Transforming lives through the power of trust for over 60 years.
We are honoured to have either won or placed highly commended in the Reader’s Digest Annual Trusted Brands Awards since its introduction in 2013. We want to express our gratitude to the Australian community for their continued trust and support of our work. The support of the community is instrumental in allowing us to deliver services to people with low vision or blindness, helping them lead an independent life of their choosing.
For James Williams, Chair of Guide Dogs Australia, trust in brands is now more important than ever.
“It has often been said that although trust is difficult to define, it is easy to spot when it’s been lost. At a time when emotions and anxieties are running high, consumer confidence and trust are being put to the test,” said Mr. Williams.
It is wonderful to see that the community believes in us and trusts that we will always be there for those living with low vision or blindness – no matter how tough the circumstances.
We were thrilled to win the Excellence in Social Impact Measurement prize at the Social Impact Measurement Network Australia (SIMNA) 2023 Awards.
The Excellence Award recognises a social impact measurement initiative that promotes best practice and leads by example.
For two years, Guide Dogs Australia and For-Purpose Evaluations worked together to develop a national social impact measurement framework to better understand the effectiveness of our work with people with low vision or blindness.
The effort brought together four Guide Dog organisations in six states and territories, closely examining the social impact of our services across Occupational Therapy, Orientation and Mobility training, social and community support, and the use of Guide Dogs, as well as research, advocacy and community education.
The research showed:
To read the full report, please click here.
We were thrilled to be ranked third on the YouGov Australia 2023 Charity Rankings. The rankings are based on the Consideration score from YouGov BrandIndex, which asks respondents “If they asked tomorrow, which of the following charities would you be likely to donate $1 to
Guide Dogs scored 28.7, a very close third to RSPCA, which came in first place, with a score of 31.1.
And CatchUp, our accessible online community platform, picked up multiple awards in 2023. It won gold and two silvers at the annual w3 global awards, held in New York, and took home three prizes at the Australian Good Design Awards.
W3 commended Guide Dogs for its excellence in designing and developing CatchUp. Our three prizes were:
The w3 Awards honours creative excellence in digital design and recognises the global teams behind award-winning websites, online marketing, web video, mobile sites and apps, social, podcasts, and emerging technology.
At the Australian Good Design Awards, which are highest honour for design and innovation in the country, CatchUp won in the following categories:
For more than 60 years, Guide Dogs organisations across Australia have supported people who are blind or have low vision. With the right services and support, people gain the freedom and independence to move safely and confidently around their communities and fulfill their potential.
To achieve this, trust must be at the heart of everything we do; from the trust people put in us to provide the support and care they need, to the trust between a person with low vision or blindness and their Guide Dog.
It is also vital that this trust extends to the community who helps fund over 80 percent of our services through generous donations. Every donor, volunteer, and supporter places their faith in us to provide services that assist people living with low vision or blindness to lead independent, safe, and fulfilling lives.
Without the trust, generosity, and support of our community, we would not be able to continue the crucial work we do every day.
We were thrilled to be ranked second on the YouGov Australia 2022 Charity Rankings. The rankings are based on the Consideration score from YouGov BrandIndex, which asks respondents “If they asked tomorrow, which of the following charities would you be likely to donate $1 to
Guide Dogs scored 29.7, a very close second to RSPCA who came in first place with a score of 30.8.
To be named one of Australia’s most trusted charity brands by our community is a huge honour and one that Guide Dogs Australia is extremely proud of.
Guide Dogs Australia, together with brand transformation company FutureBrand, took home the gold medal for Best Visual Identity by a Charity, NGO or NFP at the 2021 Transform Awards.
Each year, the Transform Magazine Awards ANZ celebrate and recognise the transformative power of brand strategy, creativity and design throughout Australia and New Zealand, and we were nominated this year for our national brand rollout.
It was only in February 2021 that we launched our new national Guide Dogs brand.
Guide Dogs Australia, along with FutureBrand, also received a “Highly Commended” for:
– Best Creative Strategy
– Best Brand Development Project to Reflect Changed Mission, Values or Positioning
We’d like to thank everyone who was involved in developing our new brand including our Clients who advised on important aspects of accessibility.
We’d also like to recognise and thank our brand partner, FutureBrand, for their exceptional expertise in accessible practice and genuine care for the Clients we serve.
Our friends at Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre didn’t go home empty-handed either!
Many of you will be aware of Guide Dogs Victoria’s partnership with the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC), who stepped in last year and provided our Guide Dog Team with access to their facilities when we were unable to have enough Trainers onsite to meet our needs.
MCEC also underwent a brand transformation recently – also with the assistance of FutureBrand – and were recognised at this year’s Transform Awards ANZ with a:
Silver medal for Best Brand Development Project to Reflect Changed Mission, Values or Positioning; and a Silver medal for Best Visual Identity from the Sports, Travel, Leisure and Tourism Sector; and Highly Commended for Best Brand Evolution!
Congratulations to MCEC and all of this year’s finalists!
The Guide Dogs Australia website has won gold in this year’s global W3 Awards General Websites-Non-Profit category.
Receiving over 3,000 entries from across the globe, the W3 Awards honours outstanding websites, marketing, video, mobile, social, and podcasts from some of the best digital content creators in the industry, and are particularly focused on the usability, accessibility and technical qualities of the websites.
We are thrilled that our new website has been honoured by the judges who come from some of the leading digital companies around the world including Spotify and Twitter.
We would like to extend a special thank you to our digital partner, August, who have been a driving force behind the development of our websites and were instrumental in the strategy and development of our new digital ecosystem. We would also like to extend our sincere thanks to Guide Dogs staff, Clients, supporters and our wider community for their participation and support in this project.
