Backing the Future
Vincent Fairfax Family Foundation Annual Report 2021
Foyer Foundation
Backing the Future Overview
Backing the Future supports individual changemakers to test and implement ideas aimed at improving the lives of young people across remote, rural, and regional NSW and QLD.
In the past year we backed impressive young leaders such as Jessie Armstrong, who is providing young people in Hay (NSW) with experience and networks to succeed in agriculture through a working dogs skill-building program; we also backed long-standing community leaders like Louise De Busch who is leveraging her experience to support young people in Yallambee (QLD) to develop and sell culturally grounded bush products to gain practical work and enterprise skills.
As we welcomed 19 new changemakers from across QLD and NSW into the program, we also reflected on the opportunities allowed in funding individuals, and our responsibility to continue to learn and improve Backing the Future.
We are privileged and grateful to work with our Youth Advisory Group (YAG) and Grants Committee to select projects that are responsive to the needs of young people and a good fit for Backing the Future’s purpose.
We are fortunate to have the expertise of our delivery partner, the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal (FRRR), to provide support and capacity building opportunities to Backing the Future changemakers through their grant term and to support us to reach and select impactful initiatives. We are pleased to have renewed this delivery partnership for another three years.
A key focus going forward is to capture and leverage the rich learnings emerging from this program to enable us to better support changemakers, the YAG and the Grants Committee, and continue to back initiatives creating real change for young people in QLD and NSW communities.
With season two currently in development, VFFF’s podcast Stories of Giving & Receiving has been a key asset in capturing Backing the Future’s stories of impact and learnings for funders and changemakers alike.
Grants
Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal, $820,000 over three years
To continue to partner with VFFF in the delivery of Backing the Future.
VFFF 2026 Grants Committee
Cohort Seven - NSW
$500k
approved
10
grants
Jessie Armstrong | Riverina Stock Dog Apprentices Pilot Program
Equipping young people for on-farm employment through a 12-month pilot program focused on working dogs and livestock handling.
Lloyd Godson | The Wackadoos: Electrifying Futures
Empowering young people to collaborate within a youth-led science program, where they will be supported in a cross-generational space to gain employability skills, industry mentoring, and experience.
George Lester (Clancy) | Inspiring the Next Generation of Nature Lovers
Delivering immersive education programs across NSW to deepen understanding of pollinators, environmental change, and cultural knowledge, fostering scientific literacy and inspiring future leaders to care for the environment.
Ebanita Emojong (Sewa) | Activate AMYCC: A Voice for Young Multicultural Youth
Formalising the Armidale Multicultural Youth Consultative Committee to empower multicultural young people with training, mentorship, and paid leadership opportunities, creating culturally safe spaces that amplify youth voices and drive change.
Jamie Lepre | The Village Hearth
Developing purposeful pathways that guide young people through physical, emotional, and spiritual transitions to foster belonging, resilience, and intergenerational connections.
Julie Humphris | The Launch Pad –Youth Entrepreneurs Program
Delivering a 12-week business development program that equips rural young people with practical skills, mentorship, and real-world experience through a collaborative pop-up store, building confidence and sustainable enterprises.
Joel Spooner | Sound Start
Equipping young musicians for industry employment opportunities through a series of workshops, mentorship, and event participation.
Tom Norman | My RFS Story
Highlighting the experiences of young Rural Fire Service members through storytelling that promotes volunteering as a pathway to community connection, skill-building, and leadership.
Kate Nixon | Next Gen Nature
Empowering young people to protect the environment and to connect with the land through a youth-led educational program designed to nurture leadership and place-based identity.
Julie Overton | Cultivating Futures – For Our Youth in Paterson
Empowering young people in Paterson to lead hands-on environmental projects that restore biodiversity, create community spaces, and build leadership skills, fostering social and ecological resilience for local youth.
Cohort Eight - QLD
$450k
approved
9*
grants
Dominic de Moura McCarthy | Pasifika Christian Leadership Lab
Strengthening culturally grounded leadership, faith, and community connection for Christian and Pasifika young adults in Cairns through a youth‑focused leadership development program.
Jeff Bonnick | Aquaponics for Schools
Supporting rural schools to engage young people in sustainable food production education through aquaponics, building skills and environmental awareness.
Shannon Smith | Ministry Work in North Rockhampton
Establishing a youth ministry in Rockhampton to provide young people with a safe, supportive environment to build faith, belonging, leadership and positive community connections.
Nathan Spruce | The Social Insight Bureau
Development of a detective-themed social listening game where young people investigate and solve issues important to them, engaging in creative play that strengthens connection, skills, and civic participation.
Jesse Gibson | Growing Together
Creating and piloting an intentional discipleship formation pathway, anchored by a practical field-guide, to support the personal, relational, spiritual, and leadership development of young people in Bundaberg.
Louise De Busch (Wandidmore) | Yallambee Youth Bush Enterprise
A youth-led program supporting young people in Yallambee to gain practical work experience and enterprise skills through developing and selling culturally grounded bush products.
Joanna Moss | The Village Green Transformation and Growth
Establishing a community space co-designed and led by young people, nurturing feelings of ownership, safety, community connection and pride in their work.
Gretchen Heyman | Young Voices, Old Wisdom
A program fostering multigenerational connections, ensuring that old wisdom leads and empowers young voices into the future.
*One grant yet to be announced
VFFF Youth Advisory Group
Since 2022, VFFF’s Youth Advisory Group (YAG) has played a key role in bringing the voices of young people into our decision-making process by shortlisting the applications for the Backing the Future grants program.
This year marked the conclusion of another YAG term. We celebrated the achievements of YAG 2.0 and bid a fond farewell to Charlotte Watson, Elise Lane, Gabe Francis, and Taje Fowler. We are incredibly grateful for their immense contribution over their terms.
As we reflected on the journey alongside YAG members, it remains clear that one of the successes of the YAG is the tangible role they play within Backing the Future, as YAG Alumni Elise Lane notes in her reflections article:
“One of the things I value most is that youth voice within the YAG is not symbolic or politely acknowledged. It is embedded. We hold real responsibility in shaping what goes to the Grants Committee, and the Committee genuinely engages with our work. (…) It has reaffirmed how powerful thoughtful, supported youth involvement can be. I look forward to a future where young people are not only empowered at the table, but increasingly shaping what the table looks like in the first place.”
Elise Lane, VFFF Youth Advisory Group member
The role of professional development opportunities to build young people’s capacity to contribute confidently also came through as a key factor, as YAG Alumni Gabe Francis points out to in his reflections:
“To convey my perspective with confidence (or in some instances, to have a perspective at all), I was grateful we had so many opportunities to learn in the group (…) I've always admired organisations that offer a seat at the table to young people. What I learnt from my time on the YAG is that the right kind of teaching – that mixes instruction with exploration and new experiences – helps us to assume that seat.”
Gabe Francis, VFFF Youth Advisory Group member
Now, we mark the recruitment of a new group to carry on the legacy and learnings of previous YAGs.
We are delighted to welcome Anna Woolnough, Darcy Stockdale, Kate Boylan-Ascione, and Zodie Bolic, who join returning members Harrison Garlick, Kieran Lonergan, and Samantha Barton.
We are pleased to have Harrison Garlick step up to the newly established role of YAG Co-Chair. Having been a part of the YAG since its very first term, Harrison is well positioned to take on a leadership role within the group as we explore how we can empower the YAG to shape their own journey and decision-making space within VFFF.
In Harrison’s words:
"Moving forward, what excites me is the new perspectives and opinions that new members bring to the group. I’m really fortunate to have the opportunity to stay involved with the YAG and want to focus on strengthening the connection between the YAG and VFFF’s work. Building upon the learnings of the previous cohort and also learning from young people and the sector on how to continue to build on what the previous two cohorts have established to strengthen our contributions to Backing the Future and our own communities."
Harrison Garlick, VFFF Youth Advisory Group member
