Coolaroo Foundation

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Coolaroo Foundation

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Empowering people & improving environments in regional and rural Australia & beyond. Caring for People | Caring for Places
Let's begin...together

09/02/2026

Happy belated New Year! We’re looking forward to another meaningful year of building connections, supporting impactful projects and cheering on our wonderful grantees in 2026.

One of the first things on our agenda is coming together in person for a two-day strategy meeting. With directors spread across different states — and even overseas — this will be a special opportunity to reconnect as a team for the first time since 2021, reflect on what we’ve learned, and look ahead as we continue to grow the work of Coolaroo Foundation.

And once the strategy sessions are done? You’ll likely find us out in nature somewhere, recharging and reconnecting — very on brand for us.

If you haven’t yet met our wonderful board, you can read more about them here:
👉 https://www.coolaroofoundation.com/board

Coolaroo Foundation directors Janie Forrest, Olivia Hicks, Fiona David and John Morrison are photographed here with Odonata staff at their Mt Rothwell reserve in Victoria.

18/12/2025

That’s a wrap for us at Coolaroo Foundation for 2025.

Thank you for being part of our journey this year — for following along, engaging with our work, and helping us celebrate the incredible organisations we’re privileged to support. Now more than ever, our shared humanity matters, and we’re grateful to play a small part in strengthening it.

We extend our heartfelt congratulations and thanks to our 2025 grantees:

ROCC for Women — for their compassionate support of women in the Shoalhaven experiencing disadvantage, at risk of homelessness, or reintegrating into community following release from custody. We look forward to the continued growth of their correctional in-reach program and wellbeing workshops in 2026.

BackTrack Youth Works — for their unique, holistic approach to supporting young people doing it tough in Armidale; for mobilising an inspiring emergency clean-up crew following the Taree floods; and for the working dogs who play such a vital role in creating connection, safety and trust when it’s needed most.

RAS Foundation — for supporting regional, rural and remote students with the financial assistance that makes further education possible, no matter where they call home. We’re cheering on all the incredible Rural Scholars.

Bundanon — for delivering In This Place, an innovative, multidisciplinary learning program for local high-school students experiencing disadvantage, set within the extraordinary Bundanon arts precinct and surrounding Country.

Bravehearts — for bringing vital personal safety education to preschool and early primary children across the Shoalhaven through the engaging and age-appropriate Ditto’s Keep Safe Adventure.

We may be a small foundation — just four years in the making — but we’re only just getting started. Here’s to more growth, deeper connection and meaningful impact in 2026 and beyond.

From our families (new babies, grandbabies and fur babies included) to yours, we wish you a healthy, happy and restful festive season. See you in 2026.

17/12/2025

As people with deep lived experience on the land — in regional and rural Australia and in remote communities around the world — we understand just how essential biodiversity is. It underpins everything: our food systems, our climate, and our collective wellbeing.

That’s why protecting biodiversity is a key part of our Place pillar. By supporting healthy landscapes, native species and thriving ecosystems, we aim to nourish both people and the planet for generations to come.

04/12/2025

“Our local children need to have these personal safety messages delivered. It is so important that we, as a community, do all we can to keep our children safe.”
— Janie Forrest, Chair, Coolaroo Foundation

We’re proud that Nowra is one of the few regional areas where Bravehearts deliver their Ditto’s Keep Safe Adventure live incursions. This is made possible by the dedicated effort of local volunteers, advocates and staff committed to ensuring as many children as possible receive these essential, preventative personal safety messages.

In the 2024/2025 financial year alone, 211 live incursions were delivered across preschools and primary schools in the Nowra area — a huge achievement for our community.

We are proud to support Bravehearts as they continue this important work, and grateful to stand alongside those working every day to help keep our children safe.

Find out more about the program we support here: https://www.coolaroofoundation.com/braveheartsfoundation

25/11/2025

Today marks the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, and the start of 16 Days of Activism to raise awareness of this urgent global issue — this year with a particular focus on digital violence.

Here in Australia, we are painfully aware of the devastating impact violence has on women and girls. Far too many women have lost their lives to gendered violence, and countless more continue to experience abuse, intimidation or coercive control behind closed doors.

From the UN:
“Violence against women and girls remains one of the most prevalent and pervasive human rights violations in the world. Globally, almost one in three women have been subjected to physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence, non-partner sexual violence, or both, at least once in their life.”

This cause is close to our hearts at the Coolaroo Foundation, which is why Women and Children’s Safety is one of our key funding priorities.

In Nowra, we are proud to support:
for Women walking alongside women exposed to the justice system, facing homelessness, and recovering from trauma — for as long as they need.

South Coast, delivering personal safety education to children in preschool and early primary years to help prevent child sexual abuse.

As we recognise this day, the 16 days that follow and beyond — we hope awareness continues to grow, but more importantly, we hope for action that protects, empowers, and saves the lives of women and girls experiencing violence every day.

Learn more about the causes we support here: https://www.coolaroofoundation.com/roccforwomen and https://www.coolaroofoundation.com/braveheartsfoundation

Address

Shoalhaven (C), NSW

Website

http://coolaroofoundation.com/

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