FY20 Annual report · casual program option Key business highlights 6 800+ casual/social small group classes were run, with 2,363 attendances 80% of our participants reported an improvement

FY20

Annual report

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Mood Active

1 Court Avenue

Kingsford NSW 2032

[email protected]

0412 190 842

https://moodactive.org.au/

About Mood Active

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OUR VISION

is to see more Australians using exercise to improve their mental health.

OUR MISSION

is to reduce the barriers to exercise as a mental health treatment through affordable

educational and motivational exercise programs that empower people to better manage

their mental health, and to get more General Practitioners and Psychologists prescribing

exercise as treatment for depression and anxiety.

OUR CLIENTS

are individuals aged 18-65 years old who are experiencing mild to moderate anxiety,

depression and/or mood disorders.

OUR PROGRAMS

include:

• Casual classes and social exercise group

• Four-week wellbeing workout

• Eight-week program (treatment option)

OUR REACH

is throughout Sydney City, Camperdown, Surry Hills, and Kingsford – for face-to-face

classes. Our virtual exercise programs are offered to individuals throughout Australia.

MOODACTIVE.COM.AU

Our objectives

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1To increase the use of exercise as a treatment

option for those diagnosed with mild to moderate

depression and anxiety.

2To increase accessibility to affordable exercise

options for those diagnosed with depression and

anxiety by keeping costs low and expanding

program offerings and locations.

3To encourage more doctors, psychologists and

community service providers to prescribe

exercise as a treatment option.

MOODACTIVE.COM.AU

Free to join

Family, friends and supporters can attend

Lowest support option

Our programs

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Social exercise groupMotivational information and tips, social exercise and

healthy eating events

Run through Facebook and our booking app

Casual exercise classes

Program Manager support to join

Small group exercise classes (4-8 people)

Trainers empathetic and care

Supportive peers

VS

Low cost ($5-10 a class)

You choose a coach and checks in

4-week wellbeing workout

3-hour weekly commitment

Combination of theory and exercise

8-week exercise coaching program

Weekly 1:1 coaching by phone or F2F to ensure you

stick to commitments and working through barriers

Free and unlimited access to our casual exercise

classes

Pre and post surveys and benchmarking

Transition to casual or 4-week option

VS

Fees paid weekly in advance

Pre and post surveys

Transition to casual or 8-week option

Set start dates

Small groups (4-12 people), virtual or F2F

Suitable for those wanting to learn the skills and

techniques to help them start and sustain exercise

Free

Highest support option

Funded places available to reduce costs

Our programs are designed around the Australian Government’s stepped care

model. We have four program options based on the level of support participants

need. Recognising that mental health changes over time, participants are able to

progress through our different program levels at their own pace.

Time-bound programs: key features

‘Always on’ classes: key features

Free and low cost events to try different activities

Run by 2 social group coordinators

Year in review

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FY20 has been a year of disruption and

opportunity. We started the year on a positive, with

ongoing support from the City of Sydney Council

Community Services grant. Our funding from the

Central and Eastern PHN was extended by six

months to subsidise costs for our City and

Rockdale programs. Things were going well until

December 2019. The bushfires impacted our class

schedules and just when we thought we were out

the other end, COVID-19 changed everything.

The pandemic disrupted society, our clients, the

industry, our operations and our funding

opportunities. We suspended all face-to-face

classes and programs for three months – and we

cancelled our Amazing Race fundraising event. But

with disruption comes opportunity and we adapted

quickly to offer small group classes via Zoom.

The trial was an overnight hit. We had more than

450 attendances at 178 virtual classes. We will

continue our virtual small group classes, which

removes geography as a barrier to where we can

provide our services. Now, we are looking to offer

our four-week wellbeing workout virtually.

In March 2020, we reviewed and restructured our

programs to make them more accessible to

everyone. We introduced a casual small group

class option for those who were unable to commit

to our four- and eight-week programs. We also

restructured our eight-week program to give people

more flexibility, with unlimited access to our classes

if they chose to do these sessions with us.

We continue to be proud of our four- and eight-

week programs, with us taking 65 individuals

through despite suspending programs for three

months this year. More than 80% of these

participants reported a mood lift in one or more of

their mental health scores.

We supported another 50 people to join our classes

casually, with more than 800 sessions delivered to

individuals that may not have otherwise engaged in

exercise. As a result, we saw more than 2,300

attendances at casual classes and social group

events.

This year, we also offered a larger volume of free

exercise classes due to the impacts of COVID-19

on our clients, financially and mentally.

Due to the lack of funding forecast beyond March,

we have relied heavily on our trainers to volunteer

and I would like to especially thank those that have

supported us through these difficult times. I’m

incredibly grateful to our paid staff and volunteers

who have worked hard to keep Mood Active alive at

a time when people needed our services the most.

TANIA CURLEYGeneral Manager, Mood Active

MOODACTIVE.COM.AU

Launched our

virtual exercise

classes

Launched our

casual program

option

Key business highlights

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800+ casual/social

small group classes

were run, with 2,363

attendances

80% of our

participants

reported an

improvement in

their mental health

120+ people engaged

in our programs, with

65 completing our

four- or eight-week

programs

Re-designed our

eight-week

program

MOODACTIVE.COM.AU

Pauline’s story

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Pauline is a 45-year-old single mum to two

teenage boys. Her youngest sustained a

brain injury in 2013, which subsequently

changed their lives forever.

After experiencing increased anxiety and

depression in the years that followed,

Pauline went to see a counsellor where she

was given information about Mood Active.

She felt uncomfortable and intimidated to go

to a gym - and while support exists in the

form of Personal Trainers, it can be price

prohibitive.

Through our affordable exercise programs – which include a mixture of yoga, tennis and

circuit, as well as our techniques and support on how to maintain a healthy mindset and

change her way of thinking – Pauline was able to prioritise herself again.

Our team made regular contact and checked in on Pauline’s progress during the four-week

program – both on her good and bad days. Pauline has since met like-minded people through

Mood Active, forming lifelong friends.

Pauline has completed our four-week and eight-week programs and is a long-standing casual

member who dips in and out depending on what support she needs.

The positive impact our programs have had on Pauline’s life has been profound – they’ve

helped to change her perspective, engage with exercise and socialise with supportive people.

Pauline now manages her anxiety and depression with Mood Active’s help – and finds the

tough days are much less challenging.

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Joanne’s story

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“The Mood Active program has supported me to completely

take back my life. The facilitators are enormously valuable –

1:1 weekly coaching helped by holding me accountable

while I was still in the process of forming new habits and

routines. They also helped me identify barriers and provided

education and support for me to navigate and overcome any

obstacles.

At the same time the Mood Active facilitators were there to

celebrate my wins with me and encourage me. The variety

of classes was essential as I wasn't interested in all of the

classes, and with a variety to choose from at different times

and locations, I was able to make the most out of it. Even

through COVID-19, Mood Active provided continual care to

its members – offering online classes and support to access

them.

I have made new friends at Mood Active. Meeting other people who have lived experience of

mental illness has helped me on my on journey. Towards the end of the program James, my

coach, ensured I had a continued support in place once the program was finished. I found this

to be really important and have since put in place independent supports to help me continue

my new habits and routines. Although centred around exercise, these habits and routines go

beyond it to include nutrition, alcohol and drugs, employment, sleep, and social/relationships.

I think Mood Active’s holistic approach, using exercise as a vehicle to support overall wellbeing

alongside coaching support is extremely effective. A lot of the work I did during the eight-week

course was not just creating exercise goals and achieving them. It also taught me to look to

the future and dare to create goals and envision a brighter future for myself. I created a vision

board since – and I have already achieved a lot on that board. The tools and education

provided have all been part of my success.”

Joanne attended the 4 and 8 week program, 2020

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Caroline’s story

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“It has been a highly unusual time

to start with Mood Active programs

given COVID-19.

I really enjoyed my face-to-face

classes and was starting to find

exercise classes and times that

worked best for me.

Since classes have gone online, I

have been attending more

sessions in order to help me stay

motivated and to give structure to

my day. I do not work at the

moment and I live alone.

I have found daily classes to be really profoundly supportive for my mental health through this

time and I'm very grateful.”

Caroline joined Casual classes in 2020

MOODACTIVE.COM.AU

Enquiries

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We experienced a total of 262 enquiries for our programs, 181 unique enquires.

Our four-week program was our most popular with 114 enquiries.

We introduced our casual membership option in March and expect this to be

just as popular moving forward.

While overall our enquiries increased in comparison to last financial year, we

saw a drop off from December due to loss of funding to pay a marketing

resource to regularly communicate and raise awareness of our programs with

referrers.

From March 2020, COVID-19 impacted enquiries as people assumed we were

not running.

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Figure 1: Enquiries by type and month

Source and enquiry type

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More than 50% of our enquiries continue to come from our valuable referral

partners, with GPs remaining our lowest source of referrals – an area of focus

in FY21.

Of those participating in our programs, 82% are low income earners or

unemployed.

Females continue to be the most likely to participate – attracting more males is

a focus area for FY21.

Figure 1: Source of enquiry

Community support service

26%

Counselling service

8%

Psychologist15%

GP5%

Psychiatrist2%

Social media3%

MA website10%

TV / Print media

4%

Online directory7%

WOM13%

Unknown7%

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Classes and social events run

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We ran more than 800 classes and social group events – a 35% increase on

last financial year.

Cardio tennis, yoga and circuit still make up the majority of classes, while we

are trialling boxercise.

Casual class/Paid East Camperdown Surry Hills Rockdale Virtual Other TotalCardio tennis 98 68 30 39 235

Yoga 26 34 0 53 59 172Circuit 25 56 68 51 38 238

Boxercise 0 0 0 25 4 29Subtotal 149 158 98 168 101 0 674

Social/Free East Camperdown Surry Hills Rockdale Virtual Other TotalYoga 0 0 33 0 30 63

Circuit 0 0 0 0 35 35Boxercise 10 10

Swim 22 22Bushwalk/Bowls 3 3

Nutrition 2 2Subtotal 22 0 33 0 77 3 135

Overall 171 158 131 168 178 3 809

Cardio tennis29%

Yoga29%

Circuit34%

Boxercise5%

Swim3%

Bushwalk/Bowls/Nutrition

0%

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Figure 1: Percentage of classes by type

Class and social event attendance

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Total of 2,363 attendances at small group classes and social exercise events:

439 free exercise events offered to ensure affordability and 477 virtual classes

offered (approx. 3 to a class) as result of COVID-19.

Casual class/Paid East Camperdown Surry Hills Rockdale Virtual Other Total

Cardio tennis 293 221 79 131 0 724

Yoga 84 149 0 143 135 511

Circuit 41 110 222 148 73 594

Boxercise 4 0 0 73 18 95

Subtotal 422 480 301 495 226 0 1924

Social/Free East Camperdown Surry Hills Rockdale Virtual Other Total

Yoga 124 116 240

Circuit 115 115Boxercise 10 10

Swim 36 36

Walk/Bowls 28 28

Nutrition 10 10

Subtotal 36 0 124 0 251 28 439

Overall 458 480 425 495 477 28 2363

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500

East

Camperdown

Surry Hills

Rockdale

Virtual

Other

Cardio tennis Yoga Circuit Boxercise Swim Walk/Bowls Nutrition

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Figure 1: Classes by location

Four-week wellbeing workout

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Demand for this program increased by 40% on last year and was on track to

increase further pre-COVID-19. The program was suspended in March 2020.

We saw a 20% increase in attendance this year and 77% of participants

completed the program. This is a drop on last year and we have taken

measures to move this back above 80% by introducing greater flexibility in

options to complete make up sessions between scheduled sessions.

MOODACTIVE.COM.AU

Eight-week program

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Participant numbers in this program have halved compared to FY19. This is due

to COVID-19 impacts; a new casual offering introduced; and reduced program

funding increasing fees for participants from January 2020.

Overall completion rates for those joining us improved from 63% to 65%. We are

continuing to strive for a completion rate of 75%.

To improve accessibility and completion rates for this program, we restructured

this to an eight-week exercise coaching program in March 2020. Participants

now receive a coaching session once a week and have unlimited access to our

classes. They no longer have to comply with attending only Mood Active classes

three times weekly and can choose other exercise options.

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Mental health outcomes

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Figure 2: Four-week

program DASS scores,

averages for all

participants

Figure 1: Eight-week

program DASS scores,

averages for all

participants

Mental health outcomes for our four and eight week programs are measured

using the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS). The surveys are

completed pre- and post-program participation, as well as longer term at three to

six months on. Figure 1 and 2 shows the average pre- and post-program change

in scores for all participants who completed valid surveys, and the percentage of

participants who improved in each item of the scale. Both programs seem equally

effective in lowering symptoms and these improvements appear to sustain over

time, which is a positive.

Financials: operating statement

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Financials: balance sheet

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Financials: key highlights

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For the 2019-20 financial year, our participant fees increased by more than 45

per cent and 90 per cent of our funds were spent directly on program costs. We

raised $4,500 in funding at a trivia night held in September 2019 and a further

$4,500 was raised through a GoFundMe campaign in June 2020.

Focus in FY21

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We will continue to focus on the sustainability of our business model through

increasing efforts on self-sustaining fundraising activities as well as by

working to secure larger and more long-term research and government

grants.

We will expand our footprint by launching a corporate version of the four-week

wellbeing workout program with community partners and corporates. This will

enable us to become a truly early intervention service for mental health, given

the research connecting mental wellbeing with the workplace.

We will maintain our operations in four locations across Sydney and continue

to expand our virtual reach while also pursuing site expansion opportunities

throughout Sydney with charitable partners.

We will explore the expansion of services to accommodate clients with more

complex needs who are with the NDIS, as well as younger Australian aged

15-18 years.

MOODACTIVE.COM.AU

FY18-21 strategy

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1. Increase reach

2. Improve long-term mental health outcomes

3. Sustainable funding

Key priority Focus areas

• 1.1 Optimise and expand existing service offering

• 1.2 Increase volume of referrals and direct enquiries

• 2.1 Continuous improvement of programs

• 3.1 Develop sustainable income streams

• 3.2 Fundraising

4. Build capability – people, processes, systems

5. Build brand

• 4.1 Retain volunteers and paid staff

• 5.1 Develop and implement brand awareness strategy

• 5.2 Partner with recognised reputable brands

• 5.3 Brand ambassador

Thank you to our team and partners

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This year, we grew our team to more than 55 volunteers, operations staff and trainers. A special thanks to our volunteer trainers – and former trainers who returned – stepping up when times were tough, allowing us to continue to offer some free classes. We would not exist without your ongoing support.

Thank you to our key partners Central and Eastern PHN, City of Sydney Council, Eastcourts Tennis, NSW Clubs Grants and particularly Rockdale Tennis Club, Camperdown Commons and Tennis, Valiant, Victor Smorgan Trust and The Goodridge Foundation for the key funding support we have received.

MOODACTIVE.COM.AU

The Goodridge Foundation