Big Dry Friday 2021

More than $1,000,000 raised for rural and regional Australia

As a result of many generous contributions, collectively we raised more than $1 million for rural and regional Australia in 2021 – supporting education, mental health and wellbeing.

Big Dry Friday 2021, on 22 October, was an incredible success. We would like to sincerely thank all of the supporters and donors on the day.

To the businesses and groups across Australia, including their staff, clients and friends, who ran events, donated their brokerage, or made a donation, thank you on behalf of our six beneficiaries – chosen due to their focus on supporting education, mental health and wellbeing.

Find out how the funds were invested into rural and regional Australia via the beneficiary links below:

Highlights

Thank you to our supporters

A special thanks to our partners and major sponsors.

Strategic partners

Major sponsors 2021

Key supporters 2021

Big Dry Friday events 2021

The success of this campaign was due to the combined effort of many and we sincerely appreciate your support.

Your support made an impact

Rural Aid

Funds raised from Big Dry Friday 2021 gave 150 farming families in rural communities across Australia $1,000 financial assistance packages, helping to alleviate financial stress.

The financial assistance provided to farmers not only supports the farmer directly, but also indirectly supports their wider community as the money received is spent locally within the community.

The collective effect of this support aids in the recovery and sustainability of rural communities as it helps keep community-based services available, such as main street businesses, schools and sporting fields. This can lead to increased job and economic security within the region.

Schools Plus

Big Dry Friday funds donated to Schools Plus from the 2021 appeal were used to help four regional and remote schools, making a difference to 750 students, 65 teachers and their school communities in 2022.

These schools want to change young people’s lives by improving their teaching practice (the most significant factor within a school) and addressing their students’ needs better.

Outback Futures

Big Dry Friday donations from 2021 enabled Outback Futures to:

Establish a multidisciplinary health team in Cloncurry

Outback Futures has been building a team in Cloncurry over the past 14 months and the Big Dry Friday funds have underpinned this work. It has allowed them to deploy a psychologist and speech therapist to support children and families in the region.

Implement Rumble’s Quest program

Rumble’s Quest is a child wellbeing tool that helps children aged 6-12 by measuring their wellbeing and providing cohort data to schools.

Create a community engagement and education team

Community engagement and education is a key pillar of Outback Futures’ Community Facilitation Model. Big Dry Friday funding has supported the Region Lead and Region Coordinator/First Nations worker to provide community education and awareness around mental health and wellbeing.

Country Education Foundation

Big Dry Friday funding was used to support CEF’s expansion into Queensland and allow greater impact for Queensland rural and regional students through increased engagement activities including:

establishing and supporting a new foundation in Queensland
offering scholarships and other financial support to Queensland students
assistance from the national office

Marcus Oldham Foundation

Big Dry Friday funds in 2021 were used to award student bursaries Marcus Oldham, Australia’s only independent agricultural and equine business management college. Students come from across Australia.

RNA Foundation

Funds raised from Big Dry Friday 2021 were put towards the RNA Foundation’s Education Bursaries. The bursaries have been created to aid agricultural education by supporting eligible candidates to attend the Marcus Oldham Rural Leadership Program.

The program’s objective is to provide leadership training to identified, potential future leaders in agricultural and agribusiness industries and communities.

Big Dry Friday 2022

Big Dry Friday 2022 is on Friday 18 November.

There are multiple ways to get involved. You could run your own Big Dry Friday event or talk to us about tailored sponsorship options.

Find out more