Workplace Giving Excellence Awards announced

The winners of the 2016 Workplace Giving Excellence Awards were announced in Melbourne on Wednesday.

Four outstanding Workplace Giving Programs received gold accolades, recognising the effective and innovative ways they have mobilised and united employees to support charity.

Speaking at the awards ceremony at the Australia Post headquarters, the Hon. Kelly O’Dwyer, Minister for Revenue and Financial Services said,“I would like to congratulate all the entrants to the Awards, and thank them and their staff for their generosity. I am proud to support One Million Donors, and invite all business leaders and working Australians to join this campaign to help transform the way the charitable sector is funded.”

Jenny Geddes, CEO of the Australian Charities Fund, said, “It’s humbling to see such a broad range of organisations – small and large, government and private – leading the way with Workplace Giving.”

“They are enabling working Australians to support charity in this highly efficient and ethical way ensuring their employees’ hard earned dollars will go further in the community. In the process, these organisations are engaging their staff and building a sense of collective pride in their achievements,” she said.

The Gold Award winners are:

-Best Overall Program: JB Hi-Fi

–Most Innovative Charity / Employer Partnership: Redkite in Partnership with JB Hi-Fi

–Best Launch or Refresh (Large Employer): Atlassian

-Best Launch or Refresh (Small Employer): Macquarie Telecom

Richard Murray, CEO of JB Hi-Fi said, “I’m immensely proud of the JB team – it’s wonderful to see their generosity being recognised through these Awards. Of course our ‘Helping Hands’ program provides important funding to charities, but it has also become an intrinsic part of who we are. I encourage other employers to embrace Workplace Giving and benefit from the cultural boost and sense of purpose it brings to your organisation.”

Jenni Seton, CEO of Redkite said, “We’re enormously grateful to JB Hi-Fi for its incredible support of Redkite and in turn for helping Redkite do what we do best – supporting young people through their cancer journey.”

“Our Workplace Giving relationship with JB Hi-Fi is a true partnership. Working closely with JB Hi-Fi allowed us to implement an incredibly creative Superhero campaign ensuring it resonated with both the largely millennial workforce and with JB Hi-Fi’s customers,” she said.

Additional Award Winners:

Best Overall Program • BHP Billiton – Silver Award • SEEK – Silver Award

Most Innovative Charity / Employer Partnership • Give Where You Live Foundation in Partnership with Ford Australia – Silver Award • Room to Read in Partnership with Atlassian – Silver Award • Stewart House in Partnership with NSW Department of Education – Silver Award

Best Launch or Refresh (Large Employer) • Starbucks Coffee Australia – Highly Commended Best Launch or Refresh (Small Employer) • BDO – Silver Award • Greenhill & Co. Australia – Silver Award • Pacific Equity Partners – Silver Award

Best Public Sector Program • Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) – Silver Award

The distinguished panel of judges representing a broad cross-section of industry were:

• Sarah Davies, CEO of Philanthropy Australia

• Lin Hatfield Dodds, Deputy Secretary, Social Policy, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

• Carolyn Hewson, Director of BHP Billiton Ltd. and BHP Billiton Plc.

• Dr Lisa O’Brien, CEO of The Smith Family • Dr Andrew Young, CEO of The Centre for Social Impact

The Workplace Giving Awards are part of the One Million Donors campaign that was launched by The Hon. Malcolm Turnbull, MP, in 2014.