PREPARING PATHWAYS

Since the Foundation’s first ‘community service’ grants were made in 1964, 3500 Community Wellbeing grants have been awarded to a range of organisations working to alleviate disadvantage and promote general wellbeing within the community. Over the decades, the Foundation has focused on the needs of refugees and asylum seekers, families experiencing domestic violence, at-risk youth and people exiting the justice system, people with disabilities, and people experiencing homelessness, long-term unemployment or mental health issues.

To achieve the most impact from its grantmaking, the Foundation has at times elected to focus on specific issues, such as homelessness, training and employment opportunities, or food security. The common aim is to fund projects that will continue to have an impact well beyond the period of a grant.

Evaluation of past grants has shown that the greatest impact is often achieved by supporting not-for-profit organisations to build their capacity and expand their reach. Therefore, the Foundation often builds partnerships with organisations over a period of time, investing in their initiatives at crucial stages to improve their chances of long-term sustainability.

The past decade has offered clear examples of this grantmaking approach, particularly in the Foundation’s support for programs that prepare pathways to employment for vulnerable members of the community. In many cases, the Foundation has developed partnerships with leading organisations to provide funding to help launch pilot employment programs and then investing in building their capacity on the back of successful models.

One such example is Vanguard Laundry Services (Vanguard) in Toowoomba, Queensland, which the Foundation awarded an initial $70,000 grant in 2016 and then a further $100,000 in 2018. Both grants assisted the organisation to develop a social enterprise providing supported employment for people with lived experience of mental health issues.Vanguard works with individuals on employment skills and other soft skills, while liaising with the mental health (and other) service providers which also support the employees. Established with substantial funding from philanthropy, government and impact investors,Vanguard has gone on to achieve exceptional outcomes and rapid growth.

Vanguard Laundry Services offers supported pathways from unemployment to sustained and successful employment, resulting in employees improving their livelihoods and their overall economic inclusion, and in turn creating a positive attitudinal shift in the broader community towards people living with mental health issues.

Image: Vanguard Laundry Services.

The Foundation has also supported several new training and employment initiatives in the disability sector. In 2017, Curtin University in Perth, Western Australia, was awarded $150,000 for a project designed to create pre-employment pathways into the information and communication technology industry for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Based on the success of this program, in 2021 a further three-year grant of $154,000 was awarded to Curtin University and its collaborators (Autism West, Therapy Focus and AASQA) to develop a pathway to employment for neurodiverse individuals. This project builds on innovative programs that leverage the unique abilities of neurodiverse individuals to develop highly sought-after skills in the software testing/information and communication technology sector.

Jobsupport is another organisation leading the way in providing employment pathways for people with intellectual disabilities. In 2017, the Foundation awarded $350,000 over two years towards expanding this successful program from Melbourne to Brisbane, building on a 2013 grant that supported evidence-based job placement and training for effective employment outcomes in Melbourne.

Similarly, Civic Disability Services Limited offers adults with a disability workplace and employment opportunities as part of a supported team environment. Crews of two or four supported employees plus a support worker work in open employment environments like landscaping or administration. In 2019, the Foundation awarded $320,000 over three years to the Civic Crews program, which fosters social inclusion for people with disabilities and educates employers about the value of diversity in the workplace.

Access to employment opportunities is a key factor in developing confidence, financial independence and opportunities for social inclusion for people with disabilities, yet many are excluded from this opportunity –particularly in rural areas.

A landscaping Civic Crew.

Image: Civic Disability Services.

The Christie Centre Inc addresses this gap through a range of employment initiatives in regional Victoria. In 2017, the Foundation awarded the Christie Centre a $120,000 grant for GrowAbility, a program that provides opportunities for people with disabilities to pursue a Certificate II in Horticulture. Through a hands-on learning environment, this project equips participants with the skills and knowledge for a horticulture career. The plants propagated by participants provide an ongoing revenue stream, thus ensuring sustainability of this social enterprise beyond the life of the Foundation’s grant.

Also in the horticulture sector, the Foundation has supported the Bushlink Schools Inclusion Program, operated by Northside Enterprise Inc. Two grants of $200,000 in 2016 and $100,000 in 2018 allowed Bushlink to offer an employment model in which young people with intellectual disabilities working in commercial enterprises are supported in their daily work activities with skills acquisition and work experience. Through the Bushlink Schools Inclusion Program, these young people benefit from valuable work experience and an opportunity to access and sustain meaningful employment, while schools can better develop a culture of inclusion.

Growability participants getting hands on experience in the horticulture industry.

Image: Vision House Photography.

Since 2011, the Foundation has also supported The Social Studio, a social enterprise providing skillsbased education to migrants and addressing the long-term problems that can lead to homelessness and disadvantage. In Collingwood, Melbourne, participants learn the basics of design, sewing, patternmaking and fitting. They use excess fabrics gathered from local industry and turn them into fashion-forward, ethically made clothes, developing employable skills, nurturing their creativity and building social connections along the way.

The Foundation’s first grant to The Social Studio ($50,000) supported a program to teach financial management and business skills. This was followed by an additional grant ($180,000) in 2013 to accelerate and implement the education component of The Social Studio’s business plan. A further $180,000 grant in 2018 went towards a youth development program to formalise and increase the support The Social Studio provides to young people engaged in education programs.

Another program supporting vulnerable youth to develop skills and become job-ready is Youthworx Productions Connect, which received a grant of $160,000 over three years in 2019.Youthworx supports young people to acquire and develop video production skills to maximise the chance of finding employment.Youthworx also operates as a social enterprise. By offering video production services, it seeks to tap into the growing social procurement market and provide a ‘controlled’ work environment for youth to experience before transitioning to opportunities in the open employment market.

The Foundation’s Community Wellbeing program is currently committed to supporting programs that establish pathways to training, skills acquisition and employment opportunities for vulnerable groups in our society.

Organisations that develop these types of initiatives recognise that meaningful roles within the community, such as employment, significantly contribute to addressing issues of social isolation and marginalisation, both of which have wide-ranging effects on personal – and community – wellbeing.

The Social Studio students explored modest fashion designs and performed as part of Takeover for ACCA's 'Who's Afraid of Public Space?' program on the steps of Parliament of Victoria in March, 2022. Outer Urban Projects and Youthworx also participated in this joyous reclamation of public space. Image: Keelan O'Hehir/ACCA.

Chapter opening image: Jobsupport client Emma conducting her routine office tasks. Image: JobSupport.