Country Arts SA has won two Fundraising Institute Australia awards, and is understood to be the first South Australian winner at the national accolades since 2016.

Country Arts took out Most Outstanding Fundraising Project — the principal award allocated to the best entry across all campaigns — on Thursday night, February 26, in Melbourne.

It also received the Impact on a Shoestring award, and was the only organisation to be nominated in multiple project categories.

The Country Arts Foundation was celebrated for its Nunga Screen Corporate Campaign, which raised funds to support First Nations arts projects.

The campaign invited organisations to purchase a streaming link to Nunga Screen — an annually curated program of First Nations short films that entertain, educate and promote reconciliation — which was previously only available in free but limited public screenings.

The streaming option raised over $140,000 in 2025 and took the program not only Australia-wide but internationally, from schools to local government to health care settings.

The corporate program has already been able to give back by supporting two original short films, Battle of the Ancestors and Vermin, from regional First Nations creatives to go into production through The Mercury’s Quicksilver Production Fund.

These films will have the opportunity to be featured in a future Nunga Screen program, with the creators paid for their work’s inclusion and royalties from each corporate purchase.

Nunga Screen programmer and Ngarrindjeri man Joshua Trevorrow said funds raised would also be used to create a paid part-time position for a First Nations person to assist with Nunga Screen.

“Country Arts SA’s Reconciliation Action Plan is committed to increasing First Nations employment, leadership and development opportunities, and promoting truth-telling and cultural sharing through its programming,” he said.

“In addition to Nunga Screen, this year Country Arts is creating landmark project Kumarangk, which tells the story of the Hindmarsh Island bridge controversy from Ngarrindjeri women’s perspective for the first time, and touring visual arts exhibitions Saltbush Country and Woven Within Stars.

“First Nations people represent 16 per cent of Country Arts’ overall workforce, and each person elevates our ability to share First Nations culture, power and resilience.”

Country Arts SA Development Director Cassandra Barendregt said the FIA awards were fantastic recognition of how the arts can spark reflection, dialogue and progress.

“The Country Arts Foundation is just five years old, so we are extremely proud of the impact it has already made in supporting regional arts and upholding our principle of First Nations first,” she said.

“This recognition shows the power of sharing First Nations stories, and we have been overwhelmed by the support and positive feedback received from such a diverse range of host organisations across Australia.

“As well as the Nunga Screen Corporate Campaign, the foundation has brought to life an annual mentorship for Mount Gambier high schools students interested in arts careers, and provided tickets and transport to school students, people living with a disability, foster families and others who otherwise would not be able to access live performance.”

To find out more about Nunga Screen or register to host Nunga Screen in your workplace, visit www.countryarts.org.au/discover/first-nations-program/nunga-screen.

To donate to the Country Arts Foundation, visit www.countryarts.org.au/support/support-us.

Photo: Country Arts SA Development Support Officer Jessica Little and Nunga Screen programmer Joshua Trevorrow with the FIA awards for Impact on a Shoestring and Most Outstanding Fundraising Project.