I am delighted to present Churchill Trust’s 2023-24 annual report.
It is a slightly unusual, but very welcome situation to launch an annual report that outlines achievements that occurred in the year before I took up the role of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at the Churchill Trust.
To date, 4,761 Fellowships have been awarded since we were established in 1965. 2023-24 was another successful year for the Churchill Trust:
- we received 984 applications (a 30% increase from the previous year)
- awarded 104 Fellowships, including two joint-applications
- 8 Fellowship recipients (7.7%) identified as being Indigenous Australians
- 137 Churchill Fellowship reports were published
- Fellows visited 58 different countries and boarded 1,025 flights.
The Churchill Trust continues to support people from all walks of life with diverse projects, as they dedicate themselves with passion and commitment to improving Australian society.
Heartfelt congratulations and sincere thanks to the many people who made those accomplishments possible including our dedicated staff, board, selection panels, volunteers, partners, sponsors, and Churchill Fellows. I’d also like to acknowledge the outstanding contribution of former CEO Adam Davey for his valued leadership over many years, which is celebrated in an article on page 37.
I hope you enjoy reading more about these, and many other, outstanding results from the past year. As always, the astute and powerful orator Winston Churchill has some words to characterise our current position: ‘we have much to be thankful for, and more still to hope for’.
Rachael Coghlan
Chief Executive Officer