We have some great news, as we reposition what we do in the time of COVID-19.
When the pandemic arrived and ours and the global economy shuddered to a crawl, we quickly realised that our annual flagship event, the Big Super Day Out, was not going to run this year. We were saddened by this, but we also knew that the health and safety of the remote communities we visit must be paramount.
What is also clear is that the work we do at First Nations Foundation is even more important given Australia’s first recession in nearly 30 years and the financial uncertainty many of our clients face as the economy shifts and contracts beneath our feet.
Next month, we are launching a new online learning resource for Indigenous Australians, and our July newsletter will explain all. What I can tell you is that it will continue in the superannuation space, and that we are incredibly grateful for the support already received from the industry in helping us establish this tool.
This will be the first of two exciting launches for FNF in the coming months, with another planned for shortly after the July event. Our second launch will delve deeper into Indigenous-specific challenges around wealth and financial literacy, with even more relevant solutions.
These are two new initiatives born from the need to pivot during the pandemic, and we are incredibly excited about how far they have both come.
In further exciting news, we are planning our next Big Super Day Out events and we will take our award-winning roadshow to Western Sydney, Perth and regional WA in early 2021. We will build on the $24 million of superannuation already reunited with Indigenous Australians and we will begin working with our event partners from October. If you or your organisation would like to participate, please drop us a line here.
We can also report that we have been generously supported by targeted grants in the past month, so I would encourage any charity that is searching for ways to keep delivering their vital services through this time to be focused on how you can deliver unique initiatives and be able to communicate what those solutions will look lie, and achieve. As traditional fundraising methods recede in these socially distancing times, other avenues open up.
It may be that Australia avoided the worst of what the pandemic was capable of, but we are also realistic about the future. We know that the economy is in difficulty, and we know that there is a high probability that Indigenous Australians will be disproportionately affected by job losses and exposure to the problems of a sluggish economy. There is a high likelihood that there will be an increasing need for the services we provide.
We will continue to build our services and support networks to meet that need.
