Feature

The QBE Foundation has announced its 2019 charity partners, confirming renewed agreements with seven existing partners. The agreements include new and continuing multi-year support pledges from the insurer’s Australia Pacific philanthropic arm.

The QBE Foundation confirmed it would continue to support charity partners R U OK?, Foodbank, Mission Australia, KidsCan New Zealand, The Kids’ Cancer Project, Assistance Dogs Australia and McGrath Foundation.

QBE Foundation chair Bettina Pidcock said the QBE Foundation had renewed the agreements based on the charities’ significant community contributions in 2018 and chose to provide continued support to ensure sustainable and positive impact over time.

“As an insurer, we’re in a unique position to help people and communities in their times of need – the QBE Foundation and our work with our charity partners is one of the ways we do this.

“Importantly, we recognise that certainty of funding is a challenge for the not-for-profit sector and ongoing support is vital to success.

“Provision of continued support and multi-year commitments allows us to address this, support longer-term projects, leverage momentum and ultimately achieve a deeper and broader impact long term.

“Beyond a financial contribution, our partnerships also allow our people to get involved in many ways, including volunteering, fundraising, and other activities and events which raise awareness of the various causes.”

Pidcock said the foundation had committed to more multi-year partnership arrangements than ever before.

“For example, this year we’ll be broadening out our work with R U OK? by funding and supporting its R U OK? in Sport campaign. The campaign will launch later this year and through our multi-year partnership we’ll continue to share its critical peer-to-peer support message with the sporting community for years to come.

“Another example is our work with McGrath Foundation. Our donation directly funds McGrath QBE Breast Care Nurse, Vicki Bell who we’ve supported since 2014, and our agreement means we’ll continue funding her work until 2021, at a minimum.”

Along with its charity and community organisation partnerships, the foundation has numerous programmes in place to help QBE’s people support causes that matter to them.

Additional programmes for staff include local grants up to $10,000, donating through workplace giving, fundraising effort support through.