Stronger Together for Spinal was founded in 2021 by Katherine Swain and her husband David following a devastating spinal cord injury. Since then, Katherine, David and the team have worked tirelessly to establish a transport fleet supporting those in the Hunter living with spinal cord injury — building something truly meaningful from the ground up.
In 2026, Anika had the honour of joining the team as Sponsor and Fundraising Lead, helping to guide their fundraising strategy and maximise the impact of their marquee event, the Black Tie Ball. Working alongside the team to bring the strategy to life, together they raised $330k — doubling the previous year’s result of $165k.
Worked with the Stronger Together for Spinal team to understand their goals — ensuring the strategy was built around what mattered most to them
Rallied a wonderful group of community volunteers to take the raffle out into the Hunter ahead of the event, building momentum and a giving culture early
Connected with corporate sponsors to communicate the purpose of Stronger Together and align partnerships to drive fundraising including a significant donation from The MacDougall Foundation
Worked with the team to use social media strategically, building visibility and excitement in the lead-up to the Ball
Focussed the team’s energy into two impact fundraising streams