The Madeline Stuart Foundation
The Madeline Stuart Foundation supports people with disabilities today through accessible community, creative and social opportunities, while building toward a future of broader support, safer living options and life-changing assistance for people who need it most.
The Madeline Stuart Foundation was founded in 2020 to support people with disabilities to learn, grow, connect, express themselves and take part in a supportive community. The Foundation is a registered charity and was created to help reduce the barriers that can prevent people with disability from accessing meaningful opportunities, whether through social connection, creative participation, community programs or future life-changing projects.
The Foundation carries the shared vision of Madeline Stuart and Rosanne Stuart; to create a future where people with disabilities have fewer barriers and more opportunities to live full, connected and ambitious lives. Their work brings together visibility, advocacy, business experience and practical action, from community programs today to larger future goals around safe living, independence and life-changing support.
Madeline Stuart is an international model, dancer and disability advocate whose career has challenged narrow expectations about disability, visibility and opportunity. As a woman with Down syndrome and autism, Madeline’s public presence has helped show what can happen when people with disability are given the chance to be seen, supported and taken seriously. Her work gives the Foundation a powerful public example of what it stands for: opening doors, challenging limits and creating space for people with disability to be recognised for their ability, ambition and individuality.
Rosanne Stuart brings the lived experience of a parent and advocate, together with a strong professional background in the construction industry. Her work has always been practical as well as personal. She understands what it takes to build something from the ground up, manage growth, create structure and turn a vision into something real. Through years of advocacy and program development, Rosanne saw how often people with disability were offered limited choices or low expectations. Her business acumen and determination to remove barriers have shaped the Foundation’s broader purpose: to create more opportunities, more access and more ambitious futures for people with disability.
Good opportunities do not happen by accident. They need funding, structure, people willing to build them, and a long-term vision beyond any one program.
The Madeline Stuart Foundation exists because meaningful opportunities for people with disabilities should not depend on luck, family resources or whether the right program happens to be available nearby. Too often, people with disabilities face limited choices, low expectations and programs that are not built with their participation in mind. The Foundation was created to change that in a practical way, by helping fund opportunities that allow people to connect, develop, express themselves and take part in community life with dignity and purpose.
While the Foundation’s current work is closely connected to inclusive arts, social participation and the Madeline Stuart Dance Company community, its purpose is larger than dance alone. It exists to build a stronger future for people with disability through practical support today and ambitious long-term projects for tomorrow. From keeping programs accessible to supporting future plans around safe living, independence and life-changing assistance, the Foundation is focused on reducing barriers and creating real options for people with disability and their families.
01
Keeping Participation Affordable
Helping reduce cost barriers so people with disability can keep taking part.
The Foundation helps subsidise costs and protect access to regular creative, social and community opportunities. Affordability can make the difference between someone missing out and someone being able to participate consistently.
02
Concerts & Events
Supporting moments where people can share progress and be celebrated.
Concerts and events give participants something to work toward and a chance to perform in front of family and community. These experiences recognise effort, growth and achievement.
03
Monthly Community Disco
Creating a regular social event built around fun, friendship and connection.
The monthly disco gives people with disability a welcoming space to dance, socialise and feel part of the community. It helps reduce isolation by creating a social event people can look forward to.
04
Embrace Theatre Production
Supporting disability-led education and storytelling.
Embrace helps share the lived experiences of people with disability with wider audiences. It supports awareness, understanding and a stronger public conversation.
05
New Opportunities & Community Programs
Helping create programs and pathways beyond what exists today.
The Foundation also supports new community opportunities as nees grow. This gives the Foundation room to back new programs, new locations and future projects beyond current activities.
The Madeline Stuart Foundation works closely with Madeline Stuart Dance Company, which is both a key delivery partner and one of the Foundation’s major contributors. Together, they help create opportunities for people with disabilities to learn, connect, perform, socialise and take part in community life.
The Foundation’s long-term vision extends beyond the programs it supports today. Future plans include developing disability-specific living opportunities that support greater independence, safety and community connection, as well as exploring ways to fund life-changing medical support for people with disabilities who face barriers to accessing care.
Your support helps the Madeline Stuart Foundation turn good intentions into real opportunities. Donations help reduce financial barriers, support community events, back disability-led education projects and build toward the Foundation’s bigger future vision for people with disability.
Keep Opportunities Accessible -Your support helps reduce financial barriers so people with disabilities can keep taking part.
Support Performances and Major Events – Donations help create moments where participants can perform, be celebrated and share their progress.
Help Community Connection Continue – Your support helps keep social opportunities like the monthly disco active, welcoming and accessible.
Back Disability Education and Storytelling – Donations help projects like Embrace share lived experiences and build greater understanding.
Build What Comes Next – Your support helps the Foundation grow beyond today’s programs and work toward larger future goals.