IMPACT REPORT 2023-24
Raising Awareness
Fostering a Connected and Resilient Canberra
This year, Hands Across Canberra focused on strengthening the social fabric of our city, fostering a more connected and resilient community.
We achieved this by:
- Championing Local Charities: We shone a spotlight on the vital work of Canberra’s charities, raising awareness of their innovative approaches and amplifying the impact on those facing adversity. This bolstered their capacity and inspired community support.
- Celebrating Generosity: The inaugural Canberra Philanthropy Awards honours exemplary individuals embodying the “give where you live” spirit. These awards recognise acts of kindness, initiative, and leadership that uplift various segments of Canberra’s population. In 2023, Terry Snow AM received the award for his outstanding lifetime dedication to improving the lives of those in need
- Amplifying Awareness: Through strategic partnerships and initiatives, we communicated our community’s needs. This included our Canberra Day Appeal which promoted the “Give Where You Live” slogan over 1.3 million times in the lead-up to Canberra Day.
- Empowering Community: Our journalism grant with ability.news supports a news platform for the disability community, sharing their stories, raising awareness, and advocating for their rights. This collaboration empowered the sector with valuable resources and a stronger voice.
- Data-Driven Solutions: We used data and research collected from grant rounds and community consultations to gain a deeper understanding of the underlying causes of social challenges in Canberra. This allows us to develop targeted programs and identify potential partners, fostering a more coordinated response to community needs.
By fostering connections, raising awareness, and empowering local organizations, Hands Across Canberra continues to build a stronger, more supportive Canberra for all.
Our Community Insights 2023-24: Navigating a Challenging Landscape
The Rising Tide of Need: The cost-of-living crisis continues to escalate, pushing families and individuals into financial hardship, even with full-time employment. There’s surging demand for support services, placing immense pressure on local charities.
Many families, including those with working parents, seek assistance to cover basic expenses. Charities themselves face challenges in maintaining services due to rising operational costs.
Food Insecurity and Growing Demand: Food pantries are experiencing a major increase in demand, as people struggle to meet basic needs. Many have never needed assistance. The community has responded generously and new food pantries are emerging across Canberra. However, the rapid distribution of goods highlights an urgent need for support.
The Strain on the Community Sector: The community sector is grappling with an increased demand for services, rising costs, reduced donations, and depleted reserves. This perfect storm has made it difficult for many organizations to meet the needs of their communities.
We know that Canberrans are eager to make a difference. Hands Across Canberra is dedicated to supporting charities and organisations in raising funds and advocating for their needs. By working together, we can alleviate the effects of the rising cost of living and create a more equitable and compassionate community.
A Heartfelt Thank You to Our Media Partners!
We extend our sincere gratitude to the local media outlets playing an important role in amplifying our message and reaching a wider audience. Their unwavering support is instrumental in our success.
A special thanks to TalkForce Media and CoReCom for their tireless efforts in bringing our Canberra Day Appeal campaign to life. By maintaining a consistent message, we were able to inspire supporters at a difficult economic time.
We are particularly grateful to WIN News, ABC News, Mix 106.3, FM 104.7, Canberra Daily, Radio 1RPH, Valley FM, ABC Afternoons, Riot ACT, The Senior, 2CC, Canberra Times, and WIN TV for their invaluable assistance in sharing our stories.
The overwhelming support from the community and stakeholders is testament to our value for Canberra. As we anticipate the sixth anniversary of the Canberra Day Appeal, we’re confident next year’s event will be even more successful.
Canberra Day Appeal
Our Canberra Day Appeal raises awareness of the needs in Canberra and the nearby region to a wide audience while encouraging and enabling Canberrans to give where they live.
The Canberra Day Appeal is an annual month-long campaign that aims to encourage and enable Canberrans to give where they live, pooling funds for local charitable causes and raising awareness of the needs in Canberra and the nearby region to a wide audience.
Now in its fifth consecutive year, the Canberra Day Appeal has grown significantly from its inception. In 2024, the Canberra Day Appeal raised a total of $700,000 for Hands Across Canberra and the 81 participating community organisations.
We needed to ensure the day’s sustainability while maintain in appeal growth, so took the difficult decision to lower the level of matching support offered to the charities. While fundraising decreased slightly, impact and awareness are both increasing significantly across the community.
We had more corporate supporters than in any year previously more people are donating than in previous years. Our 2024 CDA Campaign made a significant impact in awareness raising by reaching 50 per cent more people than in previous years.
We achieved this through a strategic combination of organic and paid media presence, active engagement on both our and third-party social media platforms, significant partnerships and a brand-new campaign image that resonated with our audience. These are great strides for the campaign to ‘Give where you live!”.
This year the ACT Government, in partnership with Stromlo Running Festival, Damsel and Sprout and Hands Across Canberra, organised the Canberra Day Appeal Fun Run around Lake Burley Griffin. Hands Across Canberra provided communications support, medal designs and 20+ volunteers to support the event. A total of 700 runners came out in support and proceeds of the event amounted to $5,000 and supported the Appeal. HAC hopes to grow this event in years to come.
“It has always been the ambition that the whole Canberra Day celebrations include a range of activations which cement the Canberra Day Appeal into the fabric of the city, from businesses holding events through the year intended to boost their support of the appeal; to charities creating awareness as to how the benefits of the appeal are embedded in their budgets allowing them to do even more great work with our most vulnerable. The Fun Run introduced us to 700 new ambassadors who all contributed and hopefully will be back again next year. We also had over 20 wonderful and cheerful volunteers who are new advocates for Hands Across Canberra. “ – Peter Gordon, former CEO of Hands Across Canberra
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