Overview
The GTNT Foundation Committee was established in 2003 to recommend programs for sponsorship by the Top End Group Training Board to meet our social and environmental goals to benefit our organisation and our communities. Our purpose is to influence positive social and environmental change.
The GTNT Foundation has a strong community focus, supporting many local disadvantaged apprentices and trainees across the Northern Territory through their vocational studies and extra-curricular programs. The Foundation has supported wages for Hospitality Trainees in a local café, both of their wages and training were fully supported in response to the Hospitality worker shortage in the NT.
The Foundation also supports apprentices and trainees from remote communities to attend local awards ceremonies, and programs to further their studies.
Our Purpose
Our purpose is to influence positive social and environmental change.
Our Community involvement
Programs that encourage people to develop their skills and to contribute to their environment and their community in a positive way.
Foundation Principals
One.
Identifying programs to optimise the use of Foundation resources
Two.
Regularly evaluating, reviewing, and refining our community investments
Three.
Sharing our achievements with our stakeholders and the community to promote sustainable change.
Our Community Building Programs
- Carbon Offset Program (FCOTI) Timor Leste
- Sponsorship for GTNT Group Indigenous Apprentices to travel to various Apprentice/Trainee Awards inlcuding the NT Training Awards
- Sponsorship to re-engage GTNT Group Trainees and Apprentices that have been laid off by their Host Business
Timor-Leste
Tree-planting
Our vision is to eliminate poverty through a sustainable reforestation system that will improve land management, biodiversity and rural livelihoods through combining feasible voluntary smallholder carbon payment schemes with agroforestry, biodiversity conservation, and reforestation. GTNT Group’s project in Timor-Leste employs eleven full time Timorese staff, replanted over 350,000 trees across seven sucos (villages), and provided income for over 250 families with 60,000 tonnes of carbon sequested.
The program is internationally recognised via Plan Vivo certification and in 2024, we sold our remaining carbon credits. In Timor-Leste, the average family income is below extreme poverty level of US$1.90 per person, per day. In 2018, our household survey determined that our program has helped increase the average family income to US$3.40 per person, per day. Our program has helped to increase the average family income by almost 80%.
School Scholarships
GTNT Group staff, apprentices and trainees host regular fundraisers in their own time to raise funds for our education scholarship program that has provided over 450 high school scholarships for the most disadvantaged children in Laclubar and Soibada. The families GTNT support are living below the extreme poverty line, some families earning as little as 50 cents per day. A senior education costs approximately $110AUD per year, per student, and since 2013 GTNT Foundation is proud to have provided over 450 scholarships to students who otherwise wouldn’t have been able to afford to gain a senior education.
In 2024, our focus on supporting Laclubar High School will undergo a purposeful transformation. Instead of putting resources into student scholarships, the Foundation will redirect its efforts towards providing a substantial wage and living allowance for a qualified English teacher at the school. This strategic shift is motivated by the recognition that the current state of English literacy at the school is a significant barrier to the students’ pursuit of higher education or career pathways. We believe that by addressing this crucial need, we can help break the cycle of poverty and create a more meaningful impact on the lives of both students and their families.
Women’s Micro-Business
GTNT Foundation is dedicated to fostering economic independence among women in the Soibada and Laclubar sub-districts through its Women Micro-Business program. This initiative specifically targets widowed individuals, single mothers, and survivors of the civil war in Timor-Leste. The micro-business small grants program empowers these women by providing financial support to eligible businesses that directly contribute to community well-being. With a focus on sustainability and community impact, the program has already supported 25 women, offering a pathway to financial stability and empowerment.
School Environmental Projects
Collaborating with four schools across Timor-Leste, this initiative aims to encourage environmental consciousness among students while fostering sustainable practices. Through the development of multi-tiered ecosystems and the teaching of Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration practices, the project not only contributes to environmental conservation but also equips students with essential knowledge about sustainable farming.
University Scholarships
Our commitment to breaking the cycle of poverty extends beyond high school education through our university scholarship program. Building on the success of the Laclubar and Soibada high school scholarship initiative, the foundation wanted to empower students by offering opportunities for higher education in Dili.
This program aims to transform the lives of young individuals who, due to financial constraints, are otherwise unable to pursue university studies. By investing in the academic pursuits of these deserving individuals, the GTNT Foundation is contributing to the long-term socio-economic development of Laclubar and Soibada, breaking the chains of poverty for generations to come. So far, 12 students have been supported.
