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Local Buying Foundation - New South Wales
January - March | Quarterly eNews
Muswellbrook | Singleton | Upper Hunter
 
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NSW LBF Chair News
 
Melissa Westcott (C-Res Director)
Chair of Local Buying Foundation QLD & NSW
Welcome to our latest edition of the Local Buying Foundation (LBF) eNews. The focus of the last quarter (Jan-Mar) has been on implementing changes to our Foundation’s governance through our LBF Charter. We welcomed new and returning LBF Advisory Committee members for both Qld and NSW Advisory Committees, launched our new funding rounds and have responded to the challenging environment many of our funded and supported organisations have faced through COVID-19 with the launch of the B.I.G. Futures Fund. More information on the B.I.G. Futures Fund is below in this newsletter.

The continued success of the Local Buying Program (LBP), has enabled the LBF to support 122 projects with a total value of $3,040,198 injected back into local business communities in Queensland (since 2012) and 15 projects with a total value of $138,859 injected into local business communities in New South Wales (since 2017).

We are here to support our business communities, whether it be through our LBF Funding Rounds, B.I.G. Futures Fund or assistance in directing businesses through to other funding sources, including BHP’s Vital Resources Fund.

Please do reach out and contact us on 1800 536 663 or info@localbuyingfoundation.com.au if you would like to discuss our projects or funding available.


Advisory Committee Membership Update

The Local Buying Foundation is governed by representatives from across the Muswellbrook, Singleton and Upper Hunter Local Government shires to ensure that investments made by the Foundation have the greatest possible impact.

The committee is made up of the Local Buying Foundation Chairman, BHP Founding Member, Primary Members representing each of the three councils that the Local Buying Foundation operates across, three industry representatives and three business/economic representatives.

The LBF would like to express our appreciation for the outgoing committee members for their commitment, effort and expertise that they had provided to the Foundation during their time on the advisory committee:

  • Aleksandar Mitreski - Muswellbrook Council
  • Tony Chadwick - Singleton Shire Council
  • Dierdra Tindale - BHP, formerly Mt Arthur Coal
 
January - March Highlights
The first quarter of the year has been a busy one for the Local Buying Foundation. Kicking off 2020, the Local Buying Foundation announced many changes, including a new national chairman, new Local Buying Foundation Advisory Committees and a rollout of our new funding categories. The success of the Foundation is a direct result of strong use of the Local Buying Program through BHP, Mt Arthur Coal operations. Take a look below and see some of the highlights from this quarter.
 
Funding Round Open
The Local Buying Foundation supports funding applications from $1,500 sponsorships through to $500,000 projects, which meet the needs of building sustainable business communities for the future. The online funding application has been reworked for 2020 to include improved formatting, new funding categories and streamlined processes for sponsorship requests.  
Learn More
Singleton International Women's Day
The Local Buying Foundation sponsored 20 students from local High Schools to be able to attend The Singleton International Women's Day event on Friday 6 March 2020 at Singleton Sacred Spaces. Students attending were able to experience International Women's Day festivities, networking with the business community and hear from the inspirational guest speakers.

The guest speakers were women from within the Singleton community who challenged stereotypes, fight against bias, broaden perceptions and improve social situations.

Speakers included Renee McDonald, Program Manager (Girls Academy at Singleton High School), Ngaire Baker, External Relations Manager (Mach Energy, Mt Pleasant) and Mary-Anne Holland, Warrant Officer Class Two (School of Infantry).
Business Awards Postponed
With restrictions in place for the prevention of COVID-19, the difficult decisions to postpone the Muswellbrook & Singleton Business Awards has been made for the safety and well-being of all involved.

The Local Buying Foundation will work closely with the Muswellbrook Chamber of Commerce & Industry and Singleton Business Chamber to ensure they have our support through this difficult and ever-changing times.
 
Singleton Connecting Business Communities
Message from Darlene Flockhart, Business Development & Administration Officer for Singleton Business Chamber

2020 has been a busy year so far for the Singleton Business Chamber and we remain focused on building on our strong membership base.

With the introduction of the Spend in Singleton Gift Card program in November, the New Year has been busy following up with businesses to participate in the program, organising bulk orders of cards and promoting the card in general, including holding a stall the Singleton Seniors Festival. We have also started to reach out to community groups, so far we have spoken to the Rotary Club of Singleton and the CWA about the program. 

Our monthly events have been well received by our members.  Our Energy Business Breakfast in February received good attendance and our International Women’s Day celebration was a great success with the event sold out.  We were very happy to see all the local High Schools bring students, made possible by the generous sponsorship of the Local Buying Foundation.

Plans are now well underway for the Singleton Business Excellence Awards with promoting the event and processing of nominations and entries a part of our everyday activities.

The Business Development & Administration Officer role is proudly funded by the Local Buying Foundation and Singleton Business Chamber.
Contact Darlene Flockhart
The Local Buying Foundation is a critical element of the Local Buying Program
delivered across all BHP operations in partnership with C-Res.
 
 
 
Disclaimer Local Buying Foundation
The information provided by LBF in this communication is for general information purposes only. While we endeavour to provide accurate and correct information, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability or suitability of the information, contained in the communication. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk. Your privacy is important to us. Please see the Privacy Policy here.

Our mailing address is:
Local Buying Foundation
PO Box 1721
Mackay QLD 4740
Australia