The Missed Foundation

What The Missed Foundation does

The Missed Foundation is an Australian-registered charity (ABN 56 606 576 914, founded 2013, headquartered in Melbourne) that supports families and friends of long-term missing persons. It is the only organization in Australia focused specifically on this population, providing direct services to over 90 Australian families while its Missing Persons Guide has been used by 125,000+ people across 190+ countries since launch. The foundation was established by Loren O'Keeffe following her brother Dan's disappearance in 2011, and is governed by a board including a former Deputy State Coroner of Victoria and senior partners from communications firm SenateSHJ, which provides pro bono office space and strategic communications support.

The organization's core offerings are built around two proprietary therapeutic assets: The Hope Narratives®, a 145-card therapeutic deck developed from 500+ years of lived experience from 44 lovedones across 8 countries (winner of two 2023 Good Design Awards), and the Ambiguous Loss Masterclass, a tiered training program ($20-$250) developed with Associate Professor Sarah Wayland. Supporting products include the Missing Persons Guide (a practical step-by-step resource), the What's Missing podcast series (800,000+ downloads, produced with Casefile Presents), and the Too Short Stories book. The foundation also operates a peer network of pro bono legal, investigative, drone, OSINT, and age-progression specialists, and publishes research including the Cost of Missingness study ($256.3M total annual cost) and an independently measured Social Return on Investment ratio of 5.73:1.

The Missed Foundation operates a 100% community-funded model, accepting no government or corporate funding and relying on donations (via Raisely, PayPal, bank transfer), bequests (via Gathered Here), merchandise sales, product sales, and training fees. Strategic pro bono partnerships deliver over $1M in annual in-kind value from SenateSHJ, Mindshare ($300K+ in advertising), Vodafone, Casefile Presents, ABC TV, Film Camp, Everymind, McKinsey matching programs, and others. The foundation is funded primarily through episodic fundraising events such as Missed in Motion (annual since 2025) and The Funding Network pitch nights, with its only disclosed capital raise being $90,000 AUD in 2019.

Name

The Missed Foundation

Legal name

The Missed Foundation

Website

https://missed.org.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Missed Foundation is an Australian registered charity supporting families and friends of long-term missing persons through therapeutic tools (The Hope Narratives® cards, Ambiguous Loss Masterclass), a globally-used Missing Persons Guide, and direct services to 90+ Australian families, funded entirely by community donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Missing Persons Family Support Services

NAICS

Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Bereavement, Grief & Family Support Services (Hospice-Linked) (HLAFAEAO)

Keywords

• Missing persons support
• Ambiguous loss therapy
• Family advocacy services
• Grief counseling tools
• Nonprofit charity services

Headquarters

HQ city

Melbourne

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations: Primary revenue source. Missed relies completely on donations and fundraising as they receive no government or corporate funding. Donations are accepted via Raisely, bank transfer (Bank of Melbourne), and PayPal.
2. Merchandise Sales: Sale of branded merchandise including t-shirts, long sleeves, and the Too Short Stories book. 100% of proceeds support families and friends of missing Australians.
3. Hope Narratives Sales: Sale of The Hope Narratives® card set (currently $40 on sale from $70) and the Too Short Stories book ($32). Professional development training packages also available for purchase.
4. Ambiguous Loss Masterclass: Advanced Skills Training package available for purchase at $20-$250 depending on audience type. Prerequisite Ambiguous Loss 101 training is provided free.
5. Bequests/Legacy Gifts: Missed accepts bequests in wills including specific sums, percentages of estates, or residue of estates. They have partnered with Gathered Here for online will-writing.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

The Missed Foundation is an Australian registered charity that provides practical and emotional support to families and friends of long-term missing persons. Its core offerings include therapeutic tools such as The Hope Narratives® card deck, the Ambiguous Loss Masterclass training programme, the Missing Persons Guide, and the What's Missing podcast, alongside direct family support, advocacy, and awareness campaigns addressing ambiguous loss.

Product overview

The Missed Foundation offers a portfolio of support services and products for families of missing persons, centered around two core therapeutic tools: The Hope Narratives® card deck and the Ambiguous Loss Masterclass (comprising Ambiguous Loss 101 and Advanced Skills Training). The organization also provides practical resources including the Missing Persons Guide, the What's Missing Podcast, and the Too Short Stories book. Support services include media assistance, legal support, and age progression services. All products and services are designed to address the unique psychological, emotional, and practical challenges faced by families experiencing ambiguous loss when a loved one goes missing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Hope Narratives®: A tangible therapeutic tool consisting of 150 cards that allow loved ones to explore what it means to exist in a space where they’re constantly oscillating between hopefulness and hopelessness. Won two Good Design Awards.
• Ambiguous Loss Masterclass
• Missing Persons Guide
• What’s Missing Podcast

Products and services

• The Hope Narratives® A tangible therapeutic card deck of approximately 150 high-quality 300GSM matte film coated cards, encased in a sturdy box, designed as a therapeutic language tool for loved ones of missing persons to navigate ambiguous loss. Endorsed by Emeritus Professor Pauline Boss and sold via the Missed online shop.
• Advanced Skills Training Second component of the Ambiguous Loss Masterclass offering deeper theoretical exploration and simulated counselling sessions. Intended for professionals such as counsellors, police, and support workers. Sold as a package with video and slides at tiered pricing from $20 to $250 depending on audience type.
• Too Short Stories Book Hardcover book featuring eight short stories written by acclaimed Australian authors with original artworks depicting missing loved ones; sold for $32 with proceeds supporting families and friends of missing Australians.
• Branded Merchandise (T-shirts and Long Sleeve Apparel) Range of branded t-shirts and long sleeve shirts produced by AS Colour and printed locally in Melbourne; t-shirts priced at $40 and long sleeves at $60, with all proceeds supporting the charity's work with families of missing Australians.

Quantifiable outcome

• 5.73:1 Social Return on Investment ratio - for every $1 invested, $5.73 of social value is generated (sector average $3-$4)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• EverymindcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Collaborating with Everymind and Associate Professor Sarah Wayland to create media guidelines for families of missing persons engaging with media.
• The Funding NetworkmajorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2019In 2019, Missed was welcomed into the philanthropic arena with a 6-minute pitch at TFN pitch night that raised $90,000.
• SenateSHJcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPro bono communications partner providing strategic communication support and office space. Angela Scaffidi, SenateSHJ co-founder, chairs Missed's board. Jill Calder, SenateSHJ Partner, serves on Missed's board.
• The Mobile Billboard CompanycoreGTM or Marketing PartnerProvides annual in-kind budget for printing, transporting and displaying large A-frame billboards across Australia for awareness campaigns.
• Casefile PresentsStrategic or Co-development PartnerAward-winning podcast producers who partnered with Missed to create the What's Missing podcast series. Subsequent collaborations include Matty podcast (4M+ listeners) and Missing Niamh.
• MindsharemajorGTM or Marketing PartnerProvided over $300,000 worth of in-kind outdoor, online and radio advertising space for national campaigns including National Missing Persons Week.
• VodafonecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerProvided World of Difference grant that funded the Missing Persons Guide foundation project in 2013. Ongoing corporate partnership including policies for long-term missing customers.
• ABC TV and iviewmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerCollaborated on 'You Can't Ask That' docuseries featuring families of missing persons. Also partnered on The Unmissables ABC series.
• Film CampmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProduction company that partnered to create The Unmissables ABC docuseries capturing the process of making long-term missing Australians 'unmissable'.
• Gathered HereminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnered with Gathered Here to offer free, legally binding wills and updates for life through their online platform, facilitating legacy giving.
• 180 Degrees ConsultingcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerConducted Cost of Missingness research and Social Return on Investment analysis. Found SROI ratio of 5.73:1.
• Assoc. Prof. Sarah WaylandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternationally renowned expert in ambiguous loss who partnered with Missed since Day 1. Created and hosts the Ambiguous Loss Masterclass. Has trained service providers including AFP, Red Cross, WayAhead, and charities in UK, Ireland and Canada.
• National Crime Agency (UK)minorOthersBritish artist working for NCA's Missing Persons Unit offers age progression services for missing persons, creating images of what loved ones may look like over extended periods.
• RaiselycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFundraising platform used for donations and event registration including Missed in Motion annual fundraiser.
• PayPalminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSecure online payment service for donations to Missed.
• Bank of MelbourneminorOthersPreferred banking partner for donations via bank transfer (BSB 193-879, Account 447 888 368).
• McKinsey & CompanyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate matching program where employees can double their donations to Missed. One family member raised thousands through memorial events that were matched by McKinsey.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Lifeline Australia: Australia's largest crisis support and suicide prevention charity. Overlaps with Missed in providing emotional and crisis support services in Australia and is a comparable community-funded nonprofit at materially larger scale.
• International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC): Global nonprofit working to protect children from abduction, sexual abuse, and exploitation, including operating the Global Missing Children Network. Broader incumbent in the missing-and-exploited-persons space, with overlapping training and policy advocacy.
• NamUs (National Missing and Unidentified Persons System): US Department of Justice information clearinghouse for missing, unidentified, and unclaimed persons cases. Overlapping mission in resolving long-term missing-persons cases, though operating as a government program rather than a charity.

Emerging players

• National Missing and Unidentified Persons Network (NamUAN): Australian advocacy network supporting families of long-term missing persons. Closest Australian peer addressing the same population with a similar volunteer/community-led model, though smaller scale.
• Australian Centre for Grief and Bereavement: Australian provider of specialist grief, loss, and bereavement support services, training, and research. Comparable therapeutic and training expertise relevant to Missed's ambiguous-loss work, with adjacent rather than directly overlapping mission.

Direct peers

• Black and Missing Foundation: US-based nonprofit focused on bringing awareness to missing persons of color, providing family support and media advocacy. Direct peer in mission (family support, awareness, advocacy for missing persons) and family-led operating model.
• Child Find Australia: Australian nonprofit dedicated to locating missing children and supporting affected families, operating since 1981. Direct peer operating in the same Australian geography with overlapping missing-persons family-support services.
• Polly Klaas Foundation: US nonprofit founded after a child's abduction that supports families of missing and exploited children through search assistance, advocacy, and education. Direct peer in founder-led, family-of-missing-persons origin story and service model.
• Missing People (UK): UK charity dedicated to supporting missing people and their families, providing helplines, family support, and professional training. The closest direct international peer to The Missed Foundation, addressing an almost identical mission in a different geography.

Others

• 180 Degrees Consulting: Global pro bono consulting network that has worked with Missed on the Cost of Missingness and SROI research. Comparable in operating model as a pro-bono-supported mission-driven organization and serves as a service partner rather than competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/missedaus
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/missed
• Instagraminstagram.com/missedaus

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 The Missed Foundation