About this organisation
Summary of activities
The Marmalade Foundation is dedicated to funding and supporting the ongoing operations of Lou s Place, Sydney s only daytime drop-in centre exclusively for women. Lou s Place provides a safe, welcoming, and inclusive environment where women facing homelessness, domestic and family violence, financial hardship, and other challenges can access support without barriers. At Lou s Place, women receive essential basic supports free of charge, including meals, emergency clothing, showers, and laundry facilities. More than just a place to meet immediate needs, Lou s fosters connection, dignity, and trust, helping women feel safe and supported as they navigate complex challenges. Our Core Programs: Drop-In Space A low-barrier, trauma-informed environment where women can access basic needs, connect with staff, and engage with support services at their own pace. Connecting Through Change A program offering educational and supportive groups for women impacted by domestic and family violence, along with case management to help women rebuild their lives free from violence. Always Mum A specialist support program for mothers and grandmothers with children who have been taken into the care of the minister. This program provides group sessions and case management to help maintain and strengthen family relationships and provide women with support during this difficult time. Case Work Support Service Offering assistance with homelessness and homelessness prevention, financial aid, service referrals, and help with documentation. This service ensures women can access housing, mental health, and addiction support without the common barriers that often prevent them from receiving help. Lou s Place operates on the principle that women should not be turned away due to complex needs, active substance use, or mental health challenges and the more life challenges women are facing the more in need of support they are. Our trauma-informed, low barrier, flexible, and responsive approach ensures that every woman who walks through our doors is met with compassion, respect, and support to gain or access the resources she needs to move forward. Through the support of The Marmalade Foundation, Lou s Place continues to be a lifeline for women in need, fostering community, empowerment, and a pathway to a more stable future.
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Programs and activities
Name: Drop-In Centre
URL: www.lousplace.com.au
Classification: Homeless services (Human services > Special population support > Homeless services)
Beneficiaries:- Females
- Financially disadvantaged people
- People at risk of homelessness/ people experiencing homelessness
Name: Always Mum
Classification: Women's rights (Human rights > Anti-discrimination > Women's rights)
Beneficiaries:- Families
- Females
Name: Connecting Through Change
Classification: Domestic and family violence (Public safety > Abuse prevention > Domestic and family violence )
Beneficiaries:- Females
- Victims of crime (including family violence)
Name: Drop-In case crisis support
Classification: Basic and emergency aid (Human services > Basic and emergency aid)
Beneficiaries:- Females
- Financially disadvantaged people
- People at risk of homelessness/ people experiencing homelessness
Finances
What is this?
This graph shows how much revenue (money in) and expenses (money out) the charity has had each year over the last few years. Charities have many sources of revenue, such as donations, government grants, and services they sell to the public. Similarly, expenses are everything that allows the charity to run, from paying staff to rent.
What should I be looking for?
First off, this graph gives a general indication of how big the charity is - charities range in size from tiny (budgets of less than $100,000) to enormous (budgets more than $100 million). You're also looking for variability - if the charity's revenue and expenses are jumping up and down from year to year, make sure there's a good reason for it.
Unlike companies, charities and not-for-profits aren't on a mission to make money. However, if they spend more than they receive, eventually they will go into too much debt and run into trouble. As a very general rule, you want revenue to be slightly above expenses. If expenses is reliably above revenue, the charity is losing money. If revenue is much larger than expenses, it means the charity might not be using its resources effectively. It isn't always that simple, however, and there's a lot of reasons a charity might not follow this pattern. They might be saving up for a big purchase or campaign, or they might have made a big one-off payment. If you're worried, always look at the annual and financial reports to understand why the charity is making the decisions it is.
What is this?
If a charity receives more money than it spends, that's a surplus (in business, it would be called profit). If it spends more than it receives, that's a deficit. This chart shows surpluses and deficits for the charity over the last few years.
What should I be looking for?
Unlike companies, charities and not-for-profits aren't on a mission to make money. However, if they spend more than they receive, eventually they will go into too much debt and run into trouble. As a very general rule, you want a charity to make a small surplus on average. A deficit means that charity lost money that year, which may indicate poor financial management or just a series of bad circumstances. If the charity always has a huge surplus, it means the charity might not be using its resources effectively. It isn't always that simple, however, and there's a lot of reasons a charity might not follow this pattern. They might be saving up for a big purchase or campaign, or they might have made a big one-off payment. If you're worried, always look at the annual and financial reports to understand why the charity is making the decisions it is.
What is this?
This chart compares the amount the charity receives from various sources, including donations (i.e. money given by the general public or philanthropy), goods and services, government grants, and other sources.
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Donations are an important source of revenue for some charities. Others rely more heavily on government funding, or on revenue from other sources. This is an indication of how much they need donors to accomplish their mission. Note that there is no 'good' or 'bad' amount of donations for a charity to have. It might be interesting to look at values over time - are they going up or down? A charity that gets less donations every year may be in trouble.
What is this?
Assets are things that the charity owns that are worth something. This could be anything from a car to investments. Similarly, liabilities are debts or obligations that the charity owes to someone else, like a loan or an agreement to pay for something.
What should I be looking for?
Firstly, in general a charity should have more assets than liabilities. If it doesn't, it implies that the charity might not be able to pay its debts, and you should look very closely at the charity's annual and financial reports to make sure they are taking steps to remedy this. Current assets should generally be above current liabilities - that means the charity can easily pay off the debts that are coming due soon. Beyond that, look for a large stockpile of assets. While a charity should have enough assets to keep it afloat in hard times (a 'buffer') if that stockpile gets too large the charity could be using that money more effectively. As always, if you have concerns check the annual and financial reports.
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