Where Do Our Funds Come From?
NNIC is funded as a Neighbourhood Centre (info and referrals/community development) under the Community Strengthening stream of the Targeted Earlier Intervention (TEI) funding, Community Builders program, by DCJ - NSW Department of Communities and Justice
The Services Australia/Centrelink Agency is funded by the Commonwealth Department of Human Services.
The Nimbin Brighter Futures Outlet Agency is funded by DCJ via the CONC (Consortium of Neighbourhood Centres Far North Coast) Brighter Futures Program, Far North Coast.
7 Sibley Street is a social enterprise project and is self-funded.
Our Material Aid projects including food relief, our weekly Soup Kitchen and Food Pantry are supported by donations from the community as well as from Nimbin Aquarius Bakery, Nimbin Emporium, Nimbin Newsagency and Nimbin Organics. Thanks everyone! Your donations are greatly appreciated.
Other funds are sourced by fundraising, donations, and income from our photocopy and computer services.
DONATIONS OF $2.00 OR MORE ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE and are gratefully recieved. To make a tax deductible donation contact us or else just send it in and we will provide a receipt.
BEQUESTS in Wills and Testaments
To make a bequest to NNIC in your Will, we recommend you seek legal advice to ensure your intentions are accurately represented.
The suggested wording for a Will is:
“I give the residue… OR
“I give [insert percentage]% of the residue… OR
"I give [insert specific amount or asset]…
…of my estate free from all debts (secured and unsecured) and all duties and taxes (whether federal or state) payable in respect of my estate to the Nimbin Neighbourhood and Information Centre Incorporated (ABN 18 607 837 325) (“NNIC”) for its general purposes, and I declare that the receipt of an authorised officer of the said NNIC shall be a full and sufficient discharge of this bequest.”
The Structure of NNIC
Organisation Details
Nimbin Neighbourhood and Information Centre(NNIC) is a non-profit community-based organisation, incorporated under the NSW Incorporated Associations Act and registered with the ACNC.
We are registered as a Public Benevolent Institution and a Charity with Income Tax Exempt and Deductible Gift Recipient status.(Donations over $2 are tax deductible).
We are managed by a volunteer community based management committee that is elected by NNIC members each year at the Annual General Meeting. The committee meets every month and communicates via email on a regular basis. Any interested community member can apply to become a member of the committee. Click here to see our FAQs info sheet for people considering joining our Managament Committee.
if you are a younger person (ie under 35 years) and have little or no experience in management committees, WE STILL WANT YOU!! We are willing to mentor and support you in a management committee role.
To apply please complete the EOI form via this link.
Underpinning all of our work is a strengths-based approach and the belief that community pride and cohesion is the key to a functioning community and reducing crime, disadvantage, isolation and unemployment (and demand upon our services). We have seen that people working together and sharing resources can lead to significant activity including economic benefits.
WORKING COLLABORATIVELY
NNIC works in partnership with many other organisations in relation to various services and projects. Some of our most significant relationships are shown on this chart.
Currently our most most significant partnerships are with the Buttery (Nimbin AOD Hub) and the CONC (Consortium of Neighbourhood Centres Far North Coast) (multiple programs and projects).
What is the CONC?
The History of NNIC
The history of the Nimbin Neighbourhood & Information Centre reflects the history of Nimbin. We, along with our community, have evolved through many incarnations and innovations, to become the organisation we are today.
The 1970s
In the beginning was the Aquarius Festival in 1973, which was a national event organised by the Australian Union of Students. This brought a surge of young and energetic folks into the community, many of whom stayed on to populate Nimbin and eventually the Northern Rivers region. Five years later the “Rainbow Information Centre”(RIC) was established by Peter Pedals (Van der Wyk), to meet the needs of the emerging community of Nimbin. The RIC ran from the front office of the then “Media Centre” (now the Nimbin Environment Centre), and it was the RIC which eventually evolved to become the Nimbin Neighbourhood Centre. The media centre was oriiginally the local RSL office and was aquired by the ASU for the Aquarius festival.
The building now houses the Nimbin Apothecary, Nimbin Environment Centre and meeting and healing spaces.
Back in those days the organisation was a self-funded voluntary association which provided very basic and vital services to a new & emerging population.
The Community Noticeboard was used by community members to pass on info and messages to each other. Very few people had phones and so the “Red Phone” (payphone) next to a comfortable chair was used by many when they came to town to ring family & make business calls.
The “Rural Resettlement Task Force” (RRTF) moved into the Centre and began to lobby the State Government to legislate to allow Local Governments to accept “Multiple Occupancy” Communities, and alternative building techniques such as pole frame constructions.
How To Join NNIC
BECOME A MEMBER OF NNIC!
By joining NNIC you are supporting us to provide our services and activities. It is essential to us that we are as representative as possible of our community. Whilst our services aim to assist those in our community experiencing disadvantage, our community development activities are aimed at building the capacity of the community as a whole.
By joining NNIC as a member you are showing that you support us and what we are doing. This in turn assists us to attract funding.
Membership also gives you the following benefits:
- The right to attend and vote at our AGM;
- The right to have your say in who runs NNIC, as well as attending our Strategic Planning sessions to help us determine our direction and priorities;
- A warm and fuzzy feeling!
- Cuddles from Izzi.
So join NNIC now! Membership is a mere $5.50 per year.
To join you need to fill out a membership application form and send it/bring it in to NNIC together with your annual payment of $5.50.
All memberships lapse at 30 June every year. Members are be required to renew their membership by paying the annual fee of $5.50 to NNIC, and updating their contact details.
( Okay...you dont really need to be a member to get cuddles from Izzi.)
Click here to download the NNIC membership form.
What We Do
NNIC is in the heart of the Nimbin Community. We are a community based organisation which provides a wide range of services to disadvantaged people (and others) in the Nimbin community.
NNIC is run by locals for the local community.
We are a one-stop-shop for all your welfare service needs, and we run on a drop-in basis. Which means anyone can drop in and see us during our opening hours, and usually you can get an appointment to see our community workers on the same day.
Statement of Commitment to First Nations People
You can find our 2024-2025 Annual Report here.
Financial reports to 30 June 2025 here.
Summary of Activities in 2023-2024
And a Summary of some of our 23-24 Outcomes:
NNIC is funded by NSW Department of Communties and Justice under the Targeted Earlier Intervention (TEI) program to provide a community hub and community strengthening services and activities.
NNIC is only partly government funded and relies on donations from the community. ALL DONATIONS OVER $2.00 ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE and are gratefully received. To make a tax deductible donation contact us or else just send it in and we will provide a receipt.
Our Services include:
- Qualified Community Workers offering generalist support services including information, referrals, support, crisis support, advocacy, food and electricity vouchers.
- Generalist Drop In Centre - tea, coffee, meals, support.
- Public Access to Computers, Internet, Photocopying, Laminating, Faxing, with full support
- Services Australia/Centrelink Agency
- Weekly Food Pantry (Wednesdays) and Soup Kitchen (Fridays)
- Visiting Outreach Services including government and community based organisations, including the Probation and Parole service.
- Volunteering opportunities and work experience placements, including Centrelink mutual obligations, school work experience placements, State Debt Recovery Work Development Order placements (see CWs for an appointment if you have unpaid fines to find out if you may be eligible to work them off), probation and Parole/Juvenile Jutsice work placements (Community Service Orders).
- Newspapers and resources
- We are an Outlet Agency for the CONC (Consortium of Neighbourhood Centres Far North Coast) Brighter Futures Far North Coast- an intensive family preservation program for families with particular issues
- Various Sustainability Projects and other community development initiatives including 7 Sibley St - Nimbin's Sustainable Living Hub.
Clients who seek our services are mostly Nimbin residents; however we also assist transient and homeless people.
The service provides information and referrals to put you in touch with other services that can help.
NNIC provides at least 25,000 occasions of service to at least 3,000 (and up to 6000) clients and customers every year.
Please click on the above Services tabs for more information.
Communty Development
NNIC also undertakes community development activities which aim to strengthen the community as a whole. Since 2008 years the focus of this work has been the development of Nimbin as a sustainable community, particularly in relation to food security, energy efficiency and viable transport, in the face of peak oil and climate change challenges. Go to the Sustainability tabs above for more information.
What actually is Community Development?