Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience (AIME)

AIME’s goal is to work with 10,000 Indigenous kids per year by 2018 and see them finish school at the same rate as every Australian child.

Venture mission

AIME is an educational program that gives Indigenous high school students the skills, opportunities, belief and confidence to make this happen. By matching Indigenous high school students with university student mentors, AIME successfully supports the students to finish high school. AIME also connects students with post Year 12 opportunities, including further education and employment.

‘An independent economic evaluation conducted by KPMG found AIME contributed $38 million to the Australian economy in 2012. For each $1 spent on the AIME program, $7 in benefits were generated.’

Goal of SVA partnership

AIME is leading the way in closing the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous education outcomes, a key factor in breaking the cycle of entrenched disadvantage for First Australians. SVA has supported AIME since 2009, providing hands on capacity building, funding and introduction to the networks that have enabled AIME to grow from supporting 25 students to having supported over 10,000 students by the end of 2017. SVA provided $50,000 to AIME in 2017.

Jack Manning Bancroft – CEO, AIME:

‘Without SVA being hands on in the trenches with us – helping to build our credibility externally, whilst shaping our operations internally – we simply would never have got to where we are. Thanks for daring to walk with us when so few would.’