Ganbina is unique in Australia in that it engages with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and youth throughout their crucial development years, from primary school through to secondary school, to tertiary or jobs training and into sustainable employment and career paths.

This holistic approach ensures that our children and youth receive consistent and long-term support from the age of 5-25-years-old. Our support ends at 25-years-old because this marks the end of adolescence and the completing of the education, employment and training life cycle each Australian child goes through.

Most importantly, Ganbina has one single purpose in mind – to help our children and youth realise their full potential – and we never waiver from that purpose. Everything we do, from our strategic planning, to our program development, to our day-to-day activities, is aligned to that purpose.

While we 100 per cent believe in what we do and our approach, we ensure to continuously evaluate the results and impact of our program by regularly commissioning independent, third-party evaluation reports. In fact, in a 2018 study by the Centre for Independent Studies found that Ganbina was one of only three Aboriginal programs that were conducting high quality evaluation out of 1082 Indigenous programs reviewed.

High quality and regular evaluation has allowed us to understand what is and is not working in our program and if need be, we have refined and adjusted our program over more than 25 years, to reach a point where we now have the most successful Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander school-to-work-transition program in the country.

You can read our evaluations in full here.

Programs targeting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities typically lack long-term, stable support due to changing government priorities. The cyclical nature of funding tied to election cycles often disrupts continuity, making it harder to achieve sustained impact. This inconsistency can worsen intergenerational disadvantage, especially when programs lose momentum or abruptly end.

Ganbina’s Jobs4U2 program is committed to long-term, sustainable change by focusing on education and career development for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and youth. By investing in two generations over a 50-year period, the initiative aims to break the cycle of disadvantage by creating a cultural shift where completing Year 12 and pursuing further education or careers becomes the norm. This approach not only addresses immediate needs but also fosters a generational impact, ensuring lasting change for future communities.

The program was founded in Shepparton, which is home to the largest Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population in Victoria outside of metropolitan Melbourne. It is estimated that one in 10 Shepparton residents are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.

In the late 1990s until the early 2000s when Ganbina was founded, it was estimated that 8 in 10 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Shepparton were unemployed. Therefore there was a great community need for a program like this.

Ganbina then made a 50 year commitment to the Shepparton Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community, which we are still in the process of fulfilling to this day.

However, once we realised the program was successful, we knew we did not want to keep this model to ourselves. Instead we wish to share our model with other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities that can benefit from our model for their own children and youth.

In 2018 we started an Expansion Program in Queensland and aim to have several Jobs4U2 model operating across the country.

You can read more about our Expansion Project here.

Our annual budget varies from year to year, however most years the budget required to run the Jobs4U2 program in full is $2.1-$2.3 million per year. You can read more about our financials in our annual reports.

We typically do have a funding shortfall every year, which must be filled by donations from philanthropic foundations, trusts, corporate and individual donations.

You can find out more information about how to make a donation to Ganbina here.

Research shows that education is critical for overcoming intergenerational disadvantage in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Studies indicate that disparities in educational attainment are one of the largest factors contributing to long-term inequality in areas like employment, health, and social inclusion. Addressing these gaps through education not only empowers individuals but also helps break the cycle of disadvantage by improving outcomes across generations: Source The Centre for Independent Studies SNAICC – National Voice for our Children.

Every young person that we work with is on their own individual journey. We are there to support them and encourage them, but in no way rush them into something that they are not prepared for.

While employment is a key indicator of our success, the young people who go into employment through our program go there because they want to be there, not because they have been forced there. Ganbina makes sure our participants are both motivated and work ready.

We set KPIs that are higher than most similar national and state programs in this field because we are committed to breaking the cycle of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander socio-economic disadvantage. We have given ourselves two generations to complete this goal, therefore we need to set high KPIs and ensure our program is working so we can be out of business by 2047.