Our top five takeouts from 21 years of youth-focused philanthropy

We’re celebrating 21 years of the Telstra Foundation. As you do whenever someone turns 21, we’ve taken the opportunity to look back at where we’ve come from, and reflect on who we are and what we’re proud of.

Our top five takeaways

1. We've always put young people first

From our very beginning, young people have been a huge focus - particularly those in underserved communities. Through initiatives like the Young & Connected Fund and Code Club Australia we’ve provided education, access to resources and opportunities to grow. We’re also champions for putting young people in the driver’s seat, we know that the most impactful outcomes for young people come from really understanding their needs by collaborating with them.

2. We've been tech optimists from the get-go

In 2003 one of our very first projects was to fund the rebuilding of a youth mental health online service. There’s no doubt technology has ushered in a profound transformation in the way young people navigate their world, with both benefits and challenges. And while digital technologies are raising important questions about their impact, we know they can also offer young people unprecedented opportunities to thrive.

3. We have a village to support us

From our dedicated board who support the foundation pro bono, our passionate Telstra employees who contribute their time, energy and expertise to mentor and provide support to our non-profit partners, and our alumni and current partners who are ready to offer their insights and know-how for the benefit of the entire sector.

4. We build digital capacities with our partners

We focus on young people. We aim to improve access to effective digital wellbeing and mental health tools and resources and to increase the digital capacities of young people and the non-profits that help them.

Building digital capacities with our partners, and in the sector more broadly, includes coaching, mentoring, masterclasses, roundtables and networking. Our partners love working with Telstra and are our biggest advocates. 

Working with the Telstra Foundation has definitely opened our eyes to new ways of thinking, working with communities and [established] partnerships and networks.

- Telstra Foundation partner  

5. We stay true to our vision

We have a clear and lasting vision for social innovation that supports the non-profit sector. We enable non-profits to experiment and refine their innovations, "de-risking" for other stakeholders (like government) and encouraging them to invest. Our goal is to amplify our impact for young people, by helping our partners to grow their ideas and create cutting-edge tech for good.

It's smart, forward thinking philanthropy.

- Telstra Foundation partner  

Our impact

Over the last 21 years, we’ve been looking out for young people, just looking at our most recent report across two years the Telstra Foundation:

• Enabled more than 2 million young people to access to a digital wellbeing service, program or initiative that meets their needs
• We’ve helped to empower over 14,000 tech focussed educators
• We’ve supported nearly 200,000 young people to gain coding and enterprise skills
• And more than 14,000 young people have been involved in tech development to create or scale over 400 tech resources & services - designed for them with them

Because our mission is clear. We believe that all young people should have the same opportunity to thrive in a connected world.  That’s our bottom line.