Starting in 1999, Australian Fundraising has been helping schools and community groups raise big funds for over 26 years. What Bill and Silvia Gaydon began in their garage has grown into a vibrant team of over 25 staff members, numerous Australian business partners, and support for over one million fundraising participants annually.
As a third-generation owned and operated business, we are committed to supporting schools and groups through innovative fundraising solutions. With a strong focus on user safety, we ensure our online platforms meet the highest standards of cybersafe fundraising, prioritising the protection of privacy and identity, and providing secure, trustworthy platforms for their fundraising efforts.
Read more about our story so far.
The Earliest Days
Being in involved in local community sport for most of their children’s childhood, Bill and Silvia Gaydon had a personal appreciation for the challenges of school and group fundraising. Before the days of online payments, social media and laser printing, every aspect of a fundraiser was a slow, labour of love. Volunteers were few and far between, and would spend hours making promotional materials, placing orders and counting cash by hand. Even then, some organisations would struggle to make a profit.
Deciding to help organisations make real profits without some of the hard work (at least!), Bill and Silvia first bought a fundraising franchise in 1997. Although building an awesome community of local fundraising connections, Bill and Silvia’s parent company closed down – leaving them without a franchise, and their customers without fundraising programs to keep their organisations afloat.
Starting with Lapathons (now the Monty the Monstar Fun Run) and chocolate fundraisers (later replaced by Billy G’s Gourmet Cookie Dough), Bill and Silvia Gaydon launched a new operation, Australian School and Club Fundraising in 1999. That’s us now – hi!
Where Are We Now?
Fast forward 25 years, it’s a been a long but exciting journey for Australian Fundraising. From a garage in Mt Ommaney, to our own warehouse and office in Seventeen Mile Rocks, QLD, Australian Fundraising is a vibrant and dedicated team of over 25 friendly staff. While Bill and Silvia are still regulars at Australian Fundraising, the company is now managed by their adult children, Robert and Kylie.
Over the years, Australian Fundraising has helped schools and groups fundraise in dozens of unique ways, including Chocolate Fundraisers, Raffles, Sunscreen Drives, Plant-A-Difference, Read-A-Thons, and much more. To date, Australian Fundraising has helped schools and groups raise nearly $200 million dollars.
In 2006, Bill launched his own new product fundraiser in Australia: Billy G’s Gourmet Cookie Dough! Made in Queensland, over 80% of the ingredients in every tub are sourced right here in Australia. With over ten dough-licious flavours, Billy G’s Gourmet Cookie Dough has helped schools and groups turn cookies into cash!
Learn More About Billy G’s Gourmet Cookie Dough
In 2017, Australian Fundraising was the first Australian school fundraising company to launch the Colour Craze That’s Sweeping The Nation – Monty the Monstar Fun Run. Student fundraising averages skyrocketed as students ran through the rainbow. We offer this as a colour powder fun run, slime fun run, a colour powder and slime fun run, or you can keep it simple. It’s your event to colour the way you want to.
Learn More About Our Monty The Monstar Fun Run
As the world changed, so did we – with custom-built cybersafe online fundraising platforms designed specifically for schools and groups. Each year, our online platforms My Profile Page and Billy G’s Gourmet Cookie Dough become more engaging, gamified and cybersafe for all of our fundraisers.
To date, Australian Fundraising has helped schools and groups raise nearly $200 million dollars, with our highest ever fundraising school raising $91,124 in a single Colour Fun Run fundraiser!
We’ve also expanded our generosity beyond just schools and groups, partnering directly with Carbon Neutral, The Great Barrier Reef Foundation, Dolly’s Dream, OzHarvest and Starlight Children’s Foundation.
What’s Next?
Every year, Australian Fundraising comes up with new and exciting ways to make fundraising bigger, better and brighter for everyone. From big changes – like entirely new fundraising programs – to smaller ones, like new incentive prize options or extra resources, Australian Fundraising is leading the school and group fundraising industry into the future. We hope you’ll join us!
