Strengthening school connection: 2025 Sustainable Giving Grants announced

Staying connected to school can be the difference between a young person thriving or quietly falling through the cracks. In 2025, the Coopers Foundation’s Sustainable Giving Grant focused on youth education, with a clear priority: backing organisations that remove barriers to learning and keep disadvantaged children engaged, supported and hopeful.

The response was unprecedented.

More than 250 organisations from across Australia made contact about this grant round. From those enquiries, 105 formal Expressions of Interest were submitted for consideration by our Governors. The volume and quality of applications reflected both the depth of need and the strength of the sector working to address it.

Following a rigorous assessment process, two organisations were selected to receive $150,000 each over three years. Both programs tackle school disengagement head-on — not through one-off interventions, but through consistent, relational support that meets children where they are.

Keeping kids showing up: LIVEfree Project

LIVEfree Project’s Brighter Beginnings Bus Program is an innovative program that combines daily school transport with wellbeing check-ins and practical support for vulnerable families in and around Newcastle, NSW.

Each morning, children who face significant barriers to attendance — including family trauma, housing instability and poverty — are collected from home by trained staff who check in at the door. Concerns are identified early, referrals are made quickly, and every child arrives at school having received breakfast, encouragement and a sense that they matter.

The program currently supports around 60 students, with plans to grow to 100 children during the funding period. Its impact extends beyond the child, strengthening family stability and improving engagement across entire school communities.

By funding core staffing, transport costs and program expansion, the Sustainable Giving Grant will help ensure this daily, preventative support remains reliable and scalable — keeping children connected to education when it matters most.

Building belonging through learning: The Pyjama Foundation

For children living in out-of-home care, educational disruption is common — and the long-term consequences can be profound.

The Pyjama Foundation’s Love of Learning Program addresses this gap through one-on-one mentoring. Each participating child is matched with a trained volunteer “Pyjama Angel” who spends time with them every week, reading together, supporting homework, and building confidence through trusted relationships.

Over the next three years, the Foundation’s funding will support 90 children across Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria — many of whom have experienced trauma, disrupted schooling and instability. The program is grounded in evidence-based relational pedagogy and supported by ongoing evaluation, ensuring learning outcomes are measured, understood and strengthened over time.

For these children, staying engaged with school isn’t just about literacy and numeracy. It’s about belonging, belief in themselves, and having a consistent adult who shows up — week after week.

A long-term commitment to outcomes

The Sustainable Giving Grant is designed to do more than fund good ideas. It exists to provide certainty, stability and partnership — allowing organisations to plan beyond the next year and focus on lasting change.

This year’s youth education round demonstrated both the scale of unmet need and the importance of sustained, relational approaches to learning. While only two organisations could be funded, the Foundation acknowledges the many high-quality applications received and the critical work being done across the country.

The Coopers Foundation thanks all organisations that took the time to engage so thoughtfully in this process, and extends its appreciation to the donors, staff, shareholders and supporters whose generosity makes long-term giving possible.

Together, we are backing programs that keep children connected — not just to school, but to opportunity, dignity and hope.