New grants help level the playing field for First Nations students

Millions of dollars in grants distributed to worthy causes every year.

However, initiatives designed to benefit Indigenous Australians are far from the head of the queue.

According to Philanthropy Australia data, only 0.5 per cent of philanthropic funding in Australia goes to First Nations communities.

That means many organisations committed to helping Indigenous Australians struggle to attract the long-term funding required to address their needs and priorities.

The philanthropic arm of customer relationship management software company Salesforce hope to change that by allocating $1 million in new funding for First Nations led organisations.

The grants to DeadlyScience and Aurora Education Foundation are designed to help further the organisations missions to forge pathways to better education and career opportunities for First Nations students.

The grants have been distributed by the Salesforce Catalyst Fund and Salesforce Foundation.

Launched in 2022, the Salesforce Catalyst Fund is a global philanthropic fund dedicated to investing in organisations led by members of underrepresented minorities and serving underrepresented communities.

The Salesforce Foundation was established in 2000 and has since provided more than $96 million in grants globally.

Both funds aim to counter systemic racial inequities in philanthropic funding by redistributing the flow of money to traditionally underfunded groups including those focused on education and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programs and workforce development.

Salesforce Australia and New Zealand executive vice president Frank Fillmann said the grants reflected the company’s commitment to driving equality for all.

“We’re proud to support DeadlyScience and the Aurora Education Foundation in our shared vision to create a more equitable Australia,” said Mr Fillmann.

The founder and CEO of Deadly Science, Corey Tutt, said that as one of Australia's leading not-for-profit organisations providing STEM resources and programs to Indigenous students, the organisation would use the funds to provide additional educational support to Indigenous learners in remote communities.

“Our programs aim to celebrate the knowledge of Australia’s first scientists, developed more than 65,000 years ago, and share this with the next generation of deadly scientists.”

Mr Tutt said DeadlyScience worked with more than 800 schools and community organisations across Australia.

“With the reinvestment from Salesforce, we will be able to move closer to our goal of inspiring more Indigenous students to study and pursue STEM subjects.”

Aurora Education Foundation CEO Leila Smith said the NFP would use its grant to support First Nations students as they navigate high school and enter the workforce, providing the necessary tools to help students achieve their goals.

“At Aurora, our programs use education as a lever to enable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to be whatever it is that they want to be, from Year 7 through to PhDs at Oxford and everything in between,” she said.

“We create a structured pipeline of programs so that Indigenous success happens by design and not by chance, and we’re validating students who have high goals and big dreams.”

Ms Smith said the grant would help sustain important initiatives such as mentoring, internship and post-graduate pathways into employment.

Treating First Nations communities with respect

The support for Indigenous organisations comes as attendees at the recent Fundraising Institute Australia (FIA) conference in Brisbane attended a session titled: “How to engage respectfully with First Nations peoples.”

Presenters Chris Mills and Jamil Tye from Melbourne’s Monash University outlined the best way to talk to and about First Nations peoples, how to build relationships and trust and how to deliver programs and services with meaningful impact.

Their key insights included:

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are made up of more than 250 different language groups across the nation, each with their own unique needs and desires. When engaging with First Nations Australians, it’s not about you. Take the time to build a trusting relationship, listen, and be respectful of Aboriginal self-determination.
  
• Colonisation has had a profound impact on First Nations Australians, and we all have a role to play in closing the gap. Be led by Aboriginal people, and look for opportunities to empower First Nations individuals, organisations and communities.

These opportunities may include developing a Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP), completing cultural awareness training, supporting grassroots initiatives that strengthen education and employment pathways and economically empower First Nations communities by using Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suppliers.

• At every stage, think deeply about what it means to listen to and be led by First Nations peoples.

FIA CEO Katherine Raskob described the session as an insightful and engaging discussion and crash course on Indigenous cultural awareness.

“Chris and Jamil’s session was an important and fantastic opportunity to understand how better to talk to and about First Nations peoples and importantly, how to build relationships and trust which is so important for our sector and of course, our community and society.”

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