Show me the money! Where does the Black Dog Ride fundraising go?
It's a pertinent question to ponder when you're raising money for a good cause. The passion of people working hard to raise funds, and the generosity of donors, should be honoured with complete transparency by the recipient organisation.
Black Dog Institute has been the beneficiary of funds raised by the Black Dog Ride to the Red Centre since 2010. But the question has been asked, where do the funds go? We put this question to Will Bonney, General Manager of the Black Dog Institute, and here is what he had to say.
Black Dog Ride to the Red Centre
Once again, the Black Dog Ride has successfully raised both funds and public awareness of the Black Dog Institute. With over 400 riders participating this year, the impact of the group moving across Australia was phenomenal. Coupled with national television coverage through the support of Channel 9, people couldn't help but hear about the Ride and learn about the work that Black Dog Institute does in the areas of depression and suicide prevention.
On top of the vital increase in community awareness, the 2012 ride generated $255,745.80 through the fundraising efforts of the riders. This brings the total raised by the BDRRC across the last 4 years to over $525,000 - a truly wonderful achievement by all participants.
How are these funds used?
Funds raised through the Black Dog Ride to the Red Centre go towards supporting Black Dog Institute community education programs. Aimed at increasing mental health literacy, reducing stigma, generating help-seeking behaviours and building resilience, these programs have been shown to improve the lives of individuals whilst helping create more understanding and supportive communities.
This year, the Institute delivered over 150 presentations, workshops, lectures and support sessions in five states with a particular focus on rural and remote areas. In total, the Black Dog Institute Community team directly touched almost 15 000 Australians. But we know there are still so many people needing our help.
With this in mind, Black Dog Institute is expanding our community work nationally in 2012-13 by training local organisations to deliver our programs. This means we're not only helping more people, but also providing local support and expertise to make sure that the impact of our work is ongoing.
Our community and education programs rely on the generosity of our supporters. Without the money raised by events such as the Black Dog Ride we wouldn't be able to have such a positive impact on people's lives. Your donations help us to directly help others.
Black Dog Rider Kim Hansen and Will Bonney at the BDR Cheque Presentation, October 2012. Photo © Noel Taylor
What else does the Black Dog Institute do?
The Black Dog Institute is dedicated to improving the lives of people affected by mood disorders through our world class translational research, our clinical expertise and our education and awareness programs.
Black Dog researchers and clinicians are internationally recognised as pioneers in the identification, prevention and treatment of bipolar disorder and depression. Our work is unique in that it spans the spectrum from lab bench to clinic. This means we translate our research discoveries directly into new programs and train healthcare professionals how to use them. We also contribute widely to the development of new mental health care policy. Finally, we place emphasis on communication with people who use our services - patients, families, carers and clinicians.
We can't do what we do without the help of all of our supporters. From all of us at the Black Dog Institute, we thank you for supporting our work and helping spread our message of hope. Thank you!
Will Bonney
General Manager
Black Dog Institute
Thank you for your thorough response, Will! Black Dog Ride is proud to work in partnership with the Black Dog Institute in raising awareness of depression and building a national conversation about mental health.
Please share this with members of the Black Dog Ride family and feel welcome to leave your questions or comments here: http://is.gd/vtXVSd