It’s been an exciting and significant year at Guide Dogs Victoria! From expanding our Client services to developing foundations for a sustainable future, we’ve helped more people in more places maximise their independence.
It’s time to paws and reflect on the bold campaigns, educational programs, and innovation that has helped champion accessibility for all Victorians.
Our Clients are at the heart of everything we do.
Everyone arrives at Guide Dogs Victoria with a different story, which is why our services are individually tailored to support each person’s unique life goals. We’re also committed to ensuring our built environment is safe and accessible for all Victorians.
This statistic launched an awareness campaign promoting access rights for Guide Dogs in Victoria. Accessibility is important to all our clients—including the 73% who receive non-Guide Dog related services.
To bring more light to this important issue, we've introduced access consulting services. These services provide our community with direction on complying with Australian Disability Access Regulations, ensuring our spaces are inclusive for people of all abilities.
By providing more than 20,993 hours of Client service, we have had a positive impact on over 9,824 individuals and their support networks. Our service hours represent a 13% increase from last year, with these results contributing to our first Net Promoter score.
Net Promoter scores indicate Client satisfaction and retention, and our score of 68 is considered an excellent result! Alongside showcasing our commitment to our Clients, this number sets a benchmark for future measurement and improvement.
73
Tech support
2% increase
333
Orthoptics
11% increase
315
Occupational therapy
10% increase
240
Children's mobility service
8% increase
839
Guide dog service
28% increase
129
Group programs
4% increase
3054
Client programs
17% increase
571
Adult mobility service
19% increase
554
Support coordination
18% increase
We are committed to building lasting connections with Victoria’s regional communities.
With the demand for our services rapidly growing, we’re excited to share that we have opened two new hubs in regional Victoria!
The hubs provide localised and personal services to regional Clients who were previously supported by our Kew headquarters.
To expand our service offering, we opened a dedicated service centre in the heart of Bendigo and moved to a new and improved location in Geelong—keeping our doors open to peer support groups and providing easier access for our Clients.
A sensory exhibition set in total darkness.
Dialogue in the Dark Melbourne was designed to enlighten the public and raise awareness of the issues facing people with low vision and blindness. The exhibition allowed thousands of Victorians to use scent, sound, texture, and temperature to navigate iconic Melbourne locations.
More than just an exhibition, this social enterprise had a positive impact on the lives of almost 25,000 visitors who helped share the message of inclusivity and accessibility within our community.
24,893
Exhibition visitors
Over two years
2,179
Workshop participants
Over 124 workshops
4,744
School students
152 school groups
Looking for new and engaging ways to FUNdraise!
Our generous and loyal donors support us year-on-year through philanthropic contributions. This support helps us deliver world-class services to people with low vision or blindness. By providing funds to help breed, raise, and train our life-changing Guide Dogs, donors play a crucial role in supporting everyone to achieve their unique goals and aspirations.
For 2019, we developed a bold plan to host a Giving Day: a 24-hour period where every donation we received was quadrupled by some extraordinarily generous supporters.
Giving Day lived up to its name thanks to an incredible cast of volunteers, donors and supporters giving their all to achieve an amazing result. Together, we raised $1.8 million towards the redevelopment of our Kew campus. Thanks to the overwhelming support of our community, the future is looking bright!
$1,805,146
Giving Day Donation Total
54,798
Number of FY19 Donations
$9,191,277
FY19 Donation Total
Reaching far and wide!
They say a picture can tell a thousand words, and at Guide Dogs Victoria, a picture can grab the attention of thousands of people! Throughout 2019, we have continued to build our brand and our media presence. This year we reached a whopping 184 million people—that’s almost triple 2018’s result!
Through partnerships, including with Kangan and Bendigo TAFE, we had the opportunity to engage new audiences. This year, we joined forces to showcase an accessible garden at the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show. Patrons could stop and smell the roses, touch the braille handrails and listen to the sound of the water installation within the stimulating sensory experience.
184,454,863
Media reach
146,178
Website visits
11%
Social media growth y.o.y.
35,649
Facebook likes
10,108
Instagram followers
28%
Engagement growth on Instagram
2,582
Twitter followers
Supporting commuters with low vision and blindness.
Catching a train in the heart of Melbourne can be a challenge for anyone unfamiliar with our city. Navigating crowds, loud announcements, and multiple platforms can be especially confusing for commuters with low vision. In partnership with Public Transport Victoria (PTV), we have made improvements to this experience at some of the city’s busiest stations.
We have connected with PTV, Park Hyatt Melbourne, Zoos Victoria, Melbourne Convention Bureau, Kangan Institute and Bendigo TAFE to develop opportunities for people with low vision to experience all that Melbourne has to offer. This includes a Peer Support Platform which we piloted with support from the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA), to assist people with vision loss to come together and create their own communities.
A dedicated community working together.
Our entire team is committed to helping our Clients lead the life they want. Each of our employees, volunteers, and donors play an important role in delivering our life-changing services every day, every week, and every year.
We have invested heavily in our people, welcoming 36 new staff members this year. However, we simply couldn’t do what we do without the commitment of our amazing volunteers, donors, and network of dedicated ambassadors. From Puppy Raising, to fundraising and events, more than 1.5 million hours were volunteered last year and nearly 55,000 generous donors supported us to achieve the best outcomes for our Clients.
Karen Hayes CEO
Recognised as an AM on the Australia Day Honour Roll and a Dame of The Order of St John of Jerusalem (DSJ)
Justin Marshall
Inducted in Lifetime Achievement Honour Roll - Victorian Disability Awards
Dialogue in the Dark
Finalist in the Melbourne City Awards
88%
Employee engagement
36
New starters
8
Ambassador dogs
97%
Volunteer engagement
581
Volunteers
1.5m
Volunteer hours
The future is in sight and within reach!
Thanks to the generosity of our donors, supporters and the wider community, we are officially ready to start the major redevelopment of our campus at Kew. Not only will we be building the first fully accessible sensory campus in the world, we are creating a sustainable future for our organisation.
The transformational redevelopment of our iconic campus will revolutionise the way we provide support to our Clients and serve the wider community through business enterprises, such as a veterinary centre and doggy day care.
These enterprises will generate new income streams and help ensure Guide Dogs Victoria is a thriving, independent organisation that can continue to provide world-class practice and innovation in the vision sector for many years to come.
The first choice provider of services for people with blindness and low vision that enables a lifetime of independence.
Client service
Accountability and transparency
Professional excellence
Honesty and integrity
Mutual respect and trust
Success through people
Revenue | 2019 | 2018 |
Fundraising and gifts in wills | 9,191,277 | 11,929,830 |
Funding for capital purposes | 4,312,554 | 3,318,996 |
Revenue from merchandise sales | 1,233,736 | 1,579,285 |
Revenue from the provision of dogs and orientation mobility services | 4,051,774 | 3,303,027 |
Rental revenue | 51,308 | 60,736 |
Finance and investment revenue | 485,160 | 225,643 |
Other income | 8,218 | 94,091 |
Total Revenue | 19,334,027 | 20,511,608 |
Expenditure | 2019 | 2018 |
Fundraising and gift in wills | (3,266,484) | (3,290,297) |
Cost of merchandise sales | (1,492,629) | (1,841,100) |
Cost of provision of dogs and mobility services | (10,665,041) | (9,359,023) |
Community information and public education | (2,237,240) | (2,243,839) |
Corporate services | (730,048) | (688,842) |
Other expenses | (1,690,612) | (132,108) |
Total Expenditure | (20,082,054) | (17,555,209) |
(Deficit)/surplus before income tax | (748,027) | 2,956,399 |
Income tax expense | – | – |
(Deficit)/surplus for the year | (748,027) | 2,956,399 |
Other comprehensive (loss)/income | ||
Net unrealised gain on re‑measurement of available‑for‑sale financial assets | – | 201,741 |
Total comprehensive (loss)/income for the year | (748,027) | 3,158,140 |
ASSETS | 2019 | 2018 |
CURRENT ASSETS | ||
Cash and cash equivalents | 12,320,051 | 10,223,327 |
Trade and other receivables | 1,130,515 | 1,227,550 |
Inventories | 1,344,313 | 1,166,215 |
Financial assets | 2,003,196 | 2,724,711 |
TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS | 16,798,075 | 15,341,803 |
NON‑CURRENT ASSETS | ||
Financial assets | 855,855 | 938,333 |
Property, plant and equipment | 6,535,227 | 8,412,377 |
Intangible assets | – | – |
Investment property | 1,050,000 | 1,162,215 |
TOTAL NON‑CURRENT ASSETS | 8,441,082 | 10,512,925 |
TOTAL ASSETS | 25,239,157 | 25,854,728 |
LIABILITIES | 2019 | 2018 |
CURRENT LIABILITIES | ||
Trade and other payables | 716,932 | 693,089 |
Provisions | 1,247,712 | 1,037,097 |
TOTAL CURRENT LIABILITIES | 1,964,644 | 1,730,186 |
NON‑CURRENT LIABILITIES | ||
Provisions | 54,955 | 156,957 |
TOTAL NON‑CURRENT LIABILITIES | 54,955 | 156,957 |
TOTAL LIABILITIES | 2,019,599 | 1,887,143 |
NET ASSETS | 23,219,558 | 23,967,585 |
ACCUMULATED FUNDS | ||
Reserves | 18,557,537 | 14,799,791 |
Retained earnings | 4,662,021 | 9,167,794 |
TOTAL ACCUMULATED FUNDS | 23,219,558 | 23,967,585 |