To our incredible and supportive community,
It is with deep gratitude and sadness that we share this news: after more than two decades of mobilising young Australians against poverty and injustice, the Oaktree Foundation will wind up operations by December 2025.
This difficult decision follows a comprehensive assessment of our financial position and the ongoing challenges facing the non-profit sector. It reflects the challenging realities of sustaining a youth-led organisation in an increasingly constrained funding environment, not a failure of vision or our incredible community.
In recent years, we've tried everything to improve our financial situation: restructuring our team, reducing costs, trialing new fundraising initiatives, and diversifying income streams. Despite these efforts, we were unable to find a sustainable path forward.
Since 2003, Oaktree has empowered thousands of young people to create change, drive campaigns, and lead advocacy efforts. Our Oaktree Youth Solidarity Fund has supported 15 youth-led organisations since 2019 with critical core funding.
Nationally, hundreds of young Australians have entered the international development sector as confident leaders, with some creating their own organisations.
We are proud of the legacy we leave behind.
Our deepest gratitude goes to everyone who has walked this journey with us—from our earliest campaigners to our most recent volunteers, donors, and partners. Oaktree's impact is woven through the lives of those who contributed to our mission and the communities we supported. We are comforted knowing Oaktree will live on through those it has impacted.
Although this is our end as an organisation, our vision continues through SHIFT Next (), where young people worldwide scale their ideas and shape the future. Each year, SHIFT supports thousands of young changemakers. The mission of Oaktree's Youth Solidarity Fund will continue there for years to come.
Stay tuned for updates in the weeks ahead.
Thank you,
The Oaktree Team - Charli, Smi & Nidula
Hello from the new Oaktree!
At Oaktree, we're flipping the script on traditional development. Instead of prescribing solutions, we empower youth to identify their communities' challenges and lead the charge in solving them.
Our approach is simple yet revolutionary:
1️⃣ Listen to young people about their community's biggest challenges
2️⃣ Support them in developing their own solutions
3️⃣ Back their vision with resources and expertise
Want to see what youth-led development really looks like?
Watch our new Theory of Change video to discover how we're building an equitable, just, and sustainable world - one young leader at a time.
#YouthLeadership #SocialImpact #CommunityDevelopment #SustainableDevelopment #Changemakers
Oaktree's legacy is built on the thousands of young people who made it what it is ❤️.
As we prepare to wind up operations after 22 incredible years, we’re creating a legacy video, a celebration of our community, impact, and shared history.
If Oaktree has shaped your life in any way, we’d love to include you! Record a short portrait-mode video answering:
“How has Oaktree impacted or changed your life?”
Send your video to us via email [email protected] by Friday 21 November.
Your stories are Oaktree’s legacy and we can’t wait to celebrate them with you.
#OaktreeLegacy #YouthForChange #oaktreefoundation #youngpeople
THANK YOU !
That’s the message we would like to reach the people who have already donated to our Help Save Oaktree campaign.
We are now in the final days, and are asking everyone who hasn’t yet donated to consider gifting just $1.
$1 to stand with young people.
$1 to demand in youth led change.
Donate now, via the link in our bio.
With your $1, Oaktree can continue driving youth led development, supporting thousands of young changemakers, and inspiring global change.
Donate today at
#oaktree #helpsaveoaktree #youthled #youngpeople #youthleddevelopment
Why should Oaktree stay alive?
Hear from one of our partners about the impact of our international impact program, the OYSF!
As part of the 2024 OYSF program, CIPL supported 50 Indigenous students in Cambodia’s Ratanakiri Province with educational resources, prioritising girls and those facing financial hardship. Through vocational training in hairdressing and café management, CIPL also supported the creation of Indigenous-owned microenterprises, building long-term community resilience and economic independence.
Without the OYSF, youth-led community programs are at risk of loosing critical untied funding that allow them to help thousands of young people.
Donate today and help us continue to create impact for thousands more.
#helpsaveoaktree #youthled #youthledchange #donatenow #youthledorganisation #youthledchange #internationaldevelopment #asiapacific #impact
Who do we support?
Oaktree supports a number of different youth led organisations, charities, and grassroots movements across the Asia Pacific.
If young people are leading change, we are listening.
Thank you to everyone who has already donated! We have just 7 weeks to raise the rest!
Have any other burning questions? Comment them below and we will answer them in our next video!
#helpsaveoaktree #oaktree #oaktreefoundation #internationaldevelopment #youthled #youngpeople #YouthLedChange #DecoloniseAid #asiapacific #livebelowtheline
Why do we need to raise $200,000?
It's simple! Oaktrees annual budget is between 250-300k.
We've been working hard to secure some major donors to support our work next year, but we still have a funding gap of about 200,000.
Thank you to everyone who has already donated! We have just 8 weeks to raise the rest!
Have any other burning questions? Comment them below and we will answer them in our next video!
#helpsaveoaktree #oaktree #oaktreefoundation #internationaldevelopment #youthled #youngpeople #YouthLedChange #DecoloniseAid #asiapacific #livebelowtheline
Oaktree needs your help.
For 20 years, we’ve backed young people leading change, from climate action in Timor-Leste to mental health support in Laos.
But now, we’re facing a crisis of our own.
Our flagship fundraiser, Live Below the Line, once raised over $1 million a year. Last year, it raised just $6,000. Despite our best efforts to diversify our income, we have not been able to fill this gap.
Now, we have just 10 weeks to raise $200,000 to survive.
So we are calling on you, our supporters, to donate just $1 each. If 200,000 of you gave just $1, we could keep creating youth-led change!
Will you donate $1 to help us stay alive?
Donate now @ /
If you cant donate, share this message with your networks and keep the momentum going!
Filmed at @bravestudios with the assistance and video production of @_tom_russell_
#HelpSaveOaktree #Oaktree #OaktreeFoundation #Donate1Dollar #YouthPower #LiveBelowTheLine #SupportYouth #YouthLedChange
#GlobalSolidarity #GiveForGood #YoungLeaders
#BackYoungPeople #DecoloniseAid #youthled #youngpeople #internationaldevelopment #AsiaPacific #donate
Its that time again!
Dive into Oaktrees 2024 Annual Report and Financial Statements... if thats your thing, of course. And if not, here is a quick summary of our impact!
To read the full report, head straight to /transparency
#youthleddevelopment #oaktree #oaktreesolidarity #youthsolidarity #internationaldevelopment #development #impact #annualreport
📚 Welcoming Canopy Nepal to the 2025 Youth Solidarity Fund! 📚
Canopy Nepal is a youth-led organisation tackling systemic inequality in Nepal’s education system, where only 27% of students complete upper secondary school. Founded by young people who experienced these barriers themselves, they support marginalised students through long-term scholarships, mentorship, and interactive, storytelling-based learning that fosters creativity and critical thinking.
In 2025, Canopy Nepal will expand its impact by training young facilitators in student-centred teaching methods, making education more engaging, personalised, and inclusive. By empowering both learners and young educators, they are reimagining what a just and equitable education system can look like.
#OYSF2025 #YouthLedChange #EducationForAll #Nepal #OaktreeSolidarity #CanopyNepal #internationaldevelopment #development #youthled #youngpeople
🌟 Introducing Parindey as a 2025 Youth Solidarity Fund partner! 🌟
Parindey is a youth-led organisation in Pakistan working to counter violent extremism through peacebuilding, mental health advocacy, and gender programs. Using arts and culture as tools for healing, their trauma-informed, intersectional approach promotes expression, resilience, and social cohesion.
Led entirely by young professionals under 35, Parindey co-designs programs with youth to reflect lived realities and local needs, from public art and storytelling to theatre for dialogue and mental health first aid.
In 2025, they will expand youth leadership and advocacy, helping young people create safe spaces, resist harmful narratives, and push for mental health reforms that reflect grassroots voices.
#OYSF2025 #YouthLedChange #Peacebuilding #MentalHealthMatters #Pakistan #OaktreeSolidarity #Parindey #youthsolidarity #youthled #youngpeople #youthleddevelopment #internationaldevelopment
📢 Introducing another incredible 2025 Youth Solidarity Fund partner: Fun Play Learn from Nepal 🇳🇵🎉
This youth-led initiative is changing the way children experience education by turning classrooms into vibrant spaces of curiosity and critical thinking through play-based learning.
Since 2022, they’ve reached over 20,000 children in 200 schools using low-cost, culturally relevant games to make learning joyful and engaging, especially in STEM.
In 2025, they’ll deepen their impact by training teachers to embed these student-centered methods into everyday teaching so the benefits continue well beyond the program.
We’re proud to support their mission to make learning fun and transformative. 💛
#OYSF2025 #YouthLedChange #PlayBasedLearning #Nepal #STEMEducation #OaktreeSolidarity #youthleddevelopment #internationaldevelopment
