The Mirboo North and District Community Foundation helps strengthen our local area through giving, facilitating and investing. We are long-term community led organisation, both through our Board of Directors and our valued member base. We are seeking local people who want to make a difference in our district through Board membership. If this resonates with you and you live in Boolarra, Yinnar, Thorpdale, Mirboo North, Dumbalk or any of the townships in between, get in touch.
A Perpetual Community Fund
Our story? The Community Foundation was established in 2010 as a durable fund to hold and invest the $5M proceeds of the sale of the Mirboo North community aged care facility. The Community Foundation only distributes earnings from its investments and continues to invest the original funds, so that it will always be there for the community. It’s a bit like a community superannuation fund, where every year funds go back to our community.
What we do? In summary we build stronger communities through giving, facilitating and investing.
Over $2.4 Million Invested Back Into Our District
We are best known for our grant-making: over the past 15 years, $2.3 million has gone into the community through grants and sponsorship. This included a significant grant of more than half a million towards the redevelopment of the Mirboo North swimming pool.
Giving, Facilitating and Investing
We also support giving in other ways, receiving donations and gifts from wills, and channelling these into impact in our area through community organisations or charities doing amazing things. For example, when the Senior Citizens group in Mirboo North decided to wind up, their remaining funds were donated to a ‘Seniors Fund’ whose earnings are now being distributed annually to the benefit of the older adults living in our community.
Our facilitation role may look like supporting a community discussion around our challenges and opportunities, it may look like carrying out research to understand issues within the district, or advocacy for resources around an event, like the 2024 super cell storm.
Finally, we invest in the community. One example of this is the ‘community superannuation fund’ mentioned above. Another example is our ‘impact’ investment in the Mirboo North Medical Centre. The Community Foundation built this state-of-the-art medical facility in 2021 as an investment which it leases to our fabulous bulk-billing medical practice. This investment has a financial return but also a huge social return for our district, in that it ensures affordable, accessible healthcare for our communities.
How to Apply
If you want to make a difference, have a look at the Director Application Information sheet on our website and submit a written application by Friday 17th March.
If you have any queries, reach out to our Executive Officer, Ruth Rogan on 0418 301 092 or email ruth.rogan@mirboodistrictfoundation.org.au.