Food Next Door Co-op

Annual Report
2023

Contents

The Founder
Welcome and overview
Granting strategy
Case Studies
The Founder
Welcome and Overview
Granting Strategy
Partnering for greater impact
Long-term partnerships
Building Organisational Capacity
Scaling up proven models
Resilience in regional Victoria
Addressing the challenge of mental health
Supporting local communities
Concise Financial Report 2021-22
Grants Paid
Team
Concise Financial Report 2022-23
Grants paid
The William Buckland Foundation team
The Trustees and William Buckland Foundation team acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the lands we live and work on across Victoria. William Buckland was born on the lands of the Taungurung People, the Traditional Custodians of Mansfield and we pay respect to Elders past and present.

The William Buckland Foundation aims to improve the lives of disadvantaged Victorians through grants that support better housing, health, education and employment outcomes. We also fund initiatives that build resilience in rural and regional communities.

Total grants paid
$6,105,701
Since its establishment in 1965, the Foundation has
distributed in excess of $141m for Victorians.

“to benefit a
wonderful country
and a wonderful
people, Australia and
Australians.”

The Founder

Since its establishment in 1965, the Foundation has distributed in excess of $141m for Victorians.

The Foundation which bears his name commemorates William Buckland, a highly successful businessman and pastoralist in the middle years of the 20th century.

On his death in 1964, William Buckland left the bulk of his large estate, £925,000, to establish a Foundation. The income was to be used “to benefit a wonderful country and a wonderful people, Australia and Australians”. A copy of his biography, William Lionel Buckland by David T. Merrett is available from Equity Trustees or public libraries.

Welcome and overview

Jane Gilmour
Chair

2023 has been another extremely productive year for the William Buckland Foundation. Our open grant round attracted a large number of applications, revealing the ongoing need across so many areas of our society for access to equitable opportunities in education, health, employment and housing. Higher costs of living are placing added pressure on people, particularly those already living in disadvantage. Through our grants we seek to be part of the solution, supporting some of the inspirational organisations that are working to benefit people across Victoria. People with disability and those with mental health issues continue to be a priority.

We were pleased to increase our allocation to our advancing agriculture program this year. A sustainable future will depend on the most effective use of our natural resources; projects we are supporting are directed towards sustainable agricultural production that supports food production, resilient rural communities as well as the conservation of natural values.

I am particularly proud of the fact that we have advanced our impact investing strategy this year. Making our corpus work so that our investments contribute to positive social and environmental outcomes is an important way forward in our philanthropic journey and we welcome Australian Impact Investments as our adviser as we grow our portfolio of impact investments.

The Trustees acknowledge and continue to support the important work of Philanthropy Australia as it seeks to grow philanthropic giving in Australia. Likewise our membership of the Australian Environmental Grantmakers Network and support of Australians Investing in Women acknowledge the valuable work these organisations are doing in building knowledge and strategic competence within the philanthropic sector. We also participated for the first time this year in the Board Observership Program and have appreciated the contributions that Amit Golder has made in his role as Board Observer.

It is with sadness that I shall be stepping down from the Foundation at the end of 2023. The William Buckland Foundation has been an important part of my life and work for 17 years, the last five of which as Chair. It has been an honour and a privilege to be involved over these many years and see the Foundation build on its long tradition of enlightened and strategic philanthropy. I know it will be in very safe hands with Jenny McGregor AM as Chair. Miriam Silva AM will join the Committee at the end of 2023, bringing her extensive experience across the business, not for profit and finance sectors.

As always, I thank my fellow Trustees, Ross Barker, Jenny McGregor, David Williamson and Jodi Kennedy, representing Equity Trustees. All have given generously of their time and expertise to the work of the Foundation. As indeed have Ferdi Hepworth, as Foundation Lead, Amanda Sartor, National Manager of Charitable Trusts and Alex White, who joined early in 2023, who have all provided admirable guidance and vision.

Dr Jane Gilmour OAM
Chair

Ferdi Hepworth
Foundation Lead

Last year we launched the Foundation’s new five-year strategy and this year saw a busy year of open granting, with 49 new grants approved and $8.7m of multi-year commitments across our four grant making areas: Agriculture, Education, Pathways to Employment and Housing and Health.

The Foundation was created by William Buckland to support the people of Victoria and we think we can do that best by listening and anchoring lived-experience at the heart of our approach to partnering with community.

In response to many conversations with our grant partners about what they need, we allocated extra funding to support Capacity Building projects this year. These include: Orygen Digital’s Mello app rollout, First Australians Capital Impact Platform, and the Alliance for Gambling Reform’s work to keep gambling harm on the political agenda. We have been delighted with the outcomes of WEstjustice’s IT transformation and have committed to supporting them as they embed measurement and data into everything they do.

The strategy review crystallised our thinking around the mix of short, medium and long-term granting we undertake. This gives us the ability to provide targeted one year grants to support immediate need or transformational capacity of our grant partners, multi-year (generally 3-4 years) grants for projects we believe have the ability to make significant impact in the future, as well as longer-term commitments for approaches that have the potential to move the dial (such as Our Place, Tomorrow/Today Foundation and WaterTrust Australia).

Last year the Foundation resolved to report publicly on the groups we are supporting: 22% of funding was directed towards people experiencing vulnerability, 16% towards Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander initiatives, 14% to culturally and linguistically diverse communities, 14% to sustainability and environment initiatives, 12% to support people with disability, 9% to support mental health and wellbeing and 7% for projects that address gender-specific disadvantage.

The Foundation continues to honour William Buckland’s regard for regional Victoria, with its funding split equally across regional and rural Victoria, metropolitan Melbourne and initiatives that are Victoria-wide.

This is Dr Gilmour’s last annual report for the Foundation so I would like to take the opportunity to thank her. Over her 17 years as a Trustee of the Foundation and the last five as Chair Jane has been an unwavering force, leading the good ship Foundation with her dedication and passion for the for-purpose sector. I will miss her insight, honesty and commitment to excellence. She leaves the Foundation in the best possible shape.

It has been a pleasure to work with the William Buckland Foundation Trustees and the Foundation team as we deliver on the wishes of William Buckland and support our grant partners.

My personal thanks to the William Buckland Foundation team for their work and excellence, Amanda Sartor, Elyse Cook and Alex White have all played an important role in supporting people, organisations and communities across Victoria as they create better outcomes for all Victorians.

Ferdi Hepworth
William Buckland Foundation Lead,
Equity Trustees

Granting Strategy

The wishes of William Buckland, as expressed in his Will, underpin our strategy as we continue to adapt or evolve our funding practices, thinking and approach.

The Foundation targets its funding across four areas:

Advancing
Agriculture

Strengthening resilience in agricultural communities

Enabling
Education

Improving educational outcomes for disadvantaged children

Pathways to Employment
& Housing

Supporting disadvantaged Victorians into appropriate employment and safe and secure housing

Improved
Health

Improving health outcomes for young people, particularly in rural and regional communities.

We work to deepen our understanding, engage with our grantees and collaborate with other philanthropic funders to overcome the causes of social and economic disadvantage. We continue to focus our grant making on innovative solutions to complex problems and to amplify the reach of these projects where appropriate.

Our support is balanced between meeting the immediate and basic needs of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable in the community, and more transformative long-term investments ranging from one to ten years in length.

$0Improved Health
$0Advancing Agriculture
$0Trustees' Discretion
$0Partnership Program
$0Housing & Employment
Total
$0
$0Enabling education

The WilliamBuckland Foundation
is focused on improving the lives of disadvantaged Victorians through grants that support better housing, health, education and employment outcomes and initiatives that build resilience and strengthen rural and regional communities.

Advancing
Agriculture

Focus: Strengthening
resilience
in agricultural
communities

Improved
Health

Focus: Improving
health outcomes
for young people,
particularly in rural
and regional communities

Enabling
Education

Focus: Improving
educational outcomes
for disadvantaged
children

Pathways to
Employment
& Housing

Focus: Supporting
disadvantaged Victorians
into appropriate
employment and safe
and secure housing

Types of grants

Major grant partnerships
Undertaken by the Foundation in collaboration with other funders and experts $150K+ per annum | 3 to ten years | By invitation

Program grant rounds
Advancing Agriculture, Enabling Education, Improving Health and Pathways to Employment and Housing $50K-$150K per annum | One to four years

Capacity building grants
Funding that supports organisations to deliver better outcomes for the children, families and communities they serve $50K-$150K per annum | One year | By invitation

Partnership grants
Targeted funding to collaborative initiatives Up to $150K per annum | Up to three years | Invited partners

Trustees’ discretion
Emergency grants to provide immediate relief and grants that strengthen sector capacity $30K-$50K average | One year | By invitation

Partnering for
Greater Impact

Access to safe, affordable and secure housing is a challenge for many Australians, even more so for the most vulnerable in our community. The Foundation reviewed its homelessness strategy in December 2019, shifting efforts towards initiatives that build community support for Australian governments to invest in social and affordable housing.

The Foundation has been supporting the Everybody’s Home Campaign since 2020, providing $516,000 core funding over that time.

The Everybody’s Home campaign is a coalition of over 500 housing, homelessness and welfare organisations and 40,000 Australians collectively advocating for effective solutions to fix the housing crisis.

This united voice to Government has assisted in delivering major outcomes including: substantial new investments in social and affordable housing, development of a National Housing and Homelessness Plan, lifting the rate of Commonwealth Rent Assistance and strengthening renters’ rights. Housing and rental affordability now consistently feature in public debate.

Recent Government commitments include: 30,000 new homes through the $10b Housing Australia Future Fund, 10,000 affordable homes through the $350m National Housing Accord over the next five years. State and Territory governments have received an additional $2b in direct investment, with close to a quarter of that allocated to Victoria.

Everybody’s Home

Jody Letts & David Shoebridge

“The financial security provided by the Foundation has enabled us to coordinate cross-sector collaboration and mobilise the community to influence the most significant housing reforms in more than a decade. In practical terms it has allowed us to take a long-term approach to our strategy and planning, while also being responsive and nimble to emerging opportunities.

been able to both catalyse the capacity, expertise and resources of our partners, and channel the energy of everyday Australians to deliver tangible policy outcomes. This would not have been possible without the support of the Foundation”.

Margaret Quixley, Campaign Manager,
Everybody’s Home

National Spokesperson Maiy Azize, Parliamentary Friends of Housing co-chair Senator David Pocock & Campaign Manager Margaret Quixley

Long-term Partnerships

Of the 44,000 young people who present to specialist homelessness services each year, three in five return. Many more couch-surf or live in unsafe homes. These experiences contribute to disengagement from school – young people experiencing homelessness are less likely to complete year 12 and are more likely to be unemployed. 

Youth Foyers are integrated learning and accommodation settings for young people, typically aged 16—24 years, who are at risk of, or experiencing homelessness. 

Youth Foyers provide an effective, evidence-based solution that gives young people a way to overcome homelessness and change their life trajectory in under 2 years.

The key to the model lies in the provision of stable accommodation for up to two years in a supported living environment. For young people who are unable to rely on family support in this critical developmental stage, Foyers provide the time, personalised attention, mentoring, coaching and access to opportunities needed to lead fulfilling, independent and productive lives.

The Foundation is providing $700,000 over four years to support the Foyer Foundation as they implement a growth strategy towards 50 Youth Foyers. This will transform the lives of 20,000 young people experiencing cycles of disadvantage, leading to a benefit of $950m in avoided costs by 2030 and $2.9b by 2040.

Foyer Crew youth ambassadors

Foyer Broadmeadows

‘We are working towards a bold ambition of 50 Youth Foyers by 2030. As the Youth Foyer network grows, it is essential that we support community organisations to shape and deliver high quality services – so that every young person walking into a Youth Foyer can be confident they will get the standards of support they deserve.

Our partnership with the William Buckland Foundation will enable The Foyer Foundation to accelerate the learning and development journey of 15 emerging Youth Foyers, so that more young people can thrive’.

Liz Cameron-Smith,
Chief Executive Officer,
Foyer Foundation

Playing Uno at
Foyer Broadmeadows

Building Organisational
Capacity

Transforming organisational capacity through IT infrastructure upgrades is not for the faint hearted. More than simply purchasing new equipment, a comprehensive change management plan needs to be embedded into the organisation and successful rollout can take years.

WEstjustice is a community organisation that provides free legal advice to people in the Western suburbs of Melbourne. CEO Melissa Hardham is a changemaker whom we recognised as having the vision and tenacity to deliver this work.

The Foundation provided a $405,000 grant over four years with phased funding to scope, deliver and embed the change.

Melissa took advantage of three critical elements to fast track the IT overhaul: firstly she was able to draw on Asylum Seekers Resource Centre (ASRC) learnings from a recent IT upgrade project (funded by the Foundation); secondly she partnered with HumanIT who were the right organisation to deliver; and thirdly snap lockdowns saw remote working become the norm overnight in 2021, leading to fast uptake and adoption by the WEstjustice team.

WEstJustice is committed to engaging with the Community Legal Centre (CLC) network in metropolitan Melbourne to share their new system and they have given presentations to the Federation of Community Legal Centres to share the process more broadly. A case study video has been created by Microsoft which will make adoption of digital management systems more accessible for other community organisations both in Australia and internationally.

WEstjustice offices

Melissa Hardham, CEO and
Ian Patterson, Technology Strategist, HumanIT

“The NFP sector is constantly grappling with short term funding cycles and collections of patchwork grants to make up enough funding to service targeted communities and people. Ironically, for those businesses (like WEstjustice) attempting to break cycles of disadvantage for poorer communities, we find ourselves caught in the same ‘hand to mouth’ disadvantaged cycles. Many NFPs are forced to choose between helping more people or investing in their own functionality to ensure that staff can perform their work safely, effectively and efficiently.

That is why relationships with WBF, and other philanthropies committed to longer term grants for more sustainable and long-lasting outcomes and impacts, are so important to our sector.”

Melissa Hardham,
Chief Executive Officer,
WEstjustice

National Spokesperson
Maiy Azize, Parliamentary Friends of Housing co-chair Senator David Pocock
& Campaign Manager
Margaret Quixley

Scaling up proven models

Few employers give young people with autism and other neurodiverse disabilities a chance to create meaningful work and wealth for themselves, but more than 6.5 m big-data related tech jobs will be needed in 2030 in Australia to keep up with demand.

Australian Spatial Analytics’ (ASA) vision is to use data to employ diversity. As one of Australia’s largest and fastest growing social enterprises, ASA adds value to corporations and governments by training and employing remarkable young neurodiverse individuals to process and analyse geospatial and engineering data across a range of industries.

ASA exists to deliver 3 key benefits:

  1. Make social impact on the lives of young unemployed neurodiverse people in the community;
  2. Solve short term skills shortages for client projects by delivering undergraduate geospatial and engineering professional services;
  3. Solve long term skills shortages by training and nurturing the next generation of geospatial and engineering professionals

The Foundation is supporting ASA, granting $425,000 over four years. The Integrated Transition Project, a pathway to long term, skilled employment for young adults with neurodiverse disabilities, will kickstart specialist training in digital engineering and implement an employment transition program for digital engineering customers. This project will support young people like Chris to enter the workforce and be celebrated for their abilities.

ASA Melbourne team rock climbing

ASA Melbourne team

“Our team are proud to demonstrate the value of a neurodiverse workforce to our customers each and every day. Thanks to the William Buckland Foundation, ASA can not only employ more neurodiverse people but train them in the specific engineering skills that the Victorian economy needs and support those ready to transition to large engineering companies.

This alternative employment pathway for our customers ensures sustained social impact for the State and fosters meaningful careers for people with a disability.”

Geoff Smith, CEO,
Australian Spatial Analytics (ASA)

Nick from the ASA
Melbourne team

Resilience in regional
Victoria

The forests and bush of our natural environment, the Earth’s lungs, have been cleared for agriculture. Industrial food and fibre systems across the globe are significant players in pushing us beyond safe thresholds with agriculture accounting for approximately 48% of all anthropogenic global greenhouse gas emissions.

As significant an issue that the current agricultural system poses, regenerative agriculture and collaboration provide paths to a solution.

The Foundation supported Sustainable Table back in 2020 and this year has funded a further $100,000 for the Sustainable Table National Fund Collaboration project. The project brings together investors and regenerative food and farming initiatives to create a just, sustainable and resilient food system. The National Fund unlocks and guides capital to improve the ecological function of our food system at the catalytic pace required to avoid climate catastrophe.

Based on previous experience with community grants programs, the project values grass roots projects, which have a broad impact and can be replicated or scaled. For this reason, the national fund utilises collaboratively sourced funds to enhance national projects which are both ‘seeded’ and ‘scaled’.

Sustainable Table’s specialised skill-set, experience, networks, and due diligence will ensure projects have the greatest chance of success. The process, learnings and stories are captured as a resource for the regenerative agriculture community.

Chris and Sam Greenwood run a family owned organic cropping farm in the Riverina and are part of the Organic & Regenerative Cooperative Australia (ORCA), a farmer owned organic bulk brand

Chloe and Brad at Moonrise Seaweed Co. are building an innovative, community-scaled, culturally informed and climate-friendly ocean farm for native seaweed. 

“There’s a huge amount of activity and imaginative thinking going into agriculture at the moment – turning problems into solutions, seeking the root cause of our climate and food supply conundrums. Sustainable Table is part of this vibrant conversation and growing community of investors trying to support the visionary businesses that are emerging to meet this climate action demand.”

Jade Miles, Chief Executive Officer,
Sustainable Table

been able to both catalyse the capacity, expertise and resources of our partners, and channel the energy of everyday Australians to deliver tangible policy outcomes. This would not have been possible without the support of the Foundation”.

Margaret Quixley, Campaign Manager,
Everybody’s Home

Yarra Valley ECOSS is educating and empowering volunteers of all abilities to grow food crops for both distribution and sale.

Addressing the challenge
of mental health

The effects of social isolation and disruption over the Covid-19 pandemic have seen the rates of mental ill-health skyrocket. This work is more urgent than ever as our young people struggle with the continuing effects of pandemic isolation, unemployment and mental ill-health.

Orygen is the world’s leading research and knowledge translation organisation focusing on mental ill-health in young people. It is committed to delivering cutting-edge research, policy development, innovative clinical services, and evidence-based training and education to ensure that there is continuous improvement in the treatments and care provided to young people experiencing mental ill-health.

The Foundation recognises that mental wellbeing is the fundamental building block to better outcomes in other areas we focus on, particularly education and employment. This is why the Foundation has been funding projects at different parts of the mental health system, including awareness building, early intervention and appropriate supports for those in crisis.

The Foundation has been a long-term supporter of Orygen, committing $1.2m since 2017 towards suicide prevention, $400,000 to the Australians for Mental Health alliance and a further $125,000 to support the rollout of the Mello app through Orygen Digital.

The Foundation is particularly proud of the work around Orygen’s systematic approach to youth suicide prevention which addresses the rising rates of youth suicide— the leading cause of death for young Australians. The project embodies a comprehensive community-based strategy for suicide prevention, fostering greater understanding of suicide, diminishing stigma and promoting increased help-seeking behaviours in young people.

Orygen’s suicide prevention team and students from RMIT co-designing as part of the #chatsafe summer internship program

Orygen’s suicide prevention team and students from RMIT co-designing as part of the #chatsafe summer internship program

“We extend our sincere gratitude to the William Buckland Foundation for their unwavering support of Orygen’s vital suicide prevention initiatives. Investing in suicide prevention for young people is an investment in our future. Early intervention, investing in research, and comprehensive treatments and clinical supports, can all make a lasting impact on the mental well-being of our young people.

By helping them reach their full potential and to thrive, we are ensuring a brighter future for all.”

Professor Patrick McGorry AO,
Executive Director, Orygen

  

Supporting local
communities

The Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal (FRRR) was established in 2000 to connect common purposes and funding from government, business and philanthropy with the genuine local needs of rural people and places.

The Trustees of the William Buckland Foundation recognise that rural communities are best placed to know what they need, rather than a Melbourne-based team, and so have had a long-term relationship with FRRR. The Foundation has funded FRRR since 2004, granting $3.6m to support a range of different programs, including assisting small not-for-profit rural organisations via FRRR.

Programs funded include grants for Strengthening Rural Communities, Sustainable Agriculture – Fast Tracking Innovation, Repair-Restore-Renew and Back to School programs. An example of one of these local grants is the CRASHENDO! Bairnsdale youth music education program which supports around 120 children in the East Gippsland region and uses music as a vehicle to help children develop their self-esteem, resilience, and social skills. A $10,000 grant in September 2019 from The William Buckland Foundation was to purchase new instruments and help cover tuition fees, but then the Black Summer fires struck and their facility and instruments were destroyed. Alternative arrangements were made but then Covid-19 lockdowns hit and music moved online. However, they found new and engaging ways of delivering their programs. Instead of having concerts, they produced videos and kept on playing and smiling.

Crashendo! Bairnsdale zoom Gippsland Symphony Orchestra Collaboration

Craschendo! Bairnsdale Latrobe Orchestra Collaboration

“It has been an honour and a pleasure to work with The William Buckland Foundation and its Trustees over the past 19 years and to provide vital support for remote, rural and regional communities across Victoria. We are very grateful for the Foundation’s trust and faith in FRRR to get funding to where it is needed and where it will do the most good,”

Natalie Egleton, Chief Executive Officer,
Foundation for Regional & Rural Renewal

been able to both catalyse the capacity, expertise and resources of our partners, and channel the energy of everyday Australians to deliver tangible policy outcomes. This would not have been possible without the support of the Foundation”.

Crashendo! Bairnsdale
Christmas Street Parade

The
William Buckland
Foundation

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