2020 ANNUAL REVIEW Contents
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2020 ANNUAL REVIEW Contents Chairman’s Letter 1 CEO Report 2 Board and Staff Composition 3 Mission 4 Vision 5 Infograph and Timeline 6 WirraHub 10 Programs 12 Supporters 20 Chairman’sCEO Letter Firstly, let me say how proud I am of the work that the Wirrpanda Foundation does and the staff that deliver outstanding results. We have grown substantially over the last 10 years and continue to focus on education, employment and business opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. We do this by working together to empower and build capacity amongst individuals, their families and their communities. We have established a number of successful programs in Perth, regional Western Australia, Victoria, New South Wales, ACT, and Queensland. The Wirrpanda Foundation has now reached over 35,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people nationally. We continue to prioritise employing strong and passionate Indigenous mentors to deliver our programs with 101 staff employed nationally, 74% of whom are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. The Foundation’s suite of culturally appropriate programs is designed and delivered by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Our programs increase the retention of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in school; assist Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander jobseekers into sustainable meaningful employment or further vocational training and/or study; work to sustain employment opportunities through cross-cultural training and individualised support for employers; provide support and mentoring to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people in touch with the youth justice system; cultivate competitive, sustainable and resilient Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses; provide employment services to assist in the reintegration of individuals back into the community after leaving prison; and improve the overall health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People. Current programs include the Deadly Sista Girlz™ Program, Wirra Schools RSAS, Bunuru Youth Transition Program, Full Circle Partnership in the West Kimberley, the Plan 2day 4 2morrow™ (P242) Employment Program, Community Development Program, Vocational Training and Employment Centre (VTEC), Transition to Work Program, ParentsNext, ReSet Reintegration Services, Wirra Coding Club, Wiluna Sport and Recreation and the Wirra Hub. With the support of the Australian Government, under the Indigenous Business Sector Strategy, 2020 saw the opening of the WA Indigenous Business and Employment Hub, also known as the Wirra Hub. The Wirra Hub assists the Indigenous business sector to thrive in WA. Through the Hub we provide support to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people wanting to start, grow or sustain their businesses. With in-house business coaching plus direct access to independent, professional support we inspire and empower Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to build their business capability. We are proud of the development of the Hub throughout this year and as of January 2021 the Wirra Hub is supporting over 140 businesses throughout Western Australia. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 restrictions and the uncertainty of in-person events, we made the difficult decision to cancel our 2020 Annual Gala Dinner. Since 2007, the Dinner has been held to help raise vital funds to assist in the operations and delivery of our programs. Whilst our fundraising efforts were impacted, the health and safety of our staff and community remains our priority and we are hopeful that we will be able to once again hold our special event in due course. In closing, I would like to extend my sincerest thanks to our program partners who, during a tough year for many Australians, continued to support us in providing increased opportunities for our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians; particularly to the National Indigenous Australians Agency, Shell Australia, BHP, Lotterywest, Clayton Utz, Deloitte, West Coast Eagles Football Club, Town of Victoria Park and the Western Australian State Government. They are wonderful partners and the contributions received are instrumental to the success of the Foundation. We are excited about the future and look forward to continuing to make a difference. Alan Cransberg Chairman 1 CEO Report I am pleased to be presenting the 2019-2020 Annual Review after what was an unexpected and unprecedented year for all Australians. The pandemic brought many challenges faced all across the globe and we know we have been very lucky throughout Australia and Western Australia particularly. There is no doubt these circumstances still forced us to adapt quickly, and I am incredibly proud of our team for adjusting to new norms so rapidly. In early 2020 our programs temporarily moved from face-to-face support to online. This meant our mentors could continue to engage with and assist our participants, place them into the workforce and offer support where needed. Our Deadly Sista Girlz mentors delivered food hampers to those families who needed a little extra support at this time, as well as creating hygiene packs for participants and delivering sessions virtually. We were however very lucky that as an essential service we were able to get back to face to face delivery for many of our programs rather promptly. A highlight of 2020 was the opening of the WA Indigenous Business and Employment Hub or Wirra Hub for short. With the support of the Australian Government, under the Indigenous Business Sector Strategy, The Wirra Hub supports Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people wanting to start or grow their business. The Wirra Hub has been able to support over 140 businesses already with our physical premises in Burswood as well as through a number of pop-up events supporting those in regional Western Australia. We expect these numbers to continue to grow as our longer-term vision is that we see the entire Indigenous Business sector thriving and to increase the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses in the WA supply chain. This would have the flow-on effect to the wider Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community through increased capacity, employment and wealth. Through what was a difficult year for many businesses our suite of employment programs continued to support our jobseekers and employers in whatever capacity they could and I am very proud that we were able to assist 323 jobseekers into employment. Coming from an employment services background, I know the profound impact long-term, meaningful employment can have not only on the individual but their family and community as well. 2020 saw a move to consolidating what has previously been period of rapid growth for the Foundation. Delivery continued across our existing programs throughout the 2019/20 period including Plan 2day 4 2morrow ™ (P242) Employment program, Vocational Training and Employment Centre (VTEC), Transition to Work, Community Development Program (CDP), ParentsNext, ReSet Onslow Family Support and Wirra Schools RSAS. After a year like no other, I would like to thank all our funders, donors, and partners, and make special mention of the National Indigenous Australians Agency, Shell Australia and BHP. Your continued support throughout these tough times has allowed us to continue our unwavering commitment to enabling our First Australians and for that we extend our sincerest thanks. Lisa Cunningham CEO, Wirrpanda Foundation 2 TheCEO Board Alan Cransberg Trevor Nisbett Richard Godfrey David Wirrpanda CHAIRMAN DEPUTY CHAIRMAN TREASURER DIRECTOR Michael McNulty Amanda Healy Troy Cook Brad Collard DIRECTOR DIRECTOR DIRECTOR DIRECTOR 2020 3 Mission Our Mission “To lead the provision of education, employment and business opportunities. We influence and inspire the empowerment of our people through our diverse work force, which is led by our First Australian role models.” Our People Strong, successful and passionate Indigenous mentors are employed to deliver our programs, with 74% of our current employees being Indigenous. We currently employ 101 staff members nationally, all of whom have completed culturally appropriate facilitator and mentor training. The Foundation is committed to fostering community partnerships and engaging and empowering families and community groups to break the cycle of disadvantage. 4 Vision Our Vision “The Wirrpanda The Wirrpanda Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation with DGR item 1 status, Incorporated Foundation is on 11 January 2002 and endorsed as an income tax exempt charity on 12 February 2002. The recognised as a Foundation is a wholly owned separate legal leader enabling entity of Indian Pacific Limited, trading As West Coast Eagles Football Club. The West Coast First Australians to Eagles provide financial, IT and media services under a shared service agreement that ensure the thrive.” Foundation’s administration and staffing costs are kept to a minimum. The Foundation is governed by a separate Board of Directors. The eight Directors possess extensive commercial and strategic acumen and meet four times a year. The focus of the Board continues to be strong governance and financial management. 5 Federal Government 75% Our current funding breakdown is approximately: is approximately: funding breakdown Our current State Government 17% Fundraising/Donations 3%* Corporate 5% * Due to COVID-19 restrictions the Wirrpanda Foundation Annual Gala Dinner was cancelled for 2020 35,000 100% 13 1465 Since opening our of Deadly Sista Girlz Programs across education,