MenuFuture2, the philanthropic arm of the Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA), has awarded $133,000 in grants this year to community not-for-profit organisations with programs for socially and financially disadvantaged young Australians.
Grants have been awarded to 14 charity organisations across Australia in regional and metro areas, each endorsed by a local FPA member.
Future2 Chair Matthew Brown CFP® said the grants come as a result of FPA members’ continued efforts to raise funds for grassroots programs that transform the lives of young people who have had a tough start in life.
“I applaud the generosity of those FPA members who commit their time and energy to help make a meaningful difference to their communities. So many of the grant applications received showcase the ways that our members are actively involved in these worthy not-for-profits, through volunteer work and the provision of pro bono services,” said Mr Brown.
The Future2 Make the Difference! grants help fund projects that give hope for a better future to 12-25 year olds who may be financially disadvantaged, homeless, juvenile justice offenders, drug or alcohol dependent, disabled, or disadvantaged in some other respect.
Funded projects have been in the areas of financial literacy, skills training, work experience, community service and mentoring. The Future2 Foundation celebrates its 10th year in 2017 and during this time has committed $823,000 in support to disadvantaged young Australians.
Next year’s grant applications open in in mid-2018, with information available at www.future2foundation.com.au.
2017 Future2 Make the Difference! Grant Recipients
Byron Youth Services ($-Smart Youth), Byron Bay, NSW
Endorsed by: Shane Hayes CFP®
Byron Youth Service is a not-for-profit charity with the mission to create, support and lead community action for young people. In 2016, Byron Youth Services conducted face-to-face interviews with high school students to find out what they would like to learn, if they could learn anything they wanted. Responses repeatedly included ‘how to do taxes’, ‘how to budget’ and other financial literacy subjects missing from school curriculums. This sparked the proposal for $-Smart Youth, a financial literacy course to provide workbooks, receipt holders and calculators to encourage students to maintain their learning well beyond the time of the course.
The Run Beyond Project, Sydney, NSW
Endorsed by David Hazlewood CFP
The Run Beyond Project is a free program where volunteer teachers provide long-distance running (10km or half-marathon) training to high school students who are refugees. Students participate in both physical training, as well as theoretical sessions which focus on how they can apply the skills developed to achieve their running goals in broader contexts throughout their lives. The project provides a gateway for students into the running community. Student achievements are celebrated within their school, rewarding participants and providing positive examples for the broader student body.
BestLife, Brisbane, QLD
Endorsed by: David Larman CFP®
BestLife is an early intervention response for families and individuals to provide support for young people with intellectual and/or physical disability who are socially isolated, to enable them to become young adults living in the community with people they like, doing things that matter. A completely unique approach to helping people living with disability, the BestLife vision is to ensure young people (regardless of ability) and their families have the opportunity to enjoy a better and brighter future.
Balkanu Cape York Development Corporation, Cape York, QLD
Endorsed by: Ian Byrne CFP®
Balkanu Cape York Development Corporation assists Indigenous individuals and communities to achieve self-determination through their programs. The Youth Empowerment Employment Program targets young Indigenous Australians, particularly those with disadvantaged backgrounds, by giving them encouragement and inspiration to lead productive, secure and happy lives for themselves and their families. The program concentrates on dysfunctional teenagers, who due to issues outside of their control, need much support and motivation in fighting social problems like addictions, abuse, violence, bullying, social-exclusion and depression.
Special Olympics Australia, Mackay, QLD
Endorsed by: Beverley Ferris CFP®
Special Olympics Australia has launched a program for youths aged 18-25 to encourage athletes of all abilities to participate in sport. All athletes in the Special Olympics have an intellectual disability and the competitions are structured so athletes compete with other athletes of similar abilities in equitable divisions. Special Olympics transforms lives through sport and whether it is to win medals, form a social network or achieve their personal best. The funding will go towards travelling jackets for the team which is for safety and security for the athletes and a reassurance for the volunteers and coaches.
EBL Disability Services, Adelaide, SA
Endorsed by: Tracey Edwards CFP®
EBL Disability Services seeks to help those with intellectual disabilities to live meaningful lives. The My Voice Matter project is to assist young people coming through both the respite program and those residing in the supported accommodation service. The funding will be used for the purchase and roll out of the Augmented and Alternative Communication (AAC) that will allow EBL to further develop, educate and improve the quality of life for these people living with disabilities. The act of giving a non-verbal individual a piece of equipment that allows them to clearly articulate when they are bored, hungry, upset, or happy – the quality of life for these people dramatically improves.
Junction Australia, Adelaide, SA
Endorsed by Natalie Bordun CFP®
Junction Australia offers a service called The Outer Southern Youth Homelessness Service (OSYHS). This service aims to assist young people in their transition to independent living through support and increasing access to other housing options. As part of this service, Junction Australia would like to offer young people who are in this program access to free driving lessons (if they do not already have a drivers licence) as part of the support to independent living.
Beacon Foundation, Hobart, TAS
Endorsed by: Todd Kennedy CFP®
Beacon Foundation supports disadvantaged young people to successfully transition from education to meaningful employment. The Work Readiness for Young Tasmanians program aims to provide young people with meaningful post-school pathways and connect them with potential employers. The program also provides them knowledge, skills and networks they need to successfully transition from school to work. The funding will be used to give selected students the opportunity to undertake subjects related to careers in the financial sector. Business mentors from the finance sector will be engaged in the program to assist and work with participants on relevant work readiness skills and give awareness of pathways into the sector.
Teen Challenge, Launceston, TAS
Endorsed by: Wayne Fenton AFP®
The Connections Mentoring Program, run by Teen Challenge, is a prevention and early intervention program that matches volunteer adult mentors with at-risk young people. The program aims to assist young people and their families who may be struggling with their physical or mental health, socially or educationally. Mentors act as positive role models and provide support during time spent together doing activities of interest to the young person. The program is run in partnership with schools in low socioeconomic communities. The school teachers refer students into the program with their parents’ permission. The benefits to young people include:
- An increase in emotional resilience and a better ability to adapt to stressful situations.
- Higher levels of attendance and engagement with learning.
- Improved social and educational outcomes.
Conscious Creative, Melbourne, VIC
Endorsed by: Julian Place CFP®
Conscious Creative has established HoMie, Australia’s first ever retail training and employment program for young homeless Melburnians aged 18-25. HoMie clothes, trains and employs people who are experiencing homelessness. Clothes are distributed to the homeless community during monthly VIP Shopping Days at HoMie, where those affected by homelessness are invited to shop for free. One of the lasting legacies of VIP Shopping Days is the connectedness and confidence it fosters through the bridging of different communities.
Kids off the Kerb, Melbourne, VIC
Endorsed by: Troy Rosenlis AFP®
Kids off the Kerb is a not-for-profit organisation that assists disadvantaged and at-risk young people to help them reach their potential. Kids off the Kerb offers projects using environmental and recycling platforms to create sustainable education, training and employment opportunities for young people. These projects provide young people with work experience and training opportunities, as well a pathway into paid work. Kids off the Kerb is seeking to launch a new project, Flipin-it, that will expand its recycling program by selling refurbished and recycled goods online and at an onsite shop run by young people. This project will open up access to more skills and jobs such as digital marketing, business operations and product photography.
Lamp Inc, West Busselton, WA
Endorsed by: Peter Farrar CFP®
Lamp provides mental health community support to assist in the social well-being, dignity and personal independence of adults and young people experiencing mental illness. The Room 226 Youth Support Program run by Lamp is designed to support young people and their families and carers who may be experiencing depression, anxiety, self-harm, social isolation, family conflict and suicidal ideation. The proposed project “Backyard Blokes” has been designed to further expand opportunities to work with young men at risk of self-harm and social isolation through peer connection, building of individual resilience and personal coping skills to reduce and address suicide in rural youth. The program seeks to deliver one-on-one assistance, regular peer group meetings and information sessions to increase emotional literacy, communication and self-expression, in order to reduce the effects of bullying ond young men.
Short Term Accommodation for Youth (STAY), Geraldton, WA
Endorsed by: Lisa Farnell CFP®
STAY is a supported youth accommodation service for vulnerable young people. The STAY Driving Program is aimed at supporting young people at risk to achieve their drivers licence. Most of the young people targeted are already driving without a licence and pose a risk to themselves and the community. Through the program, they are supported to achieve up to 12 lessons with a professional driving instructor, as well as supported driving hours provided by qualified STAY youth workers.
Riding for the Disabled of the ACT Inc (Pegasus), Canberra, ACT
Endorsed by: Lisa Weissel CFP®
Riding for the Disabled of the ACT (Pegasus) exists to provide horse facilitated programs aimed at developing abilities for people with a disability. For people with disabilities who suffer from low self-esteem, poor self-confidence and issues with interpersonal skills, Equine Facilitated Learning (EFL) has shown to be effective in developing these skills and attributes. EFL is a rapidly developing therapy which, through a series of specially designed activities, develops participants’ problem solving skills, improves self-confidence and interpersonal skills.
