A Message From SOP
Dear Friends,
Thank you! It is through your involvement, your caring, and your support that Serving Our People is able fulfill our mission and help the people of Australia in their times of need.
2024 has been a year of impact, resilience, and challenges. Across Australia, we have witnessed growing hardship, and it is our most vulnerable who have felt the deepest impact. Yet, they have shown remarkable strength and perseverance in the face of such adversity.
Many in our communities face barriers and disparities in accessing basic necessities that others take for granted. At Serving Our People, we remain committed to bridging this gap by addressing food insecurity, school breakfast programs, emergency relief, crisis support, emergency relief, charity and community aid, youth empowerment programs, accommodation, domestic violence support, homelessness, and mental health initiatives.
In 2024, Serving Our People funded 20 humanitarian programs to support those in need. With the support of leading organisations, philanthropic partners, generous donors, and our dedicated volunteers, we collectively help recipients on a daily basis, we deliver meals, we fed individuals and their families through our free supermarkets, provided accommodation aid, and offered critical support to communities affected by disasters nationwide. This year, following the swearing-in of Serving Our People and its board at Goldbridge, we are expanding our impact to include Rehabilitation Services - recognising the vital role recovery plays in breaking cycles of hardship. This marks a significant step forward in our mission to provide holistic, long-term support for those most vulnerable.
In an unprecedented year of need, Serving Our People is proud to have provided funding for vital programs - a 400% increase from last year. Volunteer-donated hours also grew by 30%, reflecting the incredible dedication of our community. Despite this significant growth, we successfully maintained employee costs in line with last year’s figures, ensuring sustainability while maximising impact.
We had a fantastic fundraising year, raising overall $5.741 million, this amount was comprised of grants, property donations, fundraising events, donations in kind, food donations, and other financial contributions. While direct donations were slightly lower than in 2023, we are committed to making 2025 a record-breaking year and hope you will support us in achieving our goal of raising $6 million.
However, we continue to face significant challenges as the demand in our community grows. Rising fundraising costs, staff shortages, and limitations in critical infrastructure, including our fleet, warehousing, and storage facilities, present ongoing obstacles. Expanding these resources is essential to ensuring we can meet the increasing needs of the communities we serve, Government support, at both Commonwealth and state levels, is progressing to enable long-term support and stronger impact. Serving Our People continues to collaborate with advisers, donors, city and state leaders, not-for-profit organisations, businesses, and philanthropic partners to deploy funds and resources for the greatest impact.
It is only through the extraordinary generosity of our donors, the hard work and commitment of our advisors and volunteers, and the support of community leaders and other not-for-profits that we are able to meet the needs of the most vulnerable communities. We thank you for making this possible.
The year 2024 has shown once again that Australians are resilient, generous, and caring. I am incredibly proud of the work Serving Our People and our volunteers have accomplished – and deeply grateful for the support from individuals across Queensland, New South Wales, and beyond. As we look ahead to 2025, we hope you will continue to support us in any way possible as we strive to bring even more help and relief to those in need.
Thank you for inspiring us and for joining us in building a better Australia together.
At your service,
Yas Daniel Matbouly
Founder & CEO