Edward Federman and the ARA Group are on a mission to create a lasting legacy through the ARA Endowment Fund.
On Saturday 27th October, ARA hosted over 250 guests for a lively evening of art, performance and song in the MCA’s Foundation Hall to raise funds for The ARA Endowment Fund. Ed Federman, Executive Chair and Managing Director of ARA, founded the ARA Endowment Fund in 2009, as a simple and affordable way for ARA staff to make donations to registered Australian charities. Today, the Endowment Fund donates 100% of the interest earned annually to The GO Foundation, The Indigenous Literacy Foundation and The David Lynch Foundation. Our goal is to provide substantial contributions to each of these foundations for the foreseeable future.
We were honoured to have Chairperson of the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council, Yvonne Weldon, provide Welcome to Country for the event. Over the course of the night, which was hosted by Ray Martin AM, we heard from Ed Federman, as well as Co-founders of The GO Foundation, Adam Goodes and Michael O’Loughlin; CEO of The David Lynch Foundation Australia, Mark Bunn; and Indigenous Literacy Foundation Board Member Sharon Galleguillos and ILF Ambassador Justine Clarke.
Our guests were treated to live performances from composer, instrumentalist and didgeridoo virtuoso William Barton, accomplished actress and jazz chanteuse Justine Clarke – who was accompanied by Jonathan Schwartz and his band – as well as a special message from Katy Perry and a short film from David Lynch, which was made especially for the night.
“It is our goal to grow the ARA Endowment Fund to $10 million in the next ten years” – Edward Federman, Executive Chair and Managing Director of The ARA Group.
The auction items included artworks by Gurrundul Marawili, Nonu Ganambarr and Napurrawuy Wununmurra from the Buku-Larrnggay Mulka Centre in Yirrkala, celebrated printmaker Bruce Goold, award-winning artists Emma Walker, Joshua Yeldham, Angus McDonald and renowned photographer Juno Gemes, as well as the chance to join Adam Goodes and Michael O’Loughlin in a catered box at a Sydney Swan’s game next year. The final auction item included 2 VIP tickets to meet Jerry Seinfeld in New York at a Christmas Holiday Event hosted by The David Lynch Foundation later this year.
There were also some fabulous raffle prizes for Tamburlaine Organic Winery, Taronga Zoo, as well as a new Nissan Qashqai donated by Fleetplus.
$382,000 was raised for the ARA Endowment Fund during the course of the evening. The ARA Group paid for the entire event so that every dollar raised, including the cost of each table, was donated directly into the ARA Endowment Fund.
We would like to thank all of our guests for their generous donations and support, as well as all of our speakers, performers and everyone that helped to make the first annual gala dinner for the ARA Endowment Fund such a memorable occasion. Together, we can create a lasting legacy that will continue in perpetuity.
To find out more about the ARA Endowment Fund, please visit our website.
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