Supporting women.
Defeating poverty.
“My name is Akanesi Pohivai and I work for Talitha Project, a partner of CARE Australia’s in Tonga.
“It’s my pleasure to introduce CARE Australia’s 2022 Annual Report. I hope you enjoy learning about some of the amazing ways we’ve worked together this year to support women and their communities — happy reading!”
This year, through continuing to evolve our ways of working and dedicating ourselves to supporting local priorities, we achieved some incredible transformations with the help of people like Akanesi.
We have supported women to embrace opportunities and overcome inequality, invested in their sustainable livelihoods, and supported them to become leaders and build resilient communities ready to face the increasing impacts of climate change and economic shocks.
With so many emergencies this year, the interconnectedness between our vital work responding to humanitarian crises and our long-term programs tackling the underlying causes of poverty has never been more urgently needed.
We are proud to be part of one of the world’s largest development networks across 111 countries, and we celebrate the deep connections we have with the local partners and communities who we have worked alongside since 1945.
Gender equality is at the heart of CARE’s overall programming approach. Look for these icons throughout to see how we're supporting change in three ways:
“Everybody deserves
to be heard.”
- Georgilla, Vanuatu
In many places, COVID-19 has rolled back decades of progress towards gender equality. CARE Australia is supporting women as they fight to build back better.
After joining CARE Australia’s Young Women's Leadership Program, Georgilla unlocked her self-confidence and set her sights on making a difference. Her new public speaking skills combined with her passion for activism helped her get a job hosting a radio program on “Femme Pawa” 99 FM where she can be heard all over Vanuatu, speaking up for gender equality.
“It is my job at Femme Pawa FM to help shape public opinion about issues regarding gender and human rights. Because we want to see a change in people’s behaviour,” Georgilla says.
“We ensure everyone’s needs are considered.”
- Julmeira, Timor-Leste
Climate disasters are causing endless crises – amplifying existing inequalities faced by women and girls. CARE Australia is supporting women to take a lead role in preparing for, and adapting to, future crises and a changing climate.
Julmeira makes sure women in her community in Timor-Leste are not left behind as climate change threatens their future.
CARE Australia supported Julmeira to get a role in her community’s Disaster Management Committee – making her one of few women with that responsibility. She’s helping tailor disaster plans to include the needs of women, the elderly and people with disabilities, to make sure they can withstand whatever shocks they may face.
“Not only have I been empowered and skilled to support my community from life-threatening events, but I can see the practical value of women’s participation in disaster risk reduction activities,” Julmeira says.
“Who would ever have thought we could have this kind of income!”
- Silaumua, Samoa
Unfair barriers and discrimination keep women from financial independence. CARE Australia supports women to earn a fair wage in dignified work, and to have a say in how it’s spent.
Silaumua found financial independence through skills she learnt from CARE Australia’s partner organisation, Women in Business Development Inc. She was trained in the best methods to grow healthy vegetables in quantities large enough to sell the excess.
“Now I can afford to give my children decent meals,” she explained. “We sell the excess to get money for our children’s needs.
“Grow your own vegetable garden,” Silaumua tells other women. “It will give you a source of income to help feed your family!”
Silaumua knows that the skills she is passing on are helping secure a bright future for everyone.
“Talitha Project is a women-led organisation. And that makes us more efficient and effective.”
- Akanesi, Tonga
COVID-19, climate disasters, conflict and the global hunger crisis have seen our global humanitarian response double in scale in less than three years. CARE Australia is driving the call for not only more aid, but better aid.
When a volcanic eruption and subsequent tsunami impacted more than 80 per cent of Tonga, CARE Australia’s partners, MORDI Tonga Trust and Talitha Project immediately responded to support families who had lost their homes, crops and livelihoods.
They delivered shelter materials for those whose houses were damaged, clean water, and dignity kits for women and girls – which contained locally-sourced hygiene items. Supplies were also prepositioned in preparation for future disasters.
“Because we know our communities, we were able to rapidly assess the most pressing needs and shift our focus to address them,” says Talitha Project staff member Akanesi (pictured in the introduction).
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Update from the Chief Executive Officer
CARE Australia’s global community
“It is heartwarming to see land that our forefathers sweated blood and tears over being used again.”
- Fuimaono (far right), Women in Business Development Inc., Samoa
“Battling gender inequality has been my passion throughout all my career.”
- Shirleen, CARE Australia staff, Fiji
“The gift I’ve included in my Will to CARE Australia means their incredible work can continue even after I’m gone.”
– Libby, CARE Australia donor for 20 years.
94
%
of CARE Australia’s partners were local organisations.
97.8
%
of CARE Australia's Country Office staff were local to the countries in which they worked.
$
12,337,028
was contributed to CARE Australia's poverty-fighting work by our donors.
Supported more than 1.44 million people across 14 countries.
Responded to 15 emergencies across 12 countries.
Raised $2.6 million through emergency appeals.
Delivered humanitarian assistance in times of emergency or crisis to more than 188,000 people.
CARE Australia thanks these generous individuals, trusts and foundations, and organisations who supported us in 2021/22, and we acknowledge and thank those who have chosen not to have their names published.
Our finances
We work hard to invest every dollar wisely: building strong and trusting partnerships with local organisations, backed up with strong financial stewardship and a commitment to efficiency and effectiveness in all activities.
While monitoring our spending and keeping track of the number of people we reach helps us measure our efficiency, it's vital to complement this with evaluations that show the true impact and quality of our programs in order to make sure we are facilitating genuinely positive and lasting change for women and their communities.
2021/22 was the first year in our three year plan to adjust our operations to deliver maximum impact in response to an increasingly complex and changing environment. Our strong financial stewardship in recent years has put us in a good position to be able to undertake this investment plan in line with our organisational strategy.
This was the first of three years in which we will be reporting a planned deficit as we implement this plan to deliver high quality projects supported by capable staff, secure technology and efficient processes.
Our sound balance sheet has continued from last year and our liquidity position (ability to access cash when it's needed) has meant that we have been able to respond rapidly when crises hit. Our prudent reserves management will continue to provide a good platform for our planned investments.
Our total revenue in 2021/22 was $70.4m. Despite the unpredictability of life in Australia, our donors proved once again how generous they are. We saw incredible support for our emergency appeals, which, combined with other contributions, saw public fundraising increase by 5% this year to $12.3m. Our grant revenue in the previous year was 7% higher than this year’s $58.4m, largely due to surge funding in response to the COVID-19 crisis in our region.
Grants - CARE International Members (30%)
Grants - Other Australian (29%)
Public Fundraising (17%)
Grants – DFAT (8%)
Grants – Multilateral agencies (8%)
Grants – Other overseas (7%)
Other income (1%)
In 2021/22, our expenses (explained below) decreased by 2% to $70.9m. We spent $57.2m on our international programs which represented 80% of our total expenditure.
Prudent cost control ensured that we were able to keep accountability and administration costs to 5% and fundraising costs to 6% of this total.
Funds to International Programs (80%)
includes Development and Resilience Programming, which are the funds we invest in supporting local communities to run long-term development programs, the logistics required, and the costs of expert programming staff to ensure the impact is maximised. Also in this category are funds spent on Emergency and Humanitarian Action which are the lifesaving measures taken to support women and marginalised groups to anticipate, prepare for, respond to, and recover from natural disasters, conflicts and economic shocks. It includes disaster readiness and risk-reduction measures like training and prepositioning of supplies, support given to people in times of crisis, as well as the logistics required, and the costs of expert humanitarian staff to ensure the impact is maximised.
Program Support (7%)
includes the experts and advisors who deliver training, guidance, oversight, and evaluation of project initiatives and urgent emergency action by CARE Australia, as well as the costs of staff who are employed by the CARE International confederation to more cost-effectively provide services and expertise to all of its members — all in the name of maximising impact for the women we work with.
Fundraising (6%)
is how we secure cash donations, grants, and investments from long-term supporters. It covers the costs of our expert fundraising staff, our efforts to acquire new donors, and the provision of supporter care services — all of which help ensure our critical programming and advocacy can continue into the future with as much impact as possible.
Accountability and Administration (5%)
refers to many of the costs required to ensure CARE Australia remains a strong, innovative and accountable organisation with a team capable of achieving our goals. This includes investments in infrastructure, technology and cybersecurity, human resources, finance and accountability, quality assurance and risk management, as well as the costs of our key leadership, administrative and support staff — in effect, the costs of ensuring that we operate in impactful and effective ways.
Advocacy and Community Education (2%)
supports local partners to tackle inequality at a community level as well as petition for change. It also ensures members of the public in Australia and around the world are aware of social justice issues and the ways to overcome them, and are able to do their part.
Thank you from
the Board
It is heartwarming that Australians continued to give this year; your generosity enables us to support women through unprecedented adversity.
I am especially appreciative of our dedicated staff – in Australia, in the countries where we program, and in the organisations we partner with. Despite the world’s ongoing challenges, our teams have continued their vital work.
COVID-19 is still stripping back decades of gains made by women; climate change ravages the most vulnerable; and the war in Ukraine is compounding a global hunger crisis. Sadly, the need for our work is greater today than it has been in our entire history.
CARE Australia is rising to that challenge and I am proud that we continue to lead by example within the global CARE confederation.
I offer my heartfelt thanks to our donors, partners and staff, all of whom work together to build a better future.
Marcus Laithwaite,
Chair CARE Australia
Our Board
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