Being community-minded is something that comes naturally to Lynda Dean, Deputy Chair of NRCF and Chair of the Grants Committee.

Together with her husband, Christopher who was the inaugural Chair of the NRCF Board, Lynda was part of the earliest conversations about starting the Foundation that took place around her kitchen table.

“For Chris and I, it was a no-brainer because we always believed that if you want the world to be a certain way, it’s up to you and it’s up to me to create the world we want to live in,” Lynda explains.

“Getting NRCF started was like planting a tiny seed that sits in the dark but quietly, under the soil it was growing, being nourished slowly by the community and one day the first little shoot came up and then another and another.

“There’s no stopping us now. We’re not just going to be a tree; we’re going to be a forest.”

A staunch advocate for community-led solutions, Lynda has seen first-hand how communities are often best placed to know what’s needed to resolve local challenges including responses to floods and fire.

“It’s amazing to see some of the organisations we funded years ago come back to us for more funding and they are bigger, stronger and reaching further,” she says.

Always a couple that walks the talk, Lynda and Christopher have a sub-fund at NRCF that supports Northern Rivers communities now and into the future.

“You work very hard, and you become successful, and you make money but then what does the money mean?” Lynda says.

“There are only so many trips overseas you can do, only so many things you can get for your house, only so many cars you can have.

“The most rewarding thing you can do is give.”

Pictured: Lynda and Christopher Dean