News
Paul Ramsay Foundation expands philanthropic scope and activities in 2019
Jan 06, 2020
Programs for disadvantaged schools, disabled young people, Indigenous eye health and suicide prevention were among a range of initiatives supported by the Paul Ramsay Foundation in 2019.
Since 2016, the Foundation has invested more than $220 million in health, education and early childhood initiatives, drawing from the generous bequest of its founder, Paul Ramsay.
The Foundation has also drawn on Paul Ramsay’s life stories and values as well as the operating culture of the company he founded to articulate its own values which include: valuing people, integrity, humility, learning, loyalty, courage and innovation. The Foundation remains the largest philanthropic foundation in Australia and, in 2019, continued to expand its philanthropic scope and activities.
The past year has seen considerable growth and change in the organisation. In February, distinguished academic, Professor Glyn Davis AC, was appointed CEO.
Under the leadership of Professor Davis, the Foundation has reviewed and refined its ambition to “breaking the cycle of disadvantage” by partnering with people, organisations and communities. The aim is to achieve lasting, systemic change in Australia. The outcome of the review will be announced in early 2020.
The Foundation remains committed to building rich and deep relations through collaboration and partnerships with the for-purpose sector. It continues to expand its network of partnerships and held its third annual partner workshop in November. These partnerships provide key learnings and insights about the nature and complexity of entrenched disadvantage.
The Foundation is also working with its partners and others in the for-purpose sector to improve outcomes for disadvantaged communities by building skills, expertise and capability in the sector.
The Foundation has substantially expanded its own highly skilled team from five to almost 20 people, in keeping with similarly sized foundations operating in other countries. Recent hires have built on the founding team’s expertise by bringing experience from government, business, academia, the law, think tanks and beyond. The Foundation has also built out its back office and operational capability to better support growth into the future. As a consequence, it has outgrown its offices in St Leonards so will relocate to a temporary home in Darlinghurst before moving to permanent, nearby premises in 2021.
Here is a selection of the partnerships the Foundation is proud to support:
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A partnership with Ticket to Work has found jobs on the open market for more than 200 young people with disabilities through better co-operation between their families, schools, local service providers and businesses
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In education, grants are delivering improvements to the quality of teaching in schools across NSW, Victoria and the ACT through a partnership with Quality Teaching Rounds
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A partnership with Teach for Australia has placed 150 new, high-performing young teachers in disadvantaged schools in Tasmania, the Northern Territory, Victoria and Western Australia, with another 165 teachers recruited for placement in 2020
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In partnering The Black Dog Institute, the Foundation is supporting a new suicide prevention program, Lifespan, which is the largest philanthropic contribution to suicide prevention in Australia
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The Foundation recently launched a new partnership with Indigenous Eye Health at the University of Melbourne to improve regional efforts to close the gap in Indigenous vision by reducing avoidable blindness caused by diseases like trachoma
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A new partnership with the Foundation for Young Australians, PwC’s The Impact Assembly, and Melbourne University will develop new pathways from school to further education, training and employment for disadvantaged young people. Validated by communities and backed by world-leading research, the new learning pathways will help create opportunities for young people disadvantaged by the current ATAR-dominated system. The collaborative initiative is due to launch early next year.
Due to the high volume of requests it receives, the Foundation has made a decision to reach out directly to groups and organisations it believes could be potential partners rather than accept unsolicited proposals.
For more information, go to www.paulramsayfoundation.org.au.