Developing financial diversity, strength and growth
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We ensure that the health of our communities is a funded priority in mainstream health provision.
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We deliver bold and exciting revenue generation activities that appeal to our communities.
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We ensure diversification of our income sources to ensure that we can deliver against the health needs of our communities which may be underfunded.
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We make prudent decisions about investing our resources, and ensure that these investments are ethically sound.
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We endeavour to find efficiencies in spending and source talent and resources which are cost effective while upholding the standards of our organisation.
Summary Highlights
Finance Operations
We’re here to build ACON’s financial diversity, strength, and growth. We do this through sound financial planning, diversifying income streams, innovative fundraising, and strong risk management and compliance.
During this financial year, revenue from community fundraising and events has been impacted by the post pandemic economic environment. However, income through other revenue streams, such as our Pride Inclusion Programs, was robust. ACON also continued to have considerable success in its various government grant applications at national, state and local levels.
The Finance Team continued to deliver accurate financial reporting, including thorough monitoring of income and expenditure, as well as closely analysing the cashflow of the organisation and the economic environment. Quarterly reviews of performance against budget continued to ensure that the Finance & Audit Committee and Board of Directors had full transparency of how ACON’s operations were tracking throughout the year. ACON continues to re-invest income that is self-generated through fee-for service offerings such as Pride Inclusion Programs, Pride Training and Pride Counselling to ensure their continued growth. These programs operate independently from government funding and the income generated allows ACON to continue to expand the reach of its various programs and services to our communities.
Effective financial risk management remains a top priority for our organisation. Throughout the year, we have diligently assessed and managed various financial risks to protect our financial position and ensure the sustainability of our operations. We have implemented comprehensive risk management frameworks and practices to identify, measure, monitor, and control financial risks.
ACON’s risk management framework is informed by the principles and guidelines set out in the Australian Risk Management Standard (AS/NZS ISO 31000:2018). The framework comprises policies, procedures, guidelines, and operational tools to support decision-making for the management of risks. Each business unit maintains a risk register and these registers feed into the organisational wide risk register as and when required.
ACON maintains a Compliance Framework, which also comprises policies, procedures, and guidelines. A breach register is maintained to ensure that any breaches of legislation or policies are documented and resolved.
Senior managers continue to have access to a legislative alert system to ensure they remain up to date with all current legislation relevant to their business unit. Risk management and compliance reports are provided to the Finance and Audit Committee and the Board on a quarterly basis.
ACON has a Finance & Audit Committee, which is responsible for ensuring that ACON’s organisational culture, capabilities, systems and processes are appropriate to protect the financial health and the reputation of ACON in all audit related areas.
Composed of experienced financial professionals and independent directors, the Committee provides oversight and guidance on many financial, risk and compliance matters. Meetings are bi-monthly and their diligent oversight and independent perspective contributes to the integrity and transparency of ACON’s operations.
We continued to develop and implement improved systems, processes and initiatives to strengthen our finance operational capabilities. These include:
- Regular review and update of finance policies in view of changes in complexity and implementation of new systems, and changes in accounting standards and regulations
- Performance of additional internal audits to improve operational efficiency and ensure decisions are properly authorised
- Implementation of a new online credit card management and reporting system
During the course of ACON’s operations, it is often necessary to seek the advice and guidance of specialist legal organisations in matters such as commercial law and intellectual property, employee relations, as well as Workplace, Health and Safety. We gratefully acknowledge the pro bono support provided during 2022-23 by the following legal advisers:
- Allens
- KL Gates
- Norton Rose Fulbright
- Dowson Turco Lawyers
The assistance provided so willingly and professionally by these organisations has been invaluable in assisting ACON achieve its strategic goals and further our work.
In the coming year, ACON will investigate and conduct due diligence on the proposed implementation of a new best-practice financial management information system to provide real time reporting on ACON’s financial position. This will ensure ACON continues to be innovative, agile and effective organisation.
We will continue our efforts to maintain our focused and disciplined approach to financial decisions to ensure long-term sustainability.
Fundraising & Philanthropy
We’re here to deliver bold, innovative and sustainable fundraising initiatives and activities that connect with and appeal to our communities to help continue funding our work.
Our efforts to achieve our objectives in improving the health and wellbeing of our communities is significantly enhanced through fundraising and philanthropy. We simply would not have the impact or reach that we do without the thousands of dedicated supporters who donate and raise funds for us every year, in what continues to be a very challenging fundraising environment.
We thank the many hundreds of supporters who continue to make ACON’s work possible through fundraising and philanthropy.
This year, we introduced a new peer-to-peer fundraising campaign called Celebrate With Pride. The campaign provides a platform for people and businesses to raise funds for ACON in the lead up to Mardi Gras and Pride Month. Supporters can also raise funds through the platform at any time of the year. We had an incredible response towards the campaign, particularly in the backdrop of WorldPride, with around 40 registrations, raising around $40,000. We thank all who got involved with, or donated to, our inaugural Celebrate With Pride campaign.
Our communities continued to show wonderful support for our long-running campaign, the Red Ribbon Appeal. We collected donations at trains stations in the CBD and at theatre productions. We provided support to local LGBTQ venues in Sydney, Newcastle and Lismore that hosted fundraising events. And we assisted several businesses, corporates and community organisations in holding Red Ribbon Appeal benefits. We express our heartfelt thanks to everyone who supported the Red Ribbon Appeal.
Visit the Red Ribbon Appeal website to learn more and get involved.
We continued to raise funds at community events and we’re grateful to all who made a donation to ACON over the past year. Our long-running fundraiser Bingay continues to attract a strong following. Held monthly at The Beresford, 100% of proceeds goes towards supporting ACON’s programs and services.
This year saw the return of the Honour Awards, after it was cancelled for two consecutive years because of the pandemic. As well as celebrating our communities, Honour is a fundraiser for ACON. We thank all who attended Honour, participated in the silent auction, bough a raffle ticket or made a donation.
Local LGBTQ venues continued their fundraising efforts for ACON and we extend our sincerest thanks for their support, including Universal, The Beresford and The Stonewall Hotel. The latter’s Orgy of Drag event, held each year during Pride Month, raised over $2,000, bringing the total amount raised in 24 years to an amazing $48,000.
ACON is grateful to be the recipient of donations from our regular donors. Their monthly gifts makes a big impact in supporting our health programs and services. We thank all our regular donors for giving so generously to ACON every month.
We continued to grow our valued partnerships with corporates, businesses and organisations. Global fashion label Jean Paul Gaultier has donated over $10,000 from their Pride fragrance collection. $20 from every bottle sold in Australia was donated to ACON. Hospitality group Merivale donated $24,308 from the proceeds of their summer cocktail campaign. Lendlease donated $14,000 from their Darling Quarter activation during WorldPride. We thank all our fundraising partners for their incredible support.
We thank the many hundreds of supporters who continue to make ACON’s work possible through fundraising and philanthropy. We are truly humbled by the generosity shown by our communities and our allies. We thank all our donors and partners for your kind assistance, as well as all those who supported us through community events, appeals, fundraising drives and in-kind contributions.
ACON’s work is simply not possible without our supporters. Looking ahead, we will continue to develop innovative campaigns and invest in new technologies to give our communities more options to support us. We also aim to build long-term and meaningful relationships by improving and enhancing their supporter experience.
Our Focus Areas
