Welcome

On behalf of the board it gives us great pleasure to share with you the Tim Fairfax Family Foundation Annual Report for 2017/18.

The year 2018 marks 10 years since the inception of the Foundation. It has been rewarding for us to reflect on those organisations whose work we have supported over the past 10 years and we thank all who were generous with their time and opened their doors and their hearts to help us celebrate this important milestone.

Over the past year the Foundation has continued to demonstrate our strong commitment to organisations working for the benefit of communities in rural, regional and remote Queensland and the Northern Territory through a marked increase in the number of larger commitments approved over a longer period of time. During this financial year the Trustees approved 10 new multi-year commitments ranging from three to five years totalling $5.76m

The Foundation continues to proactively pursue relationships with organisations with a view to initiating tailored support across our funding themes. Of the 10 new multi-year commitments this year, four of these totalling $4.361m were initiated by the Foundation. These included $1.379m over four years to Australian Schools Plus, $750,000 over five years to Seed Foundation Australia as well as a $2m commitment over five years to Pathways to Resilience Trust.

A review of resourcing has led to changes of roles with Rebecca Ninness moving into the role of Program Manager – Communications and Roz Black joining the team as Program Manager – Information Management. This resourcing will ensure we can continue to work closely with the organisations we support and assist them wherever we can.

It is vital to visit the work we support and this year Trustees and staff travelled to Jundah, Thursday Island, Hope Island, Charleville and Alice Springs to enjoy the privilege of observing four separate organisations during their work with these communities.

Thank you to the Foundation Trustees and staff for their support, vision and willingness to take risks to support novel ideas, explore new partnerships and embrace opportunities.

Gratitude is extended to Cambooya Pty Ltd and its staff who ensure that our financial returns enable us to distribute funds to the various organisations that we support.