Exploring Christian Faith and Values
Red Frogs
Overview of Year Four
Nancy and Vincent (Granky and Grandad) embodied Christian values through both their word and deed shown through compassion and humility. These values were passed down through my parents and were integral to my own upbringing and is somewhat embedded into the DNA of the family. As such it is appropriate and important that these faith principles are supported in the legacy of the VFFF.”
Andy Fairfax, VFFF Director and grandson of Sir Vincent and Lady Nancy
His Christian faith was of great importance to Sir Vincent, reflected in his approach to life and vision for the Foundation. This part of his legacy continues to be recognised through VFFF's grantmaking in the Christianity focus area. It remains a key portfolio within the Foundation’s grant making, across its strategic evolutions. Today, guided by our intention to honour the past and shape the future, VFFF supports organisations that provide young people with the opportunity to explore the Christian faith in safe and supportive environments and at their pace.
The goal of the Exploring Christian Faith and Values focus area is that young people make life choices informed by an understanding of Christian faith and beliefs. Funding opportunities are aligned with two outcomes: that young people have positive, engaging experiences that encourage their participation in Christianity and that they gain knowledge and interest in Christian faith.
In FY25 VFFF continued engagement with Alpha Australia (Alpha) by approving a grant that supports the organisation to develop a Life Essentials course for university students, build capacity for evaluation, and further expand into regional and remote areas.
A key element enabling young people to actively engage in their faith journey is an opportunity to debate, ask questions and explore faith with both peers and other generations. Alpha creates a space for this exploration, by providing a gentle, peer-to-peer introduction to Christianity that spans denominations and contexts.
Grants Snapshot
$880k
approved
1
grant
7%
of total funding
100%
for core operations and capacity building
30%
to regional areas
Grants
2025
Alpha Australia $880,000 over three years
To support the Alpha Youth team in the design and development of a Life Essentials course for university students as well as increasing the reach of Alpha Youth’s work supporting rural and regional young people.
Ongoing
Anglican Youthworks
$330,000 distribution ($800,000 total)
Core operations support for the Youthworks Ministry Support Team (MST).
Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students (AFES)
$170,000 distribution ($450,000 total)
Building AFES capacity to engage in fellowship and grow students’ Christian knowledge and faith at university.
Red Frogs Australia
$150,000 distribution ($650,000 total)
Core operations support towards fundraising and volunteer management capacity to support further growth.
Baptist Union of NSW
$284,000 distribution ($800,000 total)
Capacity building of the Baptist Youth Ministries team and increasing of their reach across NSW, particularly to rural and regional communities.
Youth Alive Australia,
$330,000 distribution ($1,000,000 total)
To build fundraising capacity and increase their reach to rural and regional young people.
Highlight: Youth Alive
Our partnership with VFFF has greatly strengthened our work to empower regional young people, delivering remarkable outcomes. We’re deeply grateful for this invaluable investment, which has been essential to our shared success.”
Cameron Bennett, National Director Youth Alive Australia
Youth Alive is a Christian organisation with a vision to reach people with the gospel, raise young leaders, and resource local youth groups to engage youth more effectively with their faith. Founded in 1982 by Australian Christian Churches, Youth Alive works across denominations to connect with young people throughout the country.
Youth Alive have engaged over 74,000 young people in the last year, through their events alone. They also work closely with VFFF grant partner, Alpha Australia, connecting over 2,500 young people to the Alpha Youth program in 2024.
In March 2024, VFFF approved a grant for Youth Alive for fundraising capacity building and increasing their program accessibility for young people in regional areas. They run youth events and leadership days for young people in regional areas and provide pathways of access for these young people to their larger, State-wide events. In 2024, numbers at their regional events made up 47.5% of total event attendance.
One element of Youth Alive that stands out to the VFFF team is their ongoing commitment to embedding the voices of young people at all levels of their organisation. An example of this is their Governance Traineeship Program in VIC, which enables young leaders to observe board governance. In the first iteration of the program one participant, Jake Blabey, said of the program:
“Observing the board gave me a rare behind the scenes look at how key decisions are carefully and strategically made. As a youth pastor, it was a great experience and it deepened my appreciation for strong governance and effective leadership.”