Impact Grants - December 2025

Advancing Spinal Cord Injury Research

Organisation: Spinal Research Institute

Grant: $60,000 per annum for three years

Endorsed by Lady Marigold Southey, Patron of the Spinal Research Institute (SRI), the Marigold Southey – Freemasons Foundation Victoria Spinal Cord Injury Scholarship will support emerging researchers dedicated to improving outcomes for people living with spinal cord injury.

By backing early career researchers working in clinical settings, it strengthens the crucial link between research and patient care, helping to identify gaps and translate discoveries into real-world benefits.

Its flexible design enables SRI to offer PhD top-ups, fund key research activities and provide professional development, including conference attendance to build networks and share findings.

Over time, this prestigious award will help attract and retain talented researchers, with the FFV–SRI partnership aiming to drive meaningful, long-term change for people with spinal cord injury

in Victoria and beyond.

Continuing the Conversation with Let’s Talk

Organisation: Let’s Talk Foundation

Grant: $150,000 per annum for three years

FFV is continuing a long and valued partnership with Let’s Talk Foundation - aimed at breaking the stigma around mental ill-health across south-west Victoria.

Founded in 2016 in response to a spate of suicides in the Warrnambool region, Let’s Talk has grown into a movement reaching more than 23,000 Victorians through events, workplace programs and school initiatives. It has a key role in preventative health and community activation, enhancing mental health awareness and encouraging help-seeking behaviour across regional and rural communities.

FFV has proudly supported Let’s Talk since its early years, recognising the program’s deep alignment with the Masonic values of compassion, community and care. This funding helps the organisation expand its reach and impact through initiatives like ‘Let’s Talk in a Box’, which will enable other regional communities to replicate the successful model.