2017 ANNUAL REPORT

About usWe are an innovative organisation that aims to disrupt the social condition of families in Australia.

We work with children and families to strengthen emotional wellbeing.

Our programs and resources are for all families. We’re a registered not-for-profit with a clear mission, grounded in a progressive philosophy of family wellbeing.

We are setting up children to be successful adults.

VisionA society that values emotional wellbeing as highly as physical health and learning how to read and write.

The issueUntil emotional wellbeing is considered to be as important as learning how to read and write, the alarming statistics of one in five Australians currently experiencing mental health issues each year will likely continue to increase.

Program games, Parramatta West Public School. Cover: Families on programs at Ocean Shores Public School.Families, Ocean Shores Public School

CONTENTS+ ISSUE / ABOUT / VISION / MISSION 1

+ MESSAGE FROM CHAIR + CEO 2

+ 2016 -17 HIGHLIGHTS 3

+ OUR PROGRAMS 4

+ OUR REACH 5

+ OUR RESULTS 6

+ INSPIRING STORIES 8

+ OUR BOARD + TEAM 10

+ OUR SUPPORTERS 12

+ FINANCIAL SNAPSHOT 14

+ GET INVOLVED 16

MISSIONOur mission is to promote and strengthen the emotional wellbeing and resilience of children and families in order to prevent poor mental health.

This page: Families getting ready to camp out; Cover: children playing program games.

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MESSAGE FROM OUR CHAIR & CEO

Geoff Stalley

Garry Thomson By 2030 the World health organisation is predicting that depression will be the number one health issue on the planet. At Uplifting Australia we are 100% focused on the prevention of poor mental health outcomes for the next generation of Australian children. We believe that with support, families can be empowered to bring up kind, emotionally intelligent and successful human beings.

Our results this year have been very encouraging. Not only have we had enormous growth but we are continuing to make a profound difference to the lives of so many people.

We wholeheartedly believe that emotional wellbeing and mental health prevention is as important as learning how to read and write and that families are our countries greatest asset. We are on track to deliver on our strategy of extending our reach to 200,000 families and beyond by 2025. With a progressive philosophy of emotional wellbeing, our next generation of young adults can experience unprecedented levels of positive mental health, personal happiness, success and productivity.

I would personally like to thank all of our generous supporters and in particular, Stuart and Tammy, Georgina, Markus, Anthony, Lynette, Clare, and Ken. Thanks also to our Board, our staff and facilitators, participating schools, the thousands of families that have come along to our programs, and the many others that have contributed with pro bono support. We could not have achieved so much without you. Special love to my family Jen, Kiana, and Corban. Thanks for keeping me real and letting me know what I’m doing well and how I can improve as a dad, husband, and human being.

Garry Thomson

In my first year as Chair, I am privileged to be working with a team that continues to achieve so much and is lifting the importance of emotional wellbeing to the forefront in Australian society and in particular for children and families.

This year we renewed our strategy to 2025, rebranded to Lift Off!, updated our programs and created a Family Connect program, launched a new website, hired a fundraising manager, renewed our association with Lion and the Snow Foundation, secured new funders in BridgeLane and the Pratt Foundation, established an ambassador group and on top of this delivered programs to almost 8000 children, parents and teachers.

A truly amazing effort for such a small team. But we are not stopping here. We aim to reach enough of the Australian population and show that emotional wellbeing for our children is so important that we change the way we learn and live and we reduce the impact of mental health on our community.

I am looking forward to the many exciting things we will achieve next year.

Thank you for the privilege.

Geoff Stalley

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2016 -17 HIGHLIGHTS

Established an Ambassador

group

Engaged

7922 parents, children

and teachers in our programs

Trained

147 teachers in Lift Off!

programs and strategies

23% Increase in

revenue Ran 7year-long

whole-school Lift Off! projects

Launched our Strategic Plan

to reach 200,000 families

by 2025132% increase in reach

in one year

Program games & activitiesTeacher Training, Uki & Bilambil Public Schools. Making a card for dad on a Lift Off! program

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Uplifting Australia’s Lift Off! programs are unique in that we work with children, aged six to twelve, and parents together. Parents are familiarised with ideas and strategies that support their child’s social development and nurture their emotional wellbeing. Our programs are delivered in schools, workplaces, community organisations and directly to families. They build the capacity of parents and teachers to improve children’s social and emotional wellbeing. The family unit becomes stronger by establishing a stronger and deeper connection between parents and children.

Our core program, Family Connect, provides families with a system to implement at home. It builds on the strengths of each family and upskills the parents and the children together, enabling them to develop trust, talk about their feelings openly and honestly, and communicate positively.

For workplaces, we provide customised, programs, activities and talks for employees.

DEEWR, The Early Years Learning Framework, 2009

“It is widely accepted that the development of social and emotional skills in early childhood benefits all aspects of children’s learning, development, mental health and

wellbeing.”

OUR PROGRAMS

Our year-long Lift Off! School programs engage the whole school community by running a range of activities across the year.

The Lift Off! Schools programs are unique, manageable, progressive and sustainable. The program includes NESA accredited Teacher Training that provides teachers with an understanding of how Lift Off! meets the social and emotional needs of children along with the skills, knowledge and resources to deliver and to apply the strategies and techniques in the classroom.

Program games at Parramatta West Public School.

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Program Engagement 2014-15 to 2016-17 We engaged* children, parents and teachers in our whole school Lift Off! programs, as well as in individual school programs and directly to families in workplaces.

Professor Lindsay G. Oades, Director, Centre for Positive Psychology,

University of Melbourne

“I am extremely excited to be contributing to the “Family Connect project”. This is such an important initiative to improve how family members relate to each other, express themselves and take responsibility for each

other’s wellbeing.Whilst schools, workplaces and health services are all important to uplift Australia - let’s start today with our family members at home.”

Sector distribution Geographic distribution

*Lift Off! Projects engage the whole school community over a year. The whole school community is calculated using the

number of families in the school, multiplied by average family size (3.76), plus teachers.

2016-17 REACH

Our participant engagement numbers have increased by more than 320% in two years.

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We firmly believe in results-based accountability. That’s why we track not only immediate feedback from program participants but also ongoing trends in family functioning. In 2016-17, all our programs achieved outstanding results.

Parent feedback (% agree or strongly agree)

Teacher feedback (% agree or strongly agree)

OUR RESULTS

Short-term outcomes“In our school community, where many parents are working and having little contact time with their children, especially fathers, and cultural expectations of children are high, I believe that Lift Off! is a strategy that can truly make a difference… Parramatta West places a high priority on the

parent / school partnership. While the school has many programs to develop this relationship, I believe that the Lift Off! program

has impacted on the other programs and made them

more successful too.”

Anthea Donaldson, Principal, Parramatta West Public School.

Families, Ocean Shores Public School6

Medium-term outcomes

Improved emotional connection with parent 100%

Improved child communication 100%

Improved child resilience 75%

Parents using the parenting strategies 85%

More confident parenting 98%

Improved relationship with children 100%

We are consistently achieving great results when measuring outcomes at the end of the year-long Lift Off! Project.

Families, Parramatta West Public School

Parent feedback

Positive changes in parents (% noticed positive changes)

Positive changes in children (% noticed positive changes)

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All parents reported an improvement in their families’ communication, relationships as well as social & emotional wellbeing.

INSPIRING STORIES

“In general, my son has been talking A LOT more!!! So much that he’s been apologising for talking too much and has commented himself on how honest

he’s been lately.”Parent, Family Connect.

“The best thing was that I got to meet some more

parents who are in the same boat. My daughter is happy and feels special because I attended this program.”

Parent, Ready program.

“The best thing was learning skills and activities that can improve family

relationships and develop the social and emotional skills of children. I had lots of fun doing the activities and

creating my talking stick.”Teacher Training, Parramatta West.

“It improved my understanding

regarding my child’s behaviour.”

Parent, Steady program.

“The best thing was being exposed to the many strategies which we can apply to our classroom

and our families. It challenged the way I perceive a lot of the issues experienced by my children and

how I was handling those issues.”Teacher Training, Parramatta West.

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“The best thing was getting together with the other parents and children. It was great

to share our stories with each other, recognising our emotions such as

scared, happy etc. It was engaging and exciting.”

Parent, Ready program.

“The best thing was getting to know all the other parents and our own kids, as we

explored kids behaviour and challenging situations associated with it. It also helped us learn how to solve problems together

as a family.”Parent, Steady program.

“The best thing was connecting with my child away from distractions like technology & other siblings. Meeting other parents, teachers and getting a better feel for the school

environment.”Parent, Steady program.

“An excellent program which I can see would be highly beneficial to both our school community and in our personal lives. The best

thing was the outside games where we connected with our colleagues in a fun way.”

Teacher Training, Hornsby South Public School.

“The best thing was being able to spend quality time with my children which usually

doesn’t happen in our busy life.”

Parent, Go program.

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Geoff Stalley, Chair Geoff is a highly experienced advisor with over 25 years specialising in business performance and major business transformations. His industry experience spans resources, transport, distribution, retail/consumer goods and services industries in over 20 countries around the world including Singapore, USA, Germany, UK, China, Japan and Korea. He is currently a Partner at Deloitte Australia.

Samantha Hellen Samantha is a senior strategist at Westpac. She is a highly experienced Senior Executive who specialises in the design, management and implementation of organisational change, business optimisation and franchise development initiatives across large and medium-sized organisations.

Jennifer Drysdale Jennifer is a passionate advocate of the arts and change-maker for the not-for-profit sector. With a strong background in sales, corporate events and business development, she is highly regarded for her ability to form authentic stakeholder relations, initiate creative partnerships and implement lasting solutions. Jennifer is an active member of the New Generation of Giving through Philanthropy Australia, a budding philanthropist, small business owner and volunteer fundraiser.

Tegan Flanagan Tegan is an experienced public relations and corporate communications professional. Currently the Corporate External Relations Director at beverage and food company, Lion, Tegan has also held consultancy roles at public relations agencies Liquid Ideas and Professional Public Relations (PPR). She is very proud to support Uplifting Australia’s important mission.

James Tait James is an experienced corporate and regulatory affairs consultant. James has advised a range of leading organisations across the consumer goods, retail, drinks, education, tourism, financial services, sports administration, superannuation and funds management sectors.

OUR BOARD

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Garry Thomson, CEO Garry is a social entrepreneur who is passionate about supporting families having spent over 30 years in the family development sector from a grass roots perspective all the way to executive management in both the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors. Garry has project managed large family wellbeing initiatives for the Australian Government, is an international public speaker, an author and has developed many programs that have gone on to support thousands of families with the healthy development of their children across Australia. He continues to take a mission-led approach to delivering social change.

Diane Bowles, Fundraising Manager Di is an experienced marketing, fundraising and engagement leader who has worked with both not-for-profit and for-profit organisations which have provided her with a deep understanding of both types of organisations and their desired outcomes. Di is passionate about connecting and inspiring people and assisting to improve the liveability of our communities.

Marlena Basser, Programs Manager Marlena is a highly experienced facilitator, trainer, workshop designer, resource developer and program coordinator who has worked in the Child, Youth & Family, Organisational Development and Community sectors since 1988. She has designed and delivered: community forums, leadership programs, training packages, mentoring programs, residential retreats, team building activities, conferences and parenting, relationship and life skills programs.

Astra Jerebine, Office Manager & Company Secretary Astra is an experienced administrator with a Bachelor of Primary Education with First Class Honours and was awarded the University Medal for academic excellence. Prior to joining Uplifting Australia, Astra has worked in business administration for organisations in the parenting and not-for-profit sectors administering best practice family counselling models and drafting organisational policy.

KEY STAFF PROFESSIONAL SUPPORT

Thank you to our consultants who support us to achieve our goals.

FacilitatorsJohn Imbrogno, Senior FacilitatorAl Lunare, Facilitator

AccountsJerusha Munthree, BookkeeperKris Graham, Accountant, TNRTracey Simpson, Auditor, WD Nicholls

Human ResourcesRachel McLennan, People for PurposeVanessa Thompson, Human Resources

Evaluation, program design & performance manage-mentJames Webb, Performance & Evaluation ConsultantPeter Chown, Psychologist & Ambassador to Uplifting Australia

I.T. Support & websiteCarl Paola, CJP CreativeMatt Thompson, L-Tech

Logo & Design Aleks Rzadkowski, Lion CoAdam Atkinson, Eyeconic Design

OUR TEAM

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Thank you! We are incredibly grateful for the fantastic support of our wonderful funders without whom, none of this could happen.

A big thank you to our merchandise supporters, who donate materials for our programs.

OUR SUPPORTERS

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FINANCIAL SNAPSHOT

INCOME 2017 2016

Camp Income 925 1,598

Camp Equipment 2,848 2,223

Donations 197,600 153,500

Ebook 68 66

Freight Income 91 89

Interest 748 1,264

Other Revenue 45 12

Program Delivery 17,941 21,470

Trust Grants 277,500 225,000

Total Income 497,766 405,222

EXPENSES 2017 2016

Accountancy & Bookkeeping 12,082 9,600

Administration 0 270

Advertising & Promotion 1,832 2,669

Bank Charges 118 146

Camp Expenses 1,216 1,255

Computer Expenses 4,384 2,612

Consultants Fees 12,882 200

Depreciation 545 35

Forex Currencey Exchange 7 0

Insurance 2,592 1,961

Legal Costs 0 192

Memberships 982 966

Office Expenses 2,714 2,066

Permits,Licences & Fees 105 184

Postage 327 526

Printing and Stationery 2,590 1,323

Project Costs 10,484 5,755

Rent 5,353 5,515

Repairs & Maintenance 1,430 0

Staff Amenities 529 429

Staff Training 2,163 1,488

Superannuation Contributions 22,015 19,575

Telecommunication 2,953 2,744

Travel & Accommodation 20,067 25,111

Venue Hire 0 589

Wages 241,266 214,189

Website Costs 2,456 1,298

Workers Compensation 9,996 6,008

Total Expenses 361,088 306,705

Net Profit/Loss 136,678 98,517

Program participants, Parramatta West & Hillvue Public Schools

Profit & Loss Statement at 30 June 2017

Fun and connection, children and parents on our Lift Off! programs.

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ASSETS 2017 2016Current Assets

Cash and cash equivalents 424,836 273,846

Trade and other receivables 6,975 4,000

Total Current Assets 431,811 277,846

NON-CURRENT ASSETSProperty, plant and equipment 2,791 1,655

Total Non-Current Assets 2,791 1,655

Total Assets 434,602 279,501

LIABILITIESCurrent Liabilities

Trade and other payables 32,006 19,665

Provisions 24,217 18,050

Other Liabililities 84 168

Total Current Liabilities 56,307 37,884

Total Liabilities 56,307 37,884

Net Assets 378,295 241,617

EQUITYRetained Earnings 378,295 241,617

Total Equity 378,295 241,617

Our complete Financial Reports are available at: www. upliftingaustralia.org.au/annual-reports

$46 spent for each

person engaged in programs

How funds were raised

Without the generosity of our supporters, we wouldn’t be able to positively impact so many children, families and school communities each year.

Balance Sheet at 30 June 2017

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Program activity, Feeling Faces.Program games & activities

GET INVOLVED

How you can support us There are many ways you can support Uplifting Australia.

DonateYour generous donation will go towards reaching more Australian children and families. You can donate via our website www.upliftingaustralia.org.au

Become a Corporate PartnerOur Corporate Partners are fundamental in helping us tackle the mental health issues that we face today. We believe in a purposeful partnership with meaningful engagement.

FundraiseInclude us as your charity when you are participating in fun runs or other fundraising events.

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PO Box 485, Mullumbimby NSW 2482

p: 02 6684 3892 e: hello@upliftingaustralia.org.au

www.upliftingaustralia.org.au

facebook.com/UpliftingAustralia

linkedin.com/company/uplifting-australia