Former Australian of the Year Grace Tame has closed her charity just weeks after claiming she was out of work following her inflammatory comments at a pro-Palestine rally.
The Grace Tame Foundation was formed in 2021 after she appeared as a case study in a campaign to change laws preventing sexual assault survivors from publicly identifying themselves as victims of abuse.
It was a not-for-profit designed to advocate for victims of sexual violence, but concerns were raised over the future of the charity in March following losses of $180,000 over two years.
The foundation’s latest report said there were ‘reasonable grounds’ to believe the company would be able to pay its debts, reporting total equity of $129,563.
However, the closure was announced in a statement from the board of directors on the foundation’s website on Thursday.
Tame is one of the four members of the board, also comprising professor of child safety Michael Salter, lawyer Michael Bradley, and abuse survivor Scarlett Franks.
The statement read: ‘The Foundation has reached a crossroads.
‘Like many small advocacy organisations, sustaining long-term funding for this work has become increasingly challenging.
‘After careful consideration, the Board has made the decision to close the Foundation, with the process to be finalised in the coming weeks.’
The statement also praised Tame for her ‘fierce and uncompromising advocacy for survivors’.
The Australian Charities and Not‑for‑profits Commission filings show the foundation’s main expenses in the last financial year were psychological support ($63,124), salaries and wages ($34,228), and recruitment costs ($26,760).
Funds were also directed to staff training and welfare ($11,647), website expenses ($6,972) and survivor legal expenses ($17,000).
It comes after Tame became the target of intense backlash when she shouted ‘globalise the intifada’ at a protest against Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s state visit, outside Sydney’s Town Hall in February.
Intifadas refer to two violent uprisings against oppression in the Middle East that have involved the deliberate targeting of innocent civilians.
It’s understood her actions at the protest caused tensions with some board members.
Following the protest, Tame faced calls from a number of politicians and Jewish leaders to be stripped of her Australian of the Year honour.
She was the subject of a petition, signed by more than 25,000 Australians, which called for authorities to charge her with ‘[alleged] criminal incitement to violence under existing Australian law’.
During a segment on ABC radio in March, she wrongly said reports of sexual violence carried out against Israeli women by Hamas terrorists during the October 7 attack ‘have been debunked’.
The comment was in response to a question asked by host Hamish Macdonald on behalf of a listener.
The question was: ‘Can you please ask Grace why she is selective in her outrage? I have never heard her condemn or speak out on behalf of the Israeli women who were raped and killed by Hamas on October 7.’
Tame replied: ‘I’m not going to sink to the level of … of entertaining any kind of propaganda … Let’s not do that,.’
Macdonald asked: ‘What’s the propaganda included in that question?’
Tame said: ‘Those things have been debunked.’
In a first-person piece for Crikey, she claimed to be the victim of a ‘smear campaign’ by conservative politicians and media and that her speaking engagements had been withdrawn.
She wrote: ‘I do not condone antisemitism, Islamophobia or hatred of any kind.
‘I am a human rights activist who advocates for the safety of all children, no matter their background.’
‘I’ve lost several close friends for speaking the truth. I’ve been publicly vilified over and over and over again. In under a month, my livelihood has been completely destroyed.’
In the bizarre rant, Tame said the ABC was pushing right wing propaganda.
Her charity was created to raise awareness and prevent child sexual abuse through advocacy, education and legal reforms.
In 2024, Tame announced she was stepping down as CEO of the foundation.