Beneficiaries in 2024
We raised more than $1.6 million for our key beneficiaries: Schools Plus, Rural Aid, Royal Flying Doctor Service and Outback Futures, along with other, localised recipients. Find out more below regarding the impact this will make on communities across Australia.
Schools Plus
Schools Plus exists to help close the education gap caused by disadvantage.
They work with teachers and schools in disadvantaged areas to empower them with funding, coaching and resources to implement initiatives that will help their students succeed.
Up to half of all students in very remote areas are behind in key educational milestones for their age.
The projects Big Dry Friday is supporting with 2024 funds are:
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Beaufort Primary School, Victoria
Embedding a Trauma-Informed Approach to Education -
Maidens Park Primary School, Western Australia
Every Learner Counts: Unlocking Potential Through Expert Teaching -
Wolvi State School, Queensland – Single Year Project
Wolvi Early Years Wallabies: Bridging Early Learning Gaps -
Macleay Valley Community of Schools, New South Wales
Embedding Wellbeing Through BSEM B (This is a 3 year project that Morgans supported last year and will continue to support in 2025) -
Renmark North School, South Australia
The Resilience Project
Rural Aid
Rural Aid is Australia’s most trusted rural charity. It provides critical support to farmers affected by natural disaster through wellbeing and fodder assistance.
The funding from 2024 will enable Rural Aid to provide:
- Approx 30 water tanks
- Approx 100 water deliveries
- Approx 50 pre-paid Visa cards
- Approx 50 farmers supported with fodder and
- Fund a counsellor for six months - providing farm gate and telephone counselling as well as community engagement
Right now, support is being directed into parts of Victoria and much of SA where rainfall has been the lowest on record.
Conditions in South Australia are particularly challenging and Rural Aid continues to be extremely active in supporting producers who have seen crops fail and feed for livestock wither as the State’s big dry bites deeper.
“We just wanted to say thank you for the tank. It is all plumbed in and full after the rain this last few days. The help has been a great boost for the family both financially and mentally after the last few years of natural disasters and health issues.”
Outback Futures
Outback Futures is a not-for-profit organisation that provides mental health and wellbeing services to individuals and communities in rural and remote Queensland.
Thanks to the generosity of Big Dry Friday (BDF), Outback Futures is able to offer ongoing support to the Cloncurry region in far northwest Queensland.
On an individual level, the BDF funding provides counselling, speech and occupation therapy support to children and adults in the region. Clients have the opportunity to meet face to face with Outback Futures’ clinicians at least 4 times per year, and access support via telehealth in between visits.
At a community level, our focus this year is to:
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Develop programs for Men’s Health, as well as other education initiatives to address issues like suicide prevention.
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Partner with local First Nations leaders to facilitate yarning circles focused on indigenous mental health.
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Engagement with the indigenous community of Dajarra, supporting children and teachers in the local school.
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Improve and empower community wellbeing through education, facilitated by allied health clinicians.
BDF funding helps us to continue to show up in the community, deliver services and build connections with and gain the trust of locals.
Thank you for lending a hand to diminish the disadvantage of distance and support bush communities to thrive.
Royal Flying Doctor Service
The RFDS is a national, charitable, health organisation delivering primary healthcare and 24-hour emergency services for those that live in rural and remote Australia.
Areas supported by funds raised in 2024 include:
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QLD - Pilot Training Program and the Mobile Dental Service in Wandoan and Theodore, via a partnership with Senex
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WA - Allied Health Centre in Kalgoorlie
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NSW/ACT - Wellbeing Place at Broken Hill for mental health support
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VIC - Equipment for the Robinvale clinic to support the rural women’s GP program
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SA/NT - Mobile Dental Service
Other Beneficiaries
Rural Doctors Foundation
Rural Doctors Foundation is a national rural health charity focused on supporting better health for rural communities across Australia and the health workforce that cares for them.
Funds from BDF will help the Rural Doctors Foundation deliver its GPs4RuralDocs program, which is an independent and confidential GP service for rural GPs, nurses and allied health professionals.
The program provides continuity of primary healthcare by the same doctor through a combination of in-town, face-to-face consultations and telehealth services in between visits. The service is delivered by an independent team of doctors who understand rural practice and are trained in doctor-to-doctor care and mental health
The goal is to provide every rural health practitioner across Australia with the same level of care they provide to their patients, from an independent GP.
BDF Learning Potential Fund Scholarship
The Morgans Foundation BDF Learning Potential Fund Scholarship has been established in perpetuity to support one undergraduate student from a rural or regional community per annum. This Scholarship was jointly funded by the Morgans Foundation and Big Dry Friday community.
QUT is dedicated to increasing participation to students who may not have had the opportunity, support or resources to realise their potential. QUT has long-standing outreach and support programs for students from low-socio-economic, rural and regional backgrounds.
LPF scholarships encourage disadvantaged and low-income students to undertake and complete a degree at QUT. This scholarship is a critical financial boost for students at a time when, in many cases, their educational aspirations hang in the balance.
Plus
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Cana Communities
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Sydney FC Regional Powerchair Disability Program
Beneficiaries 2025