Eye and Ear Hospital's 2025 Tax Appeal Grows 72%

Source: fandp.com.au

TL;DR

• The Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital's 2025 Tax Appeal raised $157,968 through a patient story about cochlear implants.
• This amount marked a 72% growth in appeal income and the highest in over a decade.
• Patient stories like Ariel's boosted donor response and supported clinic services.

The story at a glance

The article examines how The Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital ran its successful 2025 Tax Appeal, focusing on a case study of growth via a compelling patient narrative. It involves the hospital's fundraising team, patient Ariel and her mother Melissa, and clinic staff like Dr Jaime Leigh. This appears in a fundraising magazine as a model for nonprofits after the appeal wrapped in mid-2025. The hospital runs Australia's first public Cochlear Implant Clinic.[[1]](https://fandp.com.au/royal-victorian-eye-ear-hospital-2025-tax-appeal-406833/)[[2]](https://eyeandear.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/EE-SightSound-Spring-2025-web.pdf)

Key points

• Appeal raised $157,968, exceeding targets with 72% year-on-year growth in tax appeal income.
• Centered on Ariel, now 8, born profoundly deaf; received first cochlear implant at 16 months, second soon after, supported by clinic's "A-team" and speech pathologist.
• Ariel now plays violin, swims, dances, attends school with her twin; no longer needs therapy after brain training marathon.
• Hospital's Cochlear Implant Clinic marked 40 years in 2025, serving over 5,000 patients since pioneering multi-channel child implants.
• Overall FY25 philanthropy hit $3.49 million, highest in six years; funds went 61% to needs, 27% research, 12% equipment.
• Donor event in May shared Ariel's story alongside adult recipient John Fisher and staff insights on research.

Details and context

The F&P article, likely by Clare Joyce, presents this as a case study for fundraisers on using personalized stories to lift tax-deductible appeals, common in Australia for EOFY giving.[[1]](https://fandp.com.au/royal-victorian-eye-ear-hospital-2025-tax-appeal-406833/)

Ariel's early diagnosis at four months and bilateral implants highlight the clinic's role in profound deafness cases with thin nerves, where gradual sound mapping and therapy build hearing skills over years.

Hospital funded items like Nerve Integrity Monitoring for 750 ENT procedures yearly and ultrasound for eye diagnoses; research includes glaucoma gene therapy.

Key quotes

Omit: No direct quotes from the paywalled article; hospital newsletter shares stories indirectly via events.

Why it matters

Strong appeals sustain specialist care like cochlear services amid rising needs. Donors get tax benefits while funding equipment and research for eye/ear patients. Watch FY26 appeals for similar story-driven tactics.