Our Services.

Project Planning & Management

Effective project planning is essential in establishing a strong, feasible and outcome focussed plan that will meet the goals and objectives of our client.  The project plan is invaluable in accessing the resources (financial, recruitment, time, partnerships) that are needed to meet project outcomes.  2 Rivers will prepare a Project Plan in consultation with our client, and will identify the strategies, time and resources required so there are no surprises or misunderstandings during the implementation of the Project.  This gives our client full control at an early stage so modifications can be made to ensure the Project is manageable. 

Once the Project Plan is in place and resources are available to action the plan, 2 Rivers has excellent skills in managing the Plan to ensure the strategies are implemented within the resources available to meet the desired outcomes.  Effective management is essential for a project to be timely and cost efficient, fully delivered and accountable.

Submission / Grant writing

The prospect of applying for government or private funding can be daunting for many, and the prospect of spending many hours completing a complex document only to be unsuccessful in the application puts many potential plans on hold. The 2 Rivers team have over 20 years of combined experience writing grants and submissions for government and private organisations. Grant writing is a specialist skill, and competition is always strong. 

Our business originally started as a grant and submission writing business, servicing primarily arts and culture organisations as well as Aboriginal Land Councils. We have successfully secured millions of dollars in funding for our clients ranging from $3,000 grants to $250,000 grants.

 We have strong relationships with Create NSW, Department of Communication & the Arts, Museums and Galleries NSW and the Australia Council. Lorrayne has sat on more than 15 funding panels in the last 3 years assessing a variety of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal funding rounds. This provides invaluable insight into knowing and understanding what a funding panel is looking for and how to write grants that address the needs of the community while satisfying funding guidelines.

2 Rivers offer competitive rates for grant and submission writing to assist individuals and community groups access this support. 2 Rivers provides a holistic service that will include the length of service, budgeting, risk management, evaluation strategies, collation of support material, and other aspects as required.

Business Planning

Whether it be for a new business or a well-established one, planning and preparing for short, medium and long-term development is personally and economically sound business practice.  Having a clear direction for the business allows management and staff to know their targets and how they will be achieved, and how they will be monitored to identify and correct any problems in achieving the targets.  A Business Plan is highly desirable, and usually essential, when seeking extra resources, whether they be partnerships or financial services.

2 Rivers will work closely with the business owner/manager to design an effective, flexible Business Plan. On completion, 2 Rivers will familiarise owners, managers and staff (where appropriate), with the document so it becomes an integral guide in the business’ operations.

Community consultation, development and implementation

Community groups, businesses or individuals can contract 2 Rivers to undertake full project management, or part of a project, depending on the needs required.  2 Rivers are highly trained and experienced in consulting with communities from a wide variety of cultural, economic and geographical backgrounds.  The team have a diverse background experience working in the arts, housing, health, educational, economic and social development areas.  From this they have developed insight into many aspects of community life, and the impediments to achieving development in this area. 

With excellent communication and planning skills, 2 Rivers work closely with whole communities or community groups to establish what the needs and wants of the people are, and how these needs can be met safely and within the guidelines of the Project Plan.  The 2 Rivers team have great respect for communities and hold a strong ethic when working in community development to ensure any strategies planned and implemented for the good of the community, with the support of the community.

Event management

2 Rivers can manage entire events, small or large, as required for community or business purposes.  The 2 Rivers team have extensive experience managing events in areas of the Culture & , Agriculture, Human Services, and Business events.  Allowing 2 Rivers to manage your event will alleviate the hours you need to spend on planning and implementing all areas of the event, which may include organising the site, food, performers, trainers, transport, accommodation, security, rubbish removal, media coverage, council approvals, insurance, invoicing and payments, evaluation and accruals, and of course, contingencies! 2 Rivers can assist by taking full responsibility for all of these and other actions, or you may only want assistance with some of the jobs.

Administration & Financial management

2 Rivers can provide high quality and accountable administrative and financial services as a one off or ongoing contract for individuals, businesses or community organisations.  Areas 2 Rivers can be used include, but are not limited to: Establishing and managing payroll, invoicing and payment systems; completing acquittals and evaluation reports of programs or projects (whether or not undertaken by 2 Rivers); preparing budget proposals; preparing a wide range of documentation that requires a professional and effective presentation.

Capacity Building and Governance Support

Good governance has always been essential to have a successful organisation, and the increasing complexity and accountability on organisational structures and legal requirements reinforces the need to have tools that support good governance. The 2 Rivers team have worked with private and public organisations to establish these tools to support effective, sustainable and accountable governance methods.

Working closely with the owners, managers, and staff, 2 Rivers can help develop a range of tools and strategies that support governance.  These may range from the development of a Vision Statement, which is only valuable if those it relates to believe in it, to establishing communication lines between the first tier of management through to each employee. 

2 Rivers will work closely with our client to help identify and provide the necessary tools and support.  Other examples may include development of Occupational Workplace Health and Safety manuals, Strategic Plans, Policies and Procedures.  2 Rivers can also facilitate training (formal or informal) with management and staff to help implement the tools within the organisation, enabling existing management to continue ongoing governance with greater ease.

Writing and implementing sustainable economic development strategies has been a foundation role of 2 Rivers since our inception. The Economic Development Strategies we deliver provide a simple but effective strategic framework that details how the organisation can best achieve economic stability and sustainability, foster greater investment and expand.

To achieve this we again look at the vision of the organisation, its goals, objectives and strategies then align them to opportunities such as partnerships, grants, philanthropic, crowd funding, sales strategies and market capitalism. We also undertake market research including reviewing past activities to work out what has worked, and more importantly what hasn’t and why. We think about innovation and fresh new approaches that formed the basis of our strategy.   

We have found the most successful economic development strategies we have delivered are holistic and look at the broader advantages of the organisation, rather then simply core business. We factor in health, education, tourism, arts and culture and advanced logistics.

For a particular client we developed a strategy that allowed them to raise their income stream by $150,000 per year with a simple but effective approach, this included diversifying their funding streams, developing new corporate partnerships and using technology to their advantage.

Workshop Facilitation

Many of the services undertaken by 2 Rivers will require facilitation of workshops, and staff are skilled in providing a planned, time managed, outcome focussed experience that engages participants. 

2 Rivers can be contracted to facilitate workshops as part of a larger project, or can do such as external facilitators. Whether it be to utilise the skills of an experienced facilitating team, or whether it is preferable to have facilitators that are not closely affiliated with the audience or subject, 2 Rivers will consult our client before and after the workshop to ensure all needs are met.

Samples of the workshops we deliver include

• Business workshops

• Project Planning and Grant Writing

• Goal Setting 

• Volunteer Management

• Cultural Tourism

• Time Management

• Communications 

• Social media 

• Sponsorship and Partnerships

• Delivering awesome festivals

• WHS 

• Governance 

• Business planning

• Succession planning