Impact Report 2020

For any organisation looking back on 2020, one topic dominates all – the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the immense challenges of the pandemic, we still achieved many outstanding accomplishments across our Charity. In a time where phrases like social distance and lockdown have become a new-norm, at Ronald McDonald House Charities we have come together and connected like never before.

We started the year looking forward to meeting the objectives of our 2020 Strategic Plan: we finished with a newfound sense of innovation and resilience, a stronger than ever before commitment to our Mission, and, more importantly, all our families safe and secure, supported by our tremendously dedicated staff, volunteers, loyal supporters and corporate partners.

A key highlight for the year has been our ability to rapidly adapt and respond to the ever-changing environment around us: whether through lockdowns or closed borders our RMHC Chapters have remained steadfast in their dedication and commitment to delivering on our Mission. They have thought on their feet to ensure fundraising activities remain viable and active — often showing initiative and commitment at a local level that will now be evolved to a national level. For example, our virtual Dance for Sick Kids developed by RMHC Greater Western Sydney was so successful, raising over $350,000, that this will now be rolled-out nationally and become one more foundation in how we support our families.

Despite the challenges we finished in a strong financial position for the year on the back of the outstanding support from our supporters and the far stronger than expected success of McHappy Day.

The pandemic also has given us the opportunity to strengthen our corporate systems across the Charity, including starting the implementation of the customer relationship management software, Salesforce into the RMHC System, to enable us to efficiently manage and support our fundraising activities in a more streamlined manner. Likewise, 2020 saw the release of our first Social Return on Investment Report. This has helped us to more clearly see the positive impacts our Programs have on our families, communities and the health and education systems: for every $1 invested, we create and return $3.60 of social and economic value, which is an exceptional achievement and testament to all our people and their commitment.

As we move into 2021 and beyond, we do so with a determined sense of common purpose and wholehearted belief in our Mission: we did not allow COVID-19 to beat us. We maintained our services and turned challenges into new opportunities to adapt, grow and prosper.

And it became clear as the year progressed that the spirit of connected purpose across our Charity was tangible: we are indeed Better Together, and 2020 proved it.