A work in progress

Audi Foundation celebrates its fourth anniversary.

In its four years of operation, the Audi Foundation has raised more than $3.7 million in funds and directly assisted 1.3 million people, with more than six people impacted by the programs it supports.

25 May, 2021


Audi Australia set-up the foundation with the mission statement of helping support those communities in which the Audi brand operated around the country

In the world scheme of things, four years is not an especially long time, yet as the Audi Foundation turns four, the difference it has made to the lives of people around the country casts that timeframe in a completely new light.

When Audi Australia launched the Audi Foundation back in May 2017, few could have foreseen the scope and reach of the programs it would support and the number of people who would be directly and positively impacted by its work and that of its not-for-profit partners.

Audi Australia set-up the foundation with the mission statement of helping support those communities in which the Audi brand operated around the country, and set about selecting not-for-profits with a proven track record and values in keeping with those of the brand. As well as the Audi Foundation’s own fund-raising activities, additional funding would come from the Audi Australia Dealer Network’s contributions and charitable donations, but rather than then make one-off donations to numerous charities, the Audi Foundation formed long-term partnerships with carefully selected organisations to creating on-going support that continues to this day.

The Foundation board identified key areas it felt would have the most positive impact – education and employment initiatives, mental health and medical research and set to work finding the partners best qualified and equipped to build programs or to work with those and their existing, proven programs.

The results to date demonstrate just what can be achieved, with the Audi Foundation and its partners delivering real and ongoing support to a broad range of people and communities right around Australia.

“In the four years since Audi Foundation came into being, it has quietly gone about its business of making a real difference to the lives of people all over the country,” says Paul Sansom, Chairman of the Audi Foundation and Managing Director of Audi Australia.

“In that time we have also seen new challenges, most recently in the form of widespread bushfires and of course the pandemic create additional pressures on many, but the Foundation and its partners continue to rise to the challenge and adapt to support those in the most need.”

That support can be seen in the ongoing programs with partners The Smith Family, Charlie Teo Foundation, ReachOut, Humpty Dumpty, Country Education Foundation of Australia, RU OK? and Camp Quality.

To date, 14 Audi Foundation Country Education Foundation Australia (CEF) Scholarships to a total value of $35,000 have been awarded since the Audi Foundation began operations and last year alone, the CEF was able to provide 663 students with financial support – a 13 percent increase over 2019.

Over 4000 students have taken part in face-to-face Work Inspiration programs through the Foundation’s ongoing association with The Smith Family, with another 309 students utilising the digital version of the program.

 

Last year alone, the Country Education Foundation of Australia (CEF), was able to provide 663 students with financial support

Its ReachOut parents program which is funded by the Audi Foundation, sees 130,000 parents visiting the site quarterly

Even with the added challenges imposed by 2020, Camp Quality’s tremendous Primary School Education Program which visits schools and helps educate and support children impacted by cancer, was able to reach more than 17,000 students up to October last year. This brings the total of children who have taken part in the program to more than 70,000 since the Audi Foundation began working with Camp Quality.

More than 430 hospitals nationally have received in excess of 1500 pieces of children’s medical equipment from children’s charity, the Humpty Dumpty Foundation, while the Audi Foundation’s ongoing support of the Charlie Teo Foundation is helping to fund vital brain cancer research in an attempt to find a key to more effectively combating this insidious disease and of course ultimately see it eradicated altogether.

 Leading online mental health service, ReachOut, also continues to provide invaluable assistance to hundreds of thousands of young people – it’s primary demographic – while its ReachOut parents program which is funded by the Audi Foundation, sees 130,000 parents visiting the site quarterly, or more than half a million each year. Since the program’s inception, that figure now sits at 1,560,000 visits and continues to grow exponentially.

Audi Foundation also continues its support of suicide prevention organisation, RUOK? which continues to provide much needed mental health support around the country, getting people to ask what can often be a life saving question or simply start a conversation with a friend, colleague or family member.

In addition to these ongoing projects, the Audi Foundation also made a significant donation to Lifeline last year, with Audi Australia contributing $10 for each of the 10,000 tickets sold in the foundation’s fifth fund raiser. That one-off donation of $100,000 was specifically earmarked to help Lifeline deal with significant impact of the bushfires on individuals in the affected areas.

Of course it’s impossible to measure the impact of these programs and initiatives on the many individuals they assist, but viewed overall the numbers have certainly grown in the four short years of the Audi Foundation. To date, over 1.3 million individuals and families have been directly supported by the Audi Foundation since its inception with more than six million people impacted by the various programs.

“Those involved in the Audi Foundation and its partner organisations have every right to be proud of their achievements to date,” says Paul Sansom.

“Likewise everyone who donates or supports one of the foundation’s fundraisers is contributing to making a real and positive difference in the lives of those who most need it.”

“While the numbers of people affected by the Audi Foundation’s targeted approach over the past four years are impressive, the individual impact of these ongoing initiatives is immeasurable.”

 Go to the Audi Foundation to learn more or make a donation.

Of course it’s impossible to measure the impact of these programs and initiatives on the many individuals they assist