Our Story
Aurum Foundation was established to do the work that the market and the state have not done: build the infrastructure that allows people outside traditional structures to be safe, to connect and to participate fully in Australian life.
The Foundation grew out of a decade of practice in social enterprise, journalism, broadcasting and community advocacy. Its founder, Kyriakos Gold, is autistic. His experience of exclusion — and of the systems that produce it — shaped the Foundation's mission and its direct, practical approach to change.
The Foundation's first major program, Autistic Pride Day, began as a community event and grew into a year-round harm prevention initiative active across 22 countries. The Autistic Standard, the Foundation's behavioural safety framework, was developed alongside it.
The Foundation is registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission and operates as a public company limited by guarantee. It is a certified social enterprise. Its programs are funded through commercial partnerships, so free access for communities grows as the Foundation's reach grows.