangered and critically endangered species of the Northern Rivers.
Bennett Regan Youth Fund
To help support the youth of Byron, Ballina & Lismore shires particularly in areas such as activities, education, transport and vocational guidance.
Crystal Castle and King Family Fund
Established in 2020 by Naren and Sono King, to support the people, the animals and the environment of the Mullumbimby area.
Alex & Alice Herrmann Fund
This Family Fund honours the legacy of Alex & Alice Herrmann. Established by their son Michael and daughter Hilary, this Sub Fund supports community projects in the Lismore region, especially in the areas of health & wellbeing, animal welfare and the environment.
NRCF IMPACT FUNDS
Resilience & Regeneration Fund
Launched by NRCF in 2020, in response to natural disasters and the global pandemic of COVID-19, this Fund supports recovery & resilience projects by local community organisations, and also looks to support the regeneration of our region. For more info
Housing First Fund
Established by NRCF in 2021, this critical Fund supports housing projects and development initiatives that increase low cost and affordable housing stock in the region. Funds raised to date are currently supporting the creation of Byron Bay's first Community Land Trust and the development of low cost housing for women and children.
Housing Impact Now Fund
Also established in 2021, this critical Fund supports not for profit organisations and projects that seek to alleviate and prevent homelessness.
COREM Revolving Energy Fund
To fund climate action. Initially the sub fund is to provide interest free loan funding to Not-For-Profit organisations in the Northern Rivers to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels with the current priority to support the installation of rooftop solar energy systems.
Plan C Fund
This Flow thru fund supports projects by Plan C which focus on 2022 flood recovery, as well as building resilience and providing regeneration over the long term.
Northern Rivers Wildlife Hospital Infrastructure Fund
This special purpose fund was established in 2019 to collect grants and funds in support of the development of a new Wildlife Hospital in the Northern Rivers region. This project is now underway and the funds have been transferred to the Hospital to support construction. Go to https://nrwh.org.au/ for more info.