QATSIF, the Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Foundation, has received the title of Philanthropic Foundation of the Year at the Queensland Community Foundation Philanthropy Awards Lunch for 2023.
QATSIF chairperson Professor Keitha Dunstan said the award provides recognition of the achievements of QATSIF during the 14 years since its formation.
"We hold responsibility for ensuring that the funds originating from the unpaid wages of generations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people provide transformative support to the current and future generations of Queensland First Nations youth," she said.
👏🏽 QATSIF is deeply honoured to have been named as 2023 Queensland Philanthropic Foundation of the Year at yesterday's QCF awards amongst so many outstanding organisations & Philanthropists.
We thank our Elders & Ancestors, Patrons, Board, staff, students, schools & supporters. pic.twitter.com/6hfHW7tF41
— QATSIF (@QATSIF) June 9, 2023
Since its establishment in 2008, QATSIF has been dedicated to providing educational scholarships to support more than 16,300 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young individuals in completing years 11 and 12 across all schools in Queensland.
QATSIF's outstanding students have consistently been recognised as Queensland's top First Nations performers for six out of eight years.
They have won three Queensland Music awards, three overall Queensland 7News Young Achiever titles, an AACTA award, represented state sports teams, and earned 26 of the 29 Peter Doherty Outstanding First Nations Senior STEM Students awards.
QATSIF's Patron, Aunty Ruth Hegarty shared her pride in QATSIF students' many achievements stating, "You are the generation who will lead us into a brighter tomorrow."
"In 1934, Governor Sir Leslie Wilson stated that 'Aboriginal children should be instructed in the practical work of servants and labours'," she noted.
"The gift of these scholarships have enabled you to seize the opportunity not only to rise above being servants and labourers, but to go further."
Besides being the largest secondary scholarship program for Indigenous students in Australia, QATSIF shares a range of opportunities, such as university camps, competitions, and traineeships, with all Queensland schools and over 12,000 social media followers.
Additionally, QATSIF collaborates with various organisations, including the Queensland Ambulance Service, Transurban, the Queensland Indigenous Family Violence Legal Service, and Gold Coast Health.
These partnerships provide students with valuable chances to work alongside industry professionals, enhancing their knowledge, networks, and practical experience in their chosen career paths.
Through the See I.T. Be I.T. program, QATSIF has partnered with other stakeholders to provide over 1600 laptops to support struggling Queensland students thanks to generous donations from organisations, schools, businesses and government departments.
QATSIF is overseen by a Board of leading First Nations and non-Indigenous community leaders and staffed by just four full-time and part-time staff who currently look after 3900 scholarships across 360 schools.
