Since 2018, Pinnacle Charitable Foundation has been the major Funding Partner of the R U OK? “Are They Triple OK?” campaign, which aims to increase levels of peer and social support for police and emergency services workers and volunteers nationwide. The campaign’s free resource materials, originally developed in response to a Beyond Blue nationwide “Answering the Call” study into the mental health and wellbeing of Australia’s police and emergency services workers, have become highly regarded and widely distributed. To date more than 200 downloadable assets have been produced and more than 100,000 copies of 8 bespoke Conversation Guides – developed for each state and territory – have been physically distributed across the services.

In FY23 funding for Are They Triple Okay? is continuing to create resources that promote social support both at work and home, including case studies that reach “beyond the uniform” to help break down stigma within emergency services, increase social support and encourage conversations. Additional focus will also be directed at wider external promotion to reach volunteers and friends and family of emergency service workers and frontline responders.

“Are They Triple OK?” Champions will be identified and nurtured through feedback from research and supported by a dedicated Champions Guide, with the learnings potentially applied to other campaign settings.

And R U OK? capacity building through connecting with local organisations, suicide prevention networks and established community infrastructure in regional and rural areas is being strengthened. This commitment to “whole of community” responses is critical as the rate of suicide in rural Australia is growing more rapidly than that of cities, particularly as rural residents face repeated stresses due to droughts, floods, and bushfires.

The Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal (FRRR) is the only national foundation specifically focused on ensuring social and economic strength in remote, rural and regional Australia. This is achieved by connecting good will with good purpose, and aligning government, philanthropic and local community purpose and investment.

In FY23, the significant partnership established between FRRR and the Foundation in November 2022 is continuing, focussed across three core programs helping to rebuild and strengthen regional communities:-

• Future Drought Fund (FDR) – supporting community organisations to develop locally generated initiatives that build strong social connectedness, strengthen social capital and support transformative activities to be more prepared for, and resilient, to the impacts of drought. Grants have been awarded to local grassroots community organisations in Narrabri and Goonumbla in NSW, Cornishtown in Victoria, Loxton in South Australia, and Wynyard in Tasmania.
• Disaster Resilient: Future Ready program (DR:FR) – aiming to support and strengthen the capacity and capability of remote, rural and regional communities to thrive and be resilient to the impacts of climate, natural disasters and other disruptions. Three Victorian communities have been selected after a roadshow and Expression of Interest process. They are: Whittlesea, Myrtleford and Korumburra, with their community programs to be developed during FY23.
• Strengthening Rural Communities (SRC) – providing small, localised grants to grassroot, community led initiatives that directly and clearly benefit local communities including recovery from national disasters such as Australia’s Black Summer bushfires. A new funding stream of “Prepare and Recover” has also been established, providing one easy point of entry to facilitate small grants for community groups. Across the SRC program, grants have been distributed to organisations in Kempsey NSW, Minlaton in SA, Nauiyu in NT, and more recently to Weemelah and Young in NSW.

All three programs align closely to the Foundation and Pinnacle’s interest in helping to drive sustainable social and environmental change, to secure and maintain the overall health and wellbeing of communities. This helps ensure that they can not only survive, but thrive in changing and challenging circumstances.

Domestic violence and sexual assault are by any measure the most common – and one of the most insidious – crimes committed in Australia. Enormous personal, social and productivity costs are associated in every instance. Frequently referred to in the media as the “shadow pandemic”, the pressures and stresses over the past years have greatly exacerbated the environments in which abuse can occur and remain hidden from view.

For more than five years the Foundation has partnered with the NSW based Full Stop Australia (FSA), which is dedicated to putting a stop to sexual, domestic and family violence through support, education and advocacy. Funding helps FSA maintain a critically important Advocacy Manager (Legal and Policy) position, which is responsible for the advocacy, law reform and policy work for Full Stop Australia nationwide. In particular, the position seeks to create a consistent, national platform for local and state based sexual, domestic and family violence law reform and policy, with the ultimate aim of ensuring that every survivor of sexual, domestic and family violence receives the same support and experience regardless of location. Finally, the position aims to ensure that this platform is grounded in the lived-experience of survivors.

To that end, in FY22 and FY23 additional funding is helping FSA to establish the first National Survivor Advocate Program for people with lived experience of sexual, domestic and family violence from all walks of life and cultural backgrounds. Their voices will guide the advocacy work of Full Stop Australia and help drive meaningful changes to policy, practice, and law reform in a safe and supported way.

Further support – as a result of voting by Pinnacle  employees for their preferred choice to receive a special FY23 donation – is helping FSA to build a new national online hub and information gateway for victim survivors as they rebuild their lives. As part of FSA’s “Healing Pathways” initiative, the hub will offer practical and valued support, resources, networks and opportunities – empowering survivors to rebuild connection, community, and financial freedom.

Numerous reports and studies – including the recent experiences of COVID-19 – indicate that prevention and early intervention strategies to address mental health concerns in young people are critically important in preventing these escalating and becoming crippling. Following Antipodes’ connection with ReachOut (RO) through acting as a fund manager for Future Generation Global Investment Company (FGG), the Foundation is proudly supporting ReachOut together with Antipodes for the sixth year.

ReachOut is Australia’s most accessed youth mental health service and is trusted by young people to help them, and their parents, manage in tough times. In order to better continue leading the way in developing modern, innovative mental health and wellbeing programs that deliver support in the most relevant way for young people to access, ReachOut has undertaken extensive research to segment their audience. This has led to the identification of four priority audiences to focus on, which is reflected in a realignment of the RO service offering and a brand refresh.

In FY23 support from the Foundation and Antipodes will assist RO as the organisation moves from leading with information, content and resources, to becoming an intuitive and digital service that connects people via online peer-support communities, one-to-one chat with trained peer workers, and data-led personalised experiences.

The RO purpose more closely aligns with the digital help seeking  preferences of young people, with a focus on “conversations and community.” Many young people have expressed their desire for safe, accessible, one on one forums to access free, confidential support at times that suit them – based on talking to those with lived experience. The launch in September 2022 of “peer chat” is a key part of servicing this need, and is a program co-designed with young people and built around rigorous training for peer workers, underpinned by comprehensive policies and procedures to ensure a safe environment for all.

batyr, meaning hero, is named after the famous talking elephant in Kazakhstan, and “exists to give a voice to the elephant in the room – mental health”. batyr believes that every young person in Australia should feel equipped and empowered to take charge of their mental health and wellbeing. By training a generation of young people with the tools, education and support systems to navigate challenging times, they can thrive and grow into independent, confident and happy adults.

Employees across Palisade have a strong belief in addressing issues around youth mental health – especially in regional locations – and in fostering education as a pathway to future wellbeing. batyr is therefore an ideal partner as the organisation draws on young facilitators with “lived experience” of mental health challenges to deliver peer to peer messages in schools and universities around resilience, hope and action within communities. Programs aim to engage, educate and empower participants.

The Foundation and Palisade are together supporting batyr for a sixth year to continue building networks and delivering batyr@school programs in the Central West region of NSW, including Orange, Parkes, Cowra and Bathurst. batyr’s presence, reach and impact across the region has been steadily increasing, with these experiences and learnings now being adapted to other communities in regional NSW struggling with the effects of drought, bushfires and Covid -19.

Funds in FY23 are also expanding the online advocacy project for community leaders piloted in FY22, which is being adapted into a digital online platform housing not only modular training for advocates but also offering further resources for schools, teachers, parents and other stakeholders. This will primarily support those on the “Being Herd” workshop waitlists and those who are not yet ready to share their stories but still want to be involved, to become skilled in engaging young people and their wider communities with mental health awareness and initiatives. These online resources will have a significant long term impact on batyr’s regional engagement strategy, which is likely to increasingly rely on advocacy roles to promote and drive batyr learnings and community interactions.

Based at Westmead in Sydney, CMRI is a world-leading independent research institute dedicated to discovering how to prevent or treat birth defects and diseases. As Australia’s first medical research facility dedicated to children, CMRI has been helping to save the lives of children for over 60 years. The award winning institute has built an international reputation for high impact research dedicated to tackling the leading causes of death in children: cancer, congenital disorders (birth defects), and genetic diseases.

Following input from employees across Plato and Resolution Capital, the Foundation will for a sixth year join with both fund managers to partner with CMRI in 2023. Combined donations will support the purchase of a Vanquish Neo High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) system. The aim is to assist the work of the Eye Genetics team to benefit the approximately one in 2,500 children who are diagnosed with vision loss – but whose treatment can’t progress due to a lack of tools to properly investigate the specific genetic deficit.

With the purchase of an HPLC, CMRI will be able to analyse eye metabolites (small molecules) to properly diagnose children with a specific genetic mutation that causes Vitamin A to be improperly metabolised. Those children can then be started on a path of targeted gene therapy to repair eye function.

In 2022 combined donations from the Foundation, Resolution Capital and Plato enabled CMRI to acquire an Amersham Typhoon IP scanner, an analytical instrument to study “telomeres” – the ends of human chromosomes directly involved in cellular ageing and cancer.

CMRI has the highest concentration of Telomere researchers in Australia, encompassing the Cancer Research Unit, Cell Biology Unit, Telomere Length Regulation Unit and Genome Integrity Unit. The Typhoon IP scanner allows for accurate and sensitive detection of human telomeres (and other DNA), further aiding CMRI’s research on the mechanisms of cancer progression and the development of potential cancer treatments.

Resolution Capital is partnering with several organisations addressing different aspects of disadvantage currently experienced by young people across Australia.

One of these is Yalari, which since 2005 has shown an unwavering commitment to provide quality educational opportunities for Indigenous children from remote, rural and regional areas of Australia. Scholarships commencing in Year 7 are currently offered at 20 partner boarding schools across Australia, with Yalari providing students with holistic support and guidance through to Year 12 and beyond.

For the past four years Resolution Capital and the Foundation have supported Yalari’s annual Orientation Camp in January, which is the starting point for all new Year 7 students embarking on their boarding school journey. The Camp paves the way for a smooth transition from primary education and living at home to a secondary education at a boarding school. Students are given the opportunity to learn about boarding school life in an environment where they feel safe, can be inquisitive and share the journey with others both their own age and older.

In addition, Resolution Capital is sponsoring a young Kamilaroi student from Moree on her boarding school journey at Sydney’s Kambala in Rose Bay. Starting in year 7 in 2021, Lilli is a proud participant in the Rosemary Bishop Scholarship Program. In 2023 Lilli will be commencing year 9 with Resolution Capital’s ongoing support.

Mirabel believes that every child deserves a childhood filled with love, hope and belonging. A highly respected children’s charity operating for more than 20 years, Mirabel has a mission to break the destructive cycle of drug addiction. This is achieved through the delivery of proven programs for children who have been orphaned or abandoned due to their parents’ illicit drug use, supported by crisis intervention and parenting assistance for the kinship carers who largely take on the responsibility of raising them.

With the support of the Foundation, Firetrail and other funders, Mirabel commenced a new Intensive Youth Support Program in the Hunter Valley region in NSW in 2021. This has subsequently been adapted during the Covid -19 pandemic to be delivered online when necessary, and continues to incorporate two key elements. These are preventative actions aimed at working one on one with families experiencing a crisis regarding a child’s behaviour, and group activities which bring children and young teens together in a regular format, to connect with each other based on shared experience. Support also includes ongoing weekly homework tutoring, which has been supported by the  Firetrail team.

In 2021 Resolution Capital also initiated a partnership with Mirabel with the intention of supporting the wonderful “Big Day Out” (BDO) events for children and families. These days – which give young people the opportunity to meet others who share a similar past and build connections while taking part in enjoyable school holiday activities just like their peers – were unable to be held during lockdown restrictions in 2021.

Fortunately 2022 has seen the Mirabel BDO’s return, with Resolution Capital supporting days at Taronga Zoo and Luna Park in Sydney. While the BDO events help to reduce the stigma experienced by each of these children, they are also important opportunities for Mirabel professionals to study and assess the children’s behaviour and identify potential further needs which can be followed up and delivered through Mirabel’s Intensive Youth Support program.  The BDO’s also offer a valuable day of respite for carers, who are treated to their own special activities, and a powerful volunteering experience for Resolution Capital and Firetrail employees.

The Foundation has supported the Australian Alzheimer’s Research Foundation (AARF) with Spheria Asset Management since 2019, and in FY22 Resolution Capital also formed a partnership with AARF. Together all three organisations are committed to supporting Alzheimer’s research, with AARF  undertaking research and clinical trials aimed at exploring advances in diagnosis and treatment, with the ultimate aim of finding a cure for this debilitating disease. With 1,800 Australians diagnosed with dementia every week, the disease remains the second leading cause of death in Australia.

The joint partnerships have provided significant support to Alzheimer’s research aimed at understanding cell biology and very early-stage changes at the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, especially around gene mutation.

In FY23 funding is now helping to drive research focused on developing a simple and non-invasive blood test to assess the levels of specific blood-based  Alzheimer’s disease related biomarkers, which has the potential to detect the presence of the disease well before symptoms appear. This could be a “game changer”, allowing therapies to be introduced early when they are most effective, with the ultimate goal to improve quality of life and delay placement in aged-care facilities.

Recent research results by AARF have provided promising validation of initial work – subsequently applied within in a broader cohort of patients – which have been accepted for publication. Funding will enable the development of specific assays (test kits) for the blood biomarker project. To date, the AARF research team has undertaken their initial work using commercially available assays. Given the success of their findings however, the team now needs to develop unique testing kits tuned to their own requirements, which can also generate considerable savings.

Since 2020, the Foundation has supported the Kindness Factory (KF) with its mission to make the world a kinder place, focusing on community, schools, and businesses. Kindness Factory draws on scientific research which demonstrates that kindness boosts the immune system, allowing us to live longer and live a more enriched life. Kindness is the opposite to stress – which creates tension in the nervous system, pushing our bodies into flight or fight mode. Kindness on the other hand, relaxes the nervous system, guiding it into rest. Stress is linked to mental illness; kindness is protective towards mental illness.

The Kindness Curriculum – created in 2020 – is built around 12 attributes of kindness and is designed as a free resource to help schools embrace this  mission around increased global kindness. It has now been expanded to incorporate a professional development workshop series for teachers via a Kind Schools Network (KSN).

Support in FY23 is being directed towards refreshing the Kindness Factory’s corporate website, plus developing new masterclass sessions and Kind Conversation content for the KSN platform, which has been piloted in 80 schools and reached an estimated 30,000 students and their teachers. Kind school members have access to exclusive content, KF ambassadors, kindness community activations and special experiences. The portal houses an annual fee for service offering – based on the 12 attributes of kindness (aligned with primary school age children), as well as masterclass videos for teachers and a resource library.

FY23 is the second year the Foundation is supporting YWCA Sydney’s frontline “Pathways to Independence” (PTI) program, providing emergency shelter for older women facing a crisis in homelessness. PTI has a specific focus on single, older women over 50 who are often facing homelessness – and the complex issues surrounding it – for the first time, and who are increasingly facing a system with a shocking lack of affordable housing.

According to the YWCA, only 10 per cent of homeless services specifically cater to women in the 50+ age group. Across Sydney, the PTI outreach, rehousing services, holistic case management and skills workshops offer older women support to build strategies and resilience and to feel safe and secure. The program contributes to positive life outcomes, and prevents older women from becoming entrenched in the vicious cycle of homelessness.

In FY23 the Foundation is continuing to provide additional support over and above meeting clients’ initial needs – such as crisis accommodation, bedding, white goods and groceries – and offer long term value-added help such as vocational training, work experience placements and financial education.

Together with Firetrail Investments, the Foundation formed a new partnership in FY22 with NASCA. Since 1995 NASCA has been embedding cultural knowledge into evidence-based programs that support young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to reach their full potential, supporting them to make positive, self-determined choices for their futures.

Support was specifically directed to a new NASCA initiative – the CareerFit Conference – which was held in Sydney in May 2022 and brought together 48 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders students enrolled in year 10-12 for four days. The aim was to help empower these young students to map their own careers and futures, and to explore and investigate options and opportunities open to them.

Engagement from Firetrail also included a 2 hour workshop – “Money, Monopoly and Magnificent Views!” – facilitated by the team in their office. Using fast paced games of Monopoly to introduce broad monetary concepts, students were guided through the basics of sound money habits to help prepare them for the challenges of earning and managing money after leaving school.

Following the success of the inaugural event, FY23 funding will support a second CareerFit Conference in May 2023, attended by a new cohort of students. This will build on the experience of the first year around helping to foster a positive sense of direction for NASCA students as they start to determine their future pathways, as well as building an ecosystem of corporate engagement and connectivity.

As a further way of supporting acutely disadvantaged young people, in FY22 the Foundation and Spheria established a new, Victorian based partnership with the Lighthouse Foundation. Lighthouse helps young, vulnerable people in Victoria who are homeless, and who typically come from backgrounds of long-term neglect and abuse. More than 1,000 kids have secured the assistance they require to achieve a lifelong sense of belonging, the opportunity to heal and the capacity to thrive.

Within a safe home and a community to belong to, these young people are nurtured by the Lighthouse Model of Care – a holistic therapeutic treatment program drawing on over 60 years of empirical research into human development.

Funding in FY23 is being directed towards refurbishing and redesigning Lighthouse’s Youth Resource Centre (YRC), to welcome back Lighthouse’s young people post lockdowns. The YRC is a central hub of operations that provides a drop-in and critically important connection centre for the formerly homeless young people who are still part of the Lighthouse community, even though they have graduated to independent living. It also offers a place of connection and support for the young people currently living with Lighthouse who come in for their regular psych sessions and community events.

Based in a converted warehouse adjacent to the East Richmond train station, the Centre will benefit greatly from the opportunity for physical renovation and rejuvenation. The goal is to enable the facility to host community events, creating a youth centric space able to meet growing demands as Lighthouse Foundation expands its offering. Upgrades and refurbishment include proposed changes to the entrance, reception space and laundry. New fittings and fixtures, painting and furniture are planned to help to ensure the Centre remains a welcoming and therapeutic space for young people to connect, relax, feel secure and to heal.

In June 2021, together with Riparian Capital Partners, the Foundation initiated a partnership with the Peter Cullen Water and Environment Trust and their Women in Water Leadership Program. The Trust bridges the gap between people, science, and the environment, and was founded on the philosophy that to improve Australia’s water and environmental management, we need to enhance the link between good science and effective policy making.

Through developing leaders in the water sector and raising the level of discourse – by facilitating, convening and enabling – the PCT empowers others to be effective communicators and advocates. The Women in Water Leadership Program is a bespoke program designed by women, for women, as recognition that women are under-represented at the leadership table, particularly across the STEM, policy and governance fields. Participants in the program are already established leaders from diverse backgrounds and careers, and this transformative leadership program empowers them to build positive influence and impact in their leadership journey.

The Foundation and Riparian Capital Partners supported the November 2021 cohort of women graduates, who successfully navigated the program through COVID-19 lockdowns and combined face to face and online delivery, and are now supporting the 2022 cohort. This group of 14 leaders met for the face to face component of the program in the ACT in September 2022, before embarking on an 8-week period to address a significant strategic public policy issue. This aims to challenge them intellectually and consolidate their leadership lessons through working effectively as a team, prior to coming together again in November.

During this final week together, PCT offers further leadership capability training tailored to the needs of the cohort, which is drawn from across Australia and from the private, public and government sectors. The group will present their project report at their Graduation Ceremony, on Thursday 17 November.

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Photography below by PCT Fellow Tanya Doody.