Hoofbeats Sanctuary does not receive any ongoing government funding for its work. We rely on the generosity of people just like you to keep the Sanctuary operating.
Hoofbeats Sanctuary is a trauma-healing center on the Sunshine Coast, bringing together animals, nature, and women and girls suffering from complex trauma, primarily through the form of equine-assisted therapy. We believe cost should never be a barrier to accessing life-changing mental health support. We offer full and part scholarships to our clients, letting them attend our therapy programs regardless of their ability to pay.
In doing so, we are the only organisation in Australia that provides free equine therapy – and other trauma-informed therapy programs – to those who need them. Your donation could make all the difference for someone who truly needs our support and help.
We are in a mental health crisis, and demand for our services has never been higher. For some sessions, our waitlist has ballooned to well over six months.
Your support helps us not just to take care of the amazing horses and ponies in our herd but also to keep our equine-therapy programs running throughout the year. Your donation is vitally important to us, and we are grateful for any support you can provide. For instance, every dollar we can save on horse care costs is a dollar we can invest in our mental health programs.
Since opening the Sanctuary in 2019, we have touched and improved over 300 lives, and we would like to continue to do so for as long as we can. In 2023, our programs delivered, on average, a staggering 71% improvement of participants’ mental health.
Hoofbeats Sanctuary is an initiative of Kanyini Connections Ltd – an Australian charity fully endorsed as a Deductible Gift Recipient. All donations of $2 or more are tax deductible.
General Donations
Lets us allocate your donation where we need it the most – sometimes that might be program costs, at other times, just keeping the lights on.
- Choose your amount
- Choose your frequency
- Receive invitations to exclusive Gratitude Days at the Sanctuary
Fund a Scholarship
Financial disadvantage should never be a barrier to accessing mental health support. Every program offers full and part scholarships for clients in financial distress.
- Choose a program
- Choose how many sessions to support
- Receive invitations to exclusive Gratitude Days at the Sanctuary
Help the Herd Out
Horses are expensive critters to keep. Last financial year, our horse care costs were just under $44,000. When beautiful humans help our herd – our herd can help other beautiful humans.
- Choose a horse or pony
- Choose a sponsorship level
- Receive special gifts at every level
- Receive invitations to exclusive Gratitude Days at the Sanctuary
Join the $5 Friday Club
For the price of your favourite coffee each week, you could change someone’s life. Join our Five Dollar Fridays Club – it’s a quick and easy way to make a big impact.
- Choose your amount
- Choose your frequency – weekly or monthly
- Receive invitations to exclusive Gratitude Days at the Sanctuary
Leave a Legacy
Your bequest, no matter the size, will leave a lasting legacy of hope and healing
- Bequest any amount
- Make a lasting impact
- Option to create a free online will
- Be remembered on our Gratitude Tree
If you’d rather skip the processing fees, you can make a direct deposit into our bank account instead. Just make sure to get in touch with us afterwards to let us know what you’d like your donation to go towards, and then we can send you a receipt!
BSB: 633000, Account No: 137 521 696, Account Name: Kanyini Connections
Your Support at Work
Don’t just take it from us – here’s what some of the people we’ve helped have had to say. For each testimonial, there are dozens more whose stories we can’t share.
“What Hoofbeats offered me was remarkable, when many other supports had given up on me. Hoofbeats absolutely saved me at a time when I was feeling so very desperate and could not see a way out of my trauma.”
“I have seen multiple therapists / counsellors. I felt personally that none of those forms of therapy were helpful. Hoofbeats has helped me be less critical of myself and make steps towards releasing pressure I put on myself. The Sanctuary is the only place I felt truly seen, validated and safe.“
“Hoofbeats has become my safe place. My one and only safe place, where every week I have something to look forward to in my life again – providing me with a safe, welcoming, non-judgemental, and non-threatening environment.”
Other Ways to Help
We get it – times are tough, and not everyone’s in a position to donate. Thankfully there’s heaps of other things you can do in support of Hoofbeats Sanctuary.
Check out our Online Shop
We’ve got a Hoofbeats online shop where we sell some great merchandise, like t-shirts, tote bags, and caps. Wear your support for the Sanctuary and help spread awareness of the work we do – we’ve found they act as great conversation starters.
If art’s more your thing, we have a great range for sale too. In 2023 and 2024, we held our Seeing the Soul art exhibitions, which were a major fundraising event for us. All the artworks spent a month on display in Cooroy and would have been seen, and appreciated, by thousands of people during that time. What didn’t sell during the exhibition is now for sale on our website – and with these pieces having been donated by their artist, 100% of the sale price goes directly to us!
If you’ve got horse of your own, you should really be conducting a fecal egg test on them before worming. This will help you know if they really need worming or not, saving you money. We offer an Australia-wide FEC testing service – simply collect a sample, mail it to us, and we’ll email you the results back. Couldn’t be simpler!
Pop into Kanyini Collective
We have a new, second location! Kanyini Collective is a for-purpose social enterprise in the heart of Cooroy, operating to support Hoofbeats Sanctuary and free mental health therapy programs.
We’ve got a range of classes being held there, like paint and sips, ice baths, Mental Heath First Aid training events, so check out the calendar of events and get some tickets if anything grabs your eye!
At the Collective is a physical shop full of brand-new, out-of-season clothing, books, puzzles. If you want to pick a nice gift, this is the place – they are gifts that give twice.
Find them at 7 Garnet Street, Cooroy.
Follow us on Social Media
Simply following us on our social media platforms and liking our content gives us a great boost – and it keeps you in the loop with what’s happening at the Sanctuary. Plus – who wouldn’t want their feed filling up with our cute ponies and horses? Check out our Facebook page, or see our Instagram profile below! (Depending on your browser settings, our recent Instagram posts below might not load – so just click the link instead to get to our profile.)
Volunteer Your Time
The Sanctuary very simply wouldn’t operate without our volunteers. We’re a team of around 40 people, and there’s heaps of different types of jobs to do – from horse care to maintenance and gardening. If you have a few spare afternoons or mornings each week, want to give back to your community and maybe make some new friends along the way, then we’d love to hear from you! Check out the Volunteering page for more info.
Sign up to Our Newsletter
Unlike many newsletters, we won’t bombard you with emails – we actually only send very few emails out a year, just for the important things! So if you’re only interested in the highlights, the newsletter is a great way to keep in the loop.
Drop off Your Empty Bottles and Cans
We’ve got a Containers for Change recycling bin right outside the entry to the Sanctuary. We’ve found that a full bin is about $25 for us, so if we fill up one a week that raises $1300 every year, which is about what it costs us to deliver an entire equine therapy program. That’s right – you can help us fund an entire 12-week program for someone who needs it just by giving us your rubbish!
Help Spread the Word
And lastly – simply share the word! You’d be suprised at the good that can come from just a casual mention in a conversation. We’re a local charity providing free mental health programs, delivering by those with a lived-experience of trauma themselves, to those in our community that can’t otherwise access support. We’re a bit biased, but we think that’s pretty cool, and we think your friends will too!