Annual Report 2020

Executive Summary

What a year.

We started on a high after such a strong 2019, but shortly after the devastating bushfires, when the pandemic took off, donations slowed, events stopped, and it was clear that things were going to look a little different to how we’d imagined.

Thankfully, all of our major projects for the year were already planned (and funded), with some underway, before the disruptions of lockdown began in March. One of the few positives to come of the restrictions on movement was that there seems to have been a relatively universal reduction in missing person reports this year.

Our small size undoubtedly saved us the challenges many organisations faced, and having worked mostly remotely – at varying distances from the Collins Street office – since 2011, it was in many ways, ‘business as usual’.

Publicity is a cornerstone of MPAN, and we managed to execute two key initiatives that both did a tremendous job of spreading awareness for the cause and the organisation. I am, however, just as – if not more – proud of the two other ventures we embarked upon this year. For the first time, we commissioned research into the wider-reaching impact of missingness, which produced a report I am very excited we’ll be able to release in 2021.

We also officially expanded our scope into providing emotional – as well as practical – support to the loved ones of missing persons, through a pilot program that trained counsellors in ambiguous loss and connected them to those seeking specialised support.

With this holistic approach and the results we’ve seen throughout this toughest of years, MPAN has proven to have a very firm foundation, and I couldn’t be more thankful for the strong community around us; from our Board to our volunteers, donors and supporters.

I feel ready and am looking forward to what lies ahead for us in 2021, including but not limited to; the second season of our podcast, the expansion of our ambiguous loss program, releasing our ground-breaking report on the cost of missingness and rolling out our next weighty campaign with our award-winning partners. Bold shifts around the perception of missing persons await.

Loren O’Keeffe
Founder and CEO