Welcome

This was an exciting year for the TFFF; the first implementing our new strategy for realising Connected, Resilient and Futureproof communities in Queensland and the Northern Territory.

This financial year the TFFF directly funded 36 organisations through our new Resilience and Futureproofing streams as well as ongoing projects from previous multi-year commitments. We assisted an additional 23 organisations through our Connectedness stream, delivered in partnership with the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal (FRRR). Across all these programs, the TFFF supported 59 for-purpose organisations: 33 in Queensland, 17 in the Northern Territory, 8 with a national reach, and one supporting flood affected people in the Northern Rivers in NSW. Also worth noting are the 11 organisations that continued delivering projects and programs with TFFF funds received in the 2020-2021 financial year.

TFFF Trustees were pleased to authorise 21 new grant commitments totalling $4,575,000, which will be distributed incrementally across the next three years. While many of the organisations supported may be familiar to you, the mechanics of this funding evolved to the provision of multi-year general operating support. This shift demonstrates the TFFF’s commitment to listening to the needs of the communities we support, as well as leading the local sector in modelling global best practice philanthropy. Thank you to Creative Partnerships Australia and the Australian Cultural Fund for partnering with us in this transition, and for co-creating Amplify, a service offering which enables other private ancillary funds (PAFs) to also provide Australia’s arts and cultural organisations the support they need most.

Opportunities for safe travel and site visits remained modest while we all continued to navigate evolving pandemic conditions. In-between variants, TFFF Trustees, Advisors and staff were able to attend Women of the World (WOW) Festival across three days in Longreach as well as Opera Queensland’s Festival of Outback Opera at the nearby Camden Park Station, and the Creative Partnerships Awards in Adelaide. Thank you to each organisation for your hospitality at these events and significant year-round contributions to your respective communities. In June, we travelled to Sydney to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the Vincent Fairfax Family Foundation (VFFF) with extended family, friends and grant recipients across the years. Congratulations to the VFFF team for reaching this significant milestone, and your efforts in ‘Backing Young People’ in their independence, social purpose and future security.

Finally, we wish to acknowledge TFFF Trustees and Advisors for another year of enabling rural, regional and remote communities to access the same opportunities as their metropolitan counterparts. Now in our 14th year, it’s both humbling and motivating to know the Foundation’s mission remains relevant, just like our commitment to assist regional communities remains strong.