What an incredible night we shared as part of TFN Virtual Live, our first-ever flagship event focused on international giving. Together, we raised an incredible $212,170 for three social change leaders making a real difference to the lives of families and young people in Uganda, Afghanistan and Nepal.
Congratulations to Loretta, Ali and Andrea on their compelling, heartfelt pitches, which you can watch on our YouTube channel.
The amounts pledged to each organisation were:
HUG Charity Foundation: $63,000
Indigo Foundation: $70,150
Forget Me Not: $79,020
A special thank you to our event partner the Australian International Development Network (AIDN), along with their generous members including the Grace & Emilio Foundation and the Vasudhara Foundation for their matched funding and support. If you missed out or want to relive the night, watch the replay via our YouTube channel and share it with your network!
If you haven’t already, please fulfil your pledge. If you need assistance, don't hesitate to email us.
Please note that 10% of funds raised is retained by TFN in agreement with the NFPs pitching as a contribution to our operational costs
Since 2008, HUG (Help Us Grow) Charity Foundation has been implementing and supporting sustainable community projects in rural Uganda, East Africa, to empower local communities to make a sustainable difference in their own lives. Its Smiling Hearts initiative is aimed at providing children and young people living with disability with training, education, and ultimately, a greater sense of belonging and self worth. This is done through a variety of ways including vocational skills training, apprenticeships, and education. At TFN Virtual Live, HUG will be pitching to expand its vocational skills training program through the purchase of additional resources and welcoming more participants from the local community.
Find out more: www.smilingheartsuganda.org.au
Meet the presenter: Loretta Lilford, Co-founder, Smiling Hearts
A nurse by background, Loretta Lilford has found caring for those at the end of their lives to be the greatest privilege of her career. Fuelled by a passion to help children with disability after a trip to Uganda, Loretta co-founded Smiling Hearts in 2014. According to Loretta, “love of people” is at the heart of her work.
Indigo Foundation is a community development organisation that partners with local grassroots organisations to empower women and girls, improve outcomes in education and health, defend human rights and build strong and resilient local organisations. It is pitching for funding to improve educational outcomes for women and girls in the Ghazni Province, Afghanistan. This includes building two new schools, providing educational resources and supplementary salaries for female teachers across two partner schools.
Find out more: www.indigofoundation.org
Meet the presenter: Ali Reza Yunespour, Afghanistan Partnership Coordinator, Indigo Foundation
Ali Reza arrived as a refugee in Australia in 2005 and is currently a research scholar and Academic Internships Coordinator at the University of Melbourne. His PhD thesis examines the political economy of higher education in Afghanistan.
Forget Me Not exists to prevent children and young people around the world from being displaced through investing in programs that keep children within their families and out of institutions. According to Forget Me Not, more than 80 per cent of children in orphanages in the developing world are not orphans. Research shows that these children are taken from their families, trafficked into orphanages and used to generate funds. At TFN Virtual Live, the organisation will pitch for funding to trace, reunify and reintegrate trafficked children with their families, as well as close orphanages in Nepal.
Find out more: https://fmn.org.au
Meet the presenter: Andrea Nave, CEO, Forget Me Not
Andrea is the CEO of Forget Me Not Australia as well as a founding member of the organisation. Andrea first joined Forget Me Not as a volunteer Sponsorship Coordinator, before becoming Project Manager in 2009 and leading the organisation’s expansion into Uganda and India. In 2012, Andrea assumed the position of CEO.