Vincent Fairfax Family Foundation Strategic Review

The June 2021 launch of VFFF’s new five year strategy Backing Young People was the culmination of a ten month strategic review process. The VFFF team set out with a clear mandate from VFFF Directors to increase the focus of their grant making, to be innovative and to keep playing a leadership role in Australian philanthropy. The team was encouraged to develop a strategy that could be ‘uniquely VFFF’ and relevant to the interests of all generations of the Fairfax family.

Over the ten months, the strategic review was informed by consultation, research and listening to experts. Discussions with diverse stakeholders were invaluable, including grantees, other funders and industry experts.

In May 2021, Think in Colour supported VFFF to bring their journey and strategy to life in two ways:

1) Illustrating the journey so far, including the timeline of events, who was consulted, and other external factors to foster understanding and consensus on how and why they had landed on their chosen focus area.

2) Graphic Recording their leadership strategy day, capturing their thoughts and creating a Strategy on a Page in real-time at their off-site.

These illustrative outputs provided the team with a near-instant communication tool, and one that all leaders saw coming to life with their input in real time.

The outputs have also been used as part of VFFF’s annual report, providing an engaging and accessible way for stakeholders to understand their strategy and priority areas.