Woodfordia

What Woodfordia does

Woodfordia Ltd (ABN 74 616 312 239) is an Australian not-for-profit, ACNC-registered charity and company limited by guarantee that operates a 500-acre cultural parkland approximately 5 minutes drive from Woodford in Southeast Queensland. The organisation's core activity is the production of large-scale community festivals, anchored by the Woodford Folk Festival — a six-day event held 27 December to 1 January that attracts approximately 120,000 guests annually and is described as one of Australia's largest and longest-running folk festivals (33+ years of continuous operation). Supporting events include The Planting (annual environmental festival planting ~2,500 plants per event), Lake Gkula Camping (Easter and Spring), Festival of Small Halls (touring programme across rural Queensland and NSW), and The Weekend (a monthly programme of Conservatree working bees, Traditional Music School, Folk Club, and craft activities).

The organisation is community-operated with a lean core staff of approximately 20 full-time employees supplemented by roughly a dozen seasonal contractors during the October–December festival build period, and a large volunteer base recruited through dedicated Facebook groups and a volunteer mailing list. Woodfordia has no proprietary technology platform; its operational backbone is a permanent festival site with $14M+ of cumulative infrastructure investment since 1994, including a 16-megalitre dam, 57 amenity blocks, a 25,000-capacity amphitheatre, underground sewage and water treatment, and 100,000+ planted trees on land originally acquired as a 240-acre degraded rural property.

Revenue is generated through a portfolio of streams: festival ticket sales (primary), an annual Citizenship/Membership programme at A$36/year (capped at 200 members under the constitution), tax-deductible donations to the Forest of Goodwill land-protection campaign (A$2.35M raised with A$300K in matched funding remaining), bequests via a Safewill partnership, Traditional Music School fees (A$15/session) and Songwriting School fees (A$360 per six-month cohort), and site-hire fees paid by external event producers such as Pranafest and Earth Frequency Festival. Governance is provided by a Board led by Managing Director Amanda Jackes and President Lachlan Brown.

Name

Woodfordia

Legal name

Woodfordia Ltd

Website

https://woodfordia.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Woodfordia Ltd is a not-for-profit community organisation operating a 500-acre cultural parkland in SE Queensland, producing the annual ~120,000-guest Woodford Folk Festival and a portfolio of smaller cultural and environmental events, funded by ticket sales, citizenship memberships, donations, and bequests.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cultural Events & Festivals

NAICS

Support Activities for Forestry (1153)

SIC

Forestry (800)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Forestry & Indigenous Land Stewardship Services (IMAMAJAM)

Keywords

• Folk music festivals
• Cultural event management
• Music education programs
• Volunteer community programs
• Environmental restoration

Headquarters

HQ city

Woodford

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Festival Ticket Sales: Primary revenue source from ticketing the Woodford Folk Festival and smaller events including Lake Gkula Camping, The Planting, and Festival of Small Halls. Ticket packages include festival attendance plus camping.
2. Citizenship/Membership: Citizenship program at $36 per year provides recurring revenue. Benefits include fortnightly newsletter, invitations to gatherings, early access to festival tickets, and access to the Woodfordian Citizens Portal. Membership is capped at 200 under the company constitution.
3. Donations - Woodfordia Land Fund (Forest of Goodwill): Tax-deductible donations (DGR1 status) directed to the Forest of Goodwill campaign, which aims to secure the 500-acre Woodfordia land in trust so it cannot be sold. $2.35 million raised to date with $300,000 in matched funding still available.
4. Donations - Annual Cultural Program: Tax-deductible donations supporting the delivery of annual cultural programs including Australian artists (2,200+ supported annually), live music festivals, community gatherings, and monthly working bees.
5. Bequests/Wills: Legacy gifting program allowing supporters to leave a gift in their Will. Partnership with Safewill for online Will creation. Gifts can be residual (percentage of estate), specific (nominated sum), or asset-based (shares, property, valuables).
6. Traditional Music School fees: Monthly 90-minute folk music classes at $15 per session, including entry to the evening Folk Club and Saturday night camping. Songwriting School at $360 for the full six-month cohort.
7. Site Hire and Event Production for Third Parties: Woodfordia hires its site to external organizations. The WOOSH Crew supports these external events (e.g., Pranafest, Earth Frequency Festival). Revenue is generated through site rental fees and ancillary spend at on-site General Store, Lakeside Café, and Lake Gkula BBQ.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels8 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Woodfordia Ltd is a not-for-profit charity organization operating a 500-acre site in Woodford, Queensland, Australia. It produces the annual Woodford Folk Festival and other cultural gatherings, music education programs, and environmental restoration initiatives, supporting over 2,200 artists annually and hosting approximately 120,000 festival attendees per year.

Product overview

Woodfordia is a not-for-profit community organization operating as a portfolio of cultural and environmental programs rather than a single product. The core offerings include the Woodford Folk Festival (annual six-day event), The Planting (environmental festival), Festival of Small Halls (touring program), and Lake Gkula Camping (recreational facility). Supporting programs include monthly activities through The Weekend (Conservatree, Traditional Music School, Folk Club, Treehuggers), seasonal volunteering opportunities, internship programs, and membership/citizenship initiatives. The organization also runs fundraising campaigns including the Forest of Goodwill for land security and a bequest program for legacy giving.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Woodford Folk Festival
• The Planting
• Woodford Music Camp
• Volunteer Programs
• Site Hire Services
• Environmental Restoration Programs

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 106,000 trees planted since 1994; 2,500+ plants per annual The Planting event
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• The Flow State Experience (Pranafest)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerThe Flow State Experience produces Pranafest at Woodfordia. This is a multi-venue wellness festival held at Woodfordia, with activities including dance, yoga, breathwork, ice baths, and saunas. The partnership deepened in 2026 with a second Pranafest event, with the relationship described as developing 'a kind of symbiosis' and feeling 'natural to host this kind of festival on our land.' The event attracted approximately 27 artists, 30 facilitators, and 10 guest speakers, with Woodfordia providing 143 volunteers.
• Earth Frequency FestivalminorGTM or Marketing PartnerEarth Frequency Festival hires the Woodfordia site for its event. WOOSH Crew volunteers support the site hire. Applications for the Earth Frequency Festival volunteer team open mid-August with returning volunteers given priority.
• SafewillcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWoodfordia partnered with Safewill to provide a simple, secure and accessible online Will creation platform for supporters wishing to leave a legacy gift to Woodfordia. The partnership removes complexity and cost barriers for legacy giving. Woodfordia receives bequest notifications through this channel.
• Direct Lawyers (Dion McCurdy)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerMr Dion McCurdy, Principal Lawyer of Direct Lawyers, is recommended by Woodfordia as a trusted solicitor familiar with Gifts in Wills. Available for confidential, non-binding discussions about making bequests.
• Mike McClellancoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMike McClellan is the lead tutor for the Woodford Songmakers, a six-month songwriting school at Woodfordia. He is a celebrated musician and recording artist, with his song 'Song and Dance Man' voted Song of the Year and works covered by John Farnham and Tommy Emmanuel.
• Alan Kelly and Kristin Kelly (Barleyshakes)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAlan Kelly and Kristin Kelly are regular tutors for the Traditional Music School at Woodfordia. They bring expertise from the Irish folk tradition and the Australian festival landscape, teaching fiddle, guitar, and folk instruments.
• Commonwealth Bank of AustraliaminorOthersWoodfordia's banking partner for electronic donations. Donations can be made directly to Woodfordia Ltd's CBA account (BSB 064 406, Account 10786572).
• Kristin and Alan KellycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKristin and Alan Kelly return each month to teach at Traditional Music School, teaching guitar and folk instruments, bringing music from the Celtic tradition.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves5 records

Direct peers

• National Folk Festival: Australia's flagship folk festival, held annually in Canberra each Easter. Directly comparable to the Woodford Folk Festival in scale, programming breadth (folk, roots, world music, dance, workshops), community ownership ethos, and large volunteer base.
• Port Fairy Folk Festival: A long-running community folk music festival held over the Labour Day long weekend in Port Fairy, Victoria. Comparable to Woodfordia as one of Australia's heritage folk festivals with a volunteer-driven model, multi-day camping format, and a similar mix of headline and emerging Australian artists.
• Illawarra Folk Festival: A long-running folk festival held annually in Bulli, NSW. Comparable to Woodfordia as an Australian folk festival with a community volunteer organizing model, broad programming of folk styles, and a focus on traditional and contemporary Australian music.
• Mullum Music Festival: A boutique community folk and roots festival held in Mullumbimby, NSW. Comparable to Woodfordia as a regional folk festival with a strong community-driven volunteer model, focus on Australian artists, and small-town cultural destination positioning.
• Blue Mountains Music Festival: A community folk and roots festival held in Katoomba, NSW. Comparable to Woodfordia as a multi-day folk festival with a strong volunteer base, camping option, and a programming mix skewed toward Australian folk, world, and acoustic artists.
• Festival of Voices: A winter choral and vocal music festival held annually in Hobart, Tasmania. Comparable to Woodfordia as a community-anchored folk/vocal music festival featuring Australian artists, workshops, and a multi-venue town format.

Broad incumbents

• Adelaide Fringe: One of the world's largest fringe arts festivals, held annually in Adelaide. Comparable to Woodfordia as a destination cultural festival with strong community engagement, but operates at significantly larger scale and broader artistic scope across multiple venues.
• Falls Festival: A multi-day multi-genre music festival held across multiple Australian locations. Comparable to Woodfordia in being a multi-day camping festival with large audience scale, but distinct in genre (rock/electronic/pop) and in operating as a commercial promoter-driven event rather than a community non-profit.
• Dark MOFO: A large-scale winter arts and music festival in Hobart produced by the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA). Comparable to Woodfordia as a flagship Australian cultural festival with strong community participation, but operates with a broader arts programming scope and a corporate backer.
• WOMADelaide: A larger multi-day world music and dance festival held in Adelaide's Botanic Park. Comparable to Woodfordia in genre (folk, world, roots) and large-scale outdoor festival format, but operates at a higher production scale with broader international programming and an urban parkland setting.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/groups/woodfordfolkfestivalvolunteers
• Instagraminstagram.com/woodfordiavolunteers_hq
• Xx.com/woodfordia

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Woodfordia