Bridging the gap between rural impact and funding

We're bringing together leaders of rural impact organisations and potential funders to create better financial solutions for Australia's regional, rural and remote communities. 

What’s not working

Rural funding isn't working as it should. Impact organisations struggle to access appropriate finance while funders find it difficult to connect with promising rural initiatives.  
 
We’ve seen firsthand that funders don't always adapt to the on-the-ground realities faced by impact organisations. And impact leaders struggle to translate their work into the language funders speak.  

The distance between impact organisations and funders isn’t just geographic, it’s systemic. 

Join us to redesign the system

With support from the Social Enterprise Development Initiative (SEDI), Sefa Partnerships are bringing together those on both sides of the funding equation to explore opportunities to redesign how money flows to regional, rural and remote Australia. 

  • Apply to participate in 6 collaborative sessions with both rural leaders and funders. 

  • Join the broader learning community collaborate and benefit from the insights and solutions developed. 

Who we’re looking for

Funders

People working in organisations that: 

  • Provide resources (financial or in-kind) for social impact  

  • Have attempted to support rural initiatives but faced challenges 

  • Are committed to improving how resources flow to remote areas 

Rural leaders

People with lived experience who: 

  • Drive social impact in rural or remote communities 

  • Have faced frustration securing appropriate funding 

  • Want to shape a better system for themselves and others 

What we’ll do together

six collaboration sessions

Over six focused sessions, we'll map the landscape, identify barriers, and co-design practical tools that help funding reach the rural areas and organisations that need it more.

knowledge share

We’ll share our insights with our broader learning community. 

Put solutions into action

Sefa Partnerships will then explore collaborations to bring solutions to life beyond this initiative. 

Ready to get involved?

RURAL LEADERS
Share your valuable experience

The funding landscape wasn't built with rural realities in mind.  

Join a small group of rural and remote leaders to share your challenges and help create funding approaches that actually work. 

What you'll commit to: 

  • Six 90-minute sessions between April-September 2025 

  • Sharing your experiences with funding challenges 

  • Collaborating with funders to find practical solutions 

What you'll receive: 

  • Direct connections with committed funders 

  • A small fee in exchange for your valuable time 

  • Opportunity to shape funding tools that work for communities like yours 

FUNDERS
Ready to reimagine rural funding?

The current system isn't working as well as it could.

Join a small, committed group of funders exploring new ways to get resources flowing to rural and remote communities. 

What you'll commit to: 

  • Six 90-minute sessions between April-September 2025 

  • Sharing your experiences with funding challenges 

  • Collaborating with rural leaders to find practical solutions 

What you'll receive: 

  • Deeper understanding of rural funding realities 

  • Direct connections with passionate impact leaders 

  • Opportunity to shape more effective funding approaches 

Commissioned by Social Enterprise Australia as part of the Australian Government’s Social Enterprise Development Initiative (SEDI), learning communities help build capability in the sector to grow social impact. Learn more here.

About Sefa Partnerships 

At Sefa Partnerships, we believe there’s a better, simpler way to create real change in the world. A sister organisation of Sefa, we’re a charity founded to support relief to disadvantaged communities and people Australia. We bring together private, government and philanthropic dollars as blended finance for not-for-profit and profit- for-purpose organisations to help them grow and thrive. We also help them build capacity to deepen scale their impact over time. 

We believe with the right resources reaching the right people at the right time, we can co-create sustainable impact across rural Australia together.