At Coles, we proudly support many community and charity partners across Australia through financial contributions, fundraising, food donations and disaster relief. Together with our customers, we contributed more than $143M to communities and charity partners in the 2021 financial year.
For local partnerships or to find out how your local store can help, please download and complete the application form and return it to your local store manager.
At Coles, we are proud of our 10-year partnership with national food rescue charity SecondBite. Thanks to this relationship, more than 800 Coles supermarkets and distribution centres across Australia donate edible, unsold food to around 1400 community food programs which provide meals to disadvantaged Australians.
Since the partnership began in 2011, we’ve donated the equivalent of more than 160 million meals to feed people in need.
In addition to providing food donations, Coles also raises funds for SecondBite from initiatives such as the Coles SecondBite Winter Appeal and Coles SecondBite Christmas Appeal.
Across all fundraising activities in the 2021 financial year, Coles Group raised more than $2.6 million for SecondBite.
Redkite
Coles has partnered with national children’s cancer charity Redkite since 2013, with more than $45 million raised over the past eight years.
Our partnership has supported counselling services, financial assistance, information resources, education and career support, and grants to children with cancer and their families.
In FY21, the total amount raised for Redkite by Coles, our team members and customers was more than $5.4 million. Coles contributed more than $1.8 million through the donation of five cents from the sale of every loaf of specially marked Coles Brand bread sold at Coles supermarkets and Coles Express, and our customers and team members contributed more than $3.3 million.
Guide Dogs Australia
Since 1982, Coles and our customers have raised more than $12 million for Guide Dogs Australia. These funds have been raised through a range of initiatives such as Coin Collection dogs at our supermarkets and the sale of specially marked reusable bags.
More than $11 million has been raised from the iconic coin Collection Dogs at the front of Coles supermarkets and additional funds have been raised through team member fundraising initiatives and the sale of specially-marked reusable bags.
Thanks to our longstanding partnership, Guide Dogs Australia has been able to provide essential services for Australians living with low vision or blindness.
Australian Red Cross
Coles team members and customers support disaster relief efforts by donating funds as well as essential supplies to communities in need.
Funds raised by Coles and our customers make it possible for Red Cross emergency services teams to help people in distress during times of need.
Together with its customers, Coles has raised more than $1.8 million for the Australian Red Cross QLD and NSW 2022 Floods Appeal to provide immediate and long-term support to communities affected by severe flooding. This is in addition to our other efforts which you can read about here.
Foodbank
For more than two decades, Coles has donated surplus non-perishable food to Foodbank to distribute to charities which are feeding vulnerable Australians. Foodbank collects the food from Coles’ distribution centres and then redistributes it to approximately 2,950 agencies and community groups.
In FY21, Coles provided 2.2 million kilograms of food to Foodbank. In addition to food donations, Coles also supports Foodbank with other projects such as providing fixtures and shop fittings for Foodbank Food Hubs in Adelaide and Alice Springs.
FightMND
Together with our Aussie pork farmers, Coles has raised more than $12.8 million to fight Motor Neurone Diseases (MND) since 2018. Funds are raised from the sale of FightMND beanies at Coles supermarkets and Coles Express as well as sale of Coles Own Brand fresh pork at Coles supermarkets and donations from Coles’ Aussie pork farmers and customers.
In FY21, Coles with support from our customers and team members, raised a record $6.78 million for FightMND to help fund innovative MND research including clinical trials and drug development projects and to provide vital care equipment for Australians currently living with the disease.
These funds are raised from the sale of Big Freeze beanies at Coles supermarkets and Coles Express as well as Coles Own Brand fresh pork at Coles supermarkets, alongside generous donations from Coles’ Aussie pork farmers and customers.
Curing Homesickness
Coles is proud to support Curing Homesickness to help children’s hospitals and paediatric services across Australia. Coles helps raise vital funds through the sale of Mum’s Sause Pasta Sauce and the Mum’s Sause Pizza Sauce as well as our annual Curing Homesickness $2 card appeal.
For every Mum’s Sause product sold, Coles donates 50 cents to help fund vital projects at children’s hospital foundations or paediatric services across the country. Funds raised help hospitals invest in innovative research, provide the latest equipment and support the amazing healthcare workers who care for sick kids and their families.
In FY21, Coles raised $2.5 million to support Curing Homesickness through the sale of Mum’s Sause products and to fundraising appeals in Coles supermarkets where customers could purchase a $2 donation card.
NSW*: Sydney Children’s Hospitals Foundation and John Hunter Children’s Hospital
ACT: Canberra Hospital Foundation QLD: The Prince Charles Hospital Foundation SA & NT: Women’s & Children’s Hospital Foundation TAS: Royal Hobart Hospital Women’s and Children’s Services VIC: Monash Children’s Hospital WA: Perth Children’s Hospital Foundation
*Exceptions are Coles supermarkets in Deniliquin, Lavington and Albury in NSW where funds are directed to Victoria, and Broken Hill where funds are directed to South Australia.
Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation
Coles is delighted to partner with the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation (SAKGF), a not-for-profit charity that aims to deliver pleasurable food education to children around Australia through professional development, educational resources, support and inspiration for educators.
Established in 2001, the program is currently being delivered in over 1,700 schools and early years centres around the country. The program teaches students to grow fresh, seasonal produce and use it to prepare nutritious, delicious food.
In FY21, we supported the SAKGF with our supplier partners by donating five cents from each punnet of Australian grown Costa’s Perino Tomatoes, up to a value of $100,000, 30 cents for every kilogram of Montague National Orchard’s Smitten apples to the value of $75,000, and eight cents from every kilogram of CarismaTM Potatoes from Mitolo Family Farms, to the value of $75,000. These donations will help the SAKGF reach more Australian families while allowing schools and centres already running the program to continue their great work.
Clean Up Australia
Since 2018, Coles has raised nearly $800,000 to support Clean Up Australia in its mission to clean up, fix up and conserve the environment.
More than $666,000 have been raised from the sale of reusable community bags designed by Aussie kids, while $125,000 was raised by Coles Liquor in FY21 through its ‘Drop of Good’ campaign.
Funds raised have provided volunteers with materials such as clean up gloves, pickers, bags and first aid kits as they take to their streets, local parks, beaches, rivers and outdoor spaces to remove accumulated rubbish. Additional clean up materials have also been provided to support action resulting from floods and bushfires.
In addition to fundraising, Coles team members and family members have taken part in Clean Up Australia Days and other initiatives to help remove rubbish in their local communities.
Little Athletics Australia
Coles has been a proud partner of Little Athletics Australia since 2017, providing support to clubs and centres around the country to foster athletics in the community and to help Aussie kids to live healthier, happier lives.
Through the partnership, Coles supermarkets donate bananas to their local Little Athletics centre’s weekly sessions throughout the season and Coles Online delivers fresh bananas to regional and state events across the country.
To date, Coles has donated more than 3.6 million bananas to community athletics programs across the country.
In addition to banana donations, Coles has provided more than $2 million in grants for new sports equipment to 421 Little Athletics centres across Australia from the Coles Little Athletics Community Fund. Funds for the current round have been raised from the sales reusable community bags designed by Aussie kids and 10 cents of every kilogram of bananas sold on National Banana Day in 2021.
Collingwood Football Club Foundation
To help fight homelessness and support people facing disadvantage in Melbourne, Coles partners with the Collingwood Football Club’s Community Foundation.
As part of the partnership, Coles supports the Foundation to provide meals and accommodation and support services for people affected by homelessness in Melbourne, as well as the Collingwood Football Club’s wheelchair football and Reclink community teams.
Rowing Australia
Coles has been a proud partner of Rowing Australia since 2018, helping to fuel Australia’s most talented rowers by providing them with groceries at their National Training Centres in Canberra and Sydney.
As part of the partnership, Coles also provide opportunities for school students across the country to participate in the Australian Indoor Rowing Championships and donate fresh fruit to volunteers and rowers at major events such as the Australian Masters Rowing Championships and Australian Rowing Championships.
Aussie Ark
In 2021, Coles joined forces with conservation organisation Aussie Ark to raise funds to help protect endangered and threatened Australian species.
Currently through the partnership, for every box of Coles So Soft & Strong Facial Tissues sold, five cents is donated to Aussie Ark to support its vision of creating a long-term future for Australia’s threatened wildlife.
You can learn more about our partnership with Aussie Ark by downloading our first-ever Children’s e-book – The Picky Little Koala* here.
Protecting our Aussie wildlife is something we all value.
*Coles is not responsible for any third-party fees which may apply. Full T&Cs available at coles.com.au/aussieark
Bravery Trust
Since 2014, Coles and our customers have raised more than $5.4 million for veterans’ support agency Bravery Trust. At Coles, we sincerely appreciate the service of current and former members of the Australian Defence Force and together with our customers, we want to remember and support service men and women who are facing hardship as a result of injuries or illness from their service.
Bravery Trust provides emergency financial relief to Aussie service men and women by helping them to pay medical fees, power bills, rent, motor vehicle expenses, education costs and providing food vouchers. The charity also offers a veteran-specific financial counselling service to help rebuild lives. To learn more, please visit www.braverytrust.org.au.
Coles is supporting the 2022 FightMND Big Freeze campaign to support research into finding effective treatments and a cure for Motor Neurone Disease.
From 11 May to 21 June 2022, the Big Freeze 8 beanies will be available in selected Coles Supermarkets and Coles Express sites for $25. Coles will also donate 10 cents from the sale of each pack of Coles Brand Australian pork product and 20 cents from the sale of each pack of Coles Free Range pork product in the meat and dairy departments at every supermarket to raise further funds. Customer donations will be accepted in-store at the checkout.
Coles Group Limited ABN 11 004 089 936 (Coles) is authorised to fundraise on behalf of Cure For MND Foundation INC ABN 62 740 350 704. Funds raised by Coles will benefit Cure For MND Foundation for FightMND’s Big Freeze 8 campaign, to fund research into finding effective treatments and a cure for Motor Neurone Disease. All proceeds will be distributed to Cure For MND Foundation. Donations of $2 or more are tax deductible. To make a donation, just ask a team member at any Coles Supermarket or Coles Express checkout. Customer donation at checkout is not available on Coles Online. Campaign commences 11 May 2022 and ends 21 June 2022.