The GroundSwell Project (GSP), is emerging as an international leader in death literacy*, and has been one of the organisations at the forefront of this movement in Australia.  Founded in 2010, GSP has grown from small, beginnings to an organisation that has developed and delivered 55 community capacity-building projects and programs aimed at creating a cultural shift in the way Australians respond to end of life (EOL) planning.  Through its programs, GSP seeks to transform community conversations into action, noting that it takes more than raising public awareness to create systemic change.

This grant provides seed funding for an innovative project which supports this emerging world leader in the field to develop and pilot a national Death Literacy*
benchmarking tool and conduct the first national survey of death literacy in Australia.

In addition, the Trust has engaged The Australian Centre for Social Innovation (TACSI) to investigate what is needed to build death literacy in the Australian community as the basis for better end of life experiences.

*Death Literacy is the practical know-how needed to plan well for end of life.  This includes knowledge, skills, and being able to take action.  Death literacy recognises the role that everyone has in end of life care and death care.  Having knowledge helps us make informed decisions about the care, being able to act on that knowledge is empowering.  In its totality death literacy includes more than just planning for health care and end-of-life care.  It also includes things like organising one’s financial affairs (e.g. estate planning and Powers of Attorney).​