The Yes campaign for an Indigenous Voice to parliament has officially launched in Adelaide, with a multi-million-dollar donation kicking off fundraising efforts.
The Paul Ramsay Foundation has put up $5 million, which will go to Australians for Indigenous Constitutional Recognition (AICR), the official fundraising and governance body for the Yes campaign.
The money will go towards resources and community events across the country in the lead-up to the referendum later this year.
Yes Alliance director Dean Parkin said the funding would go a long way to getting the Yes message out there.
"This will help absolutely us get out there into the communities and support the other organisations that are out on the ground," he said.
"It's a very strong sign of endorsement that this campaign is headed in the right direction."
Foundation director and Kuku Yalanji woman Natalie Walker said the Paul Ramsay Foundation was happy to back the push for a Yes vote.
"We are pleased to be pledging our support to the Yes campaign for the 2023 referendum on constitutional recognition," she said.
"The foundation aims to make a lasting contribution to positive social change in Australia, and supporting an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice is a critical step in ensuring First Nations self-determination."
More than 500 people attended the launch at Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute in Adelaide, which opened with a smoking ceremony before there were speeches by campaign leaders and performances by Indigenous artists.
The launch was largely a politician-free event, with campaigners keen to get the conversation away from politics and into communities.
Mr Parkin said that was the key to the campaign strategy.
"It's about taking this campaign for recognition through a Voice out of the bubble and back down to where this campaign belongs, which is with the people of Australia," he said.
"We want to make this a welcoming space, we want all Australians to be involved in this conversation, so the last couple of days is about giving them the tools, giving them some direction, about how to best go about that."
The coming months will see Yes campaigners engaging with their local communities to explain what a Voice would be and how it would benefit Indigenous people.
"Our focus is to do whatever we can to make sure people are involved, people are engaged, even those people with questions or hesitations about what this might all mean," Mr Parkin said.
"We want you to come on board, we want you to be welcomed into this because every Australian has got to be included."
One of the leaders behind the campaign, AICR co-chair Rachel Perkins addressed the crowd at the launch and said the time for recognition was right.
"This year, the people of Australia will finally have the chance to say Yes to recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the constitution with a Voice to Parliament," she said.
"The campaign now has tremendous momentum as we head towards a referendum later this year that offers a chance for a moment of national unity unparalleled in modern Australia."
There is no official word yet on when or if either of the organisations working on No movements will launch their campaigns.
