About

Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation addresses the big challenges of the day facing our community. 

Our work is organised around Impact Areas, which are revised following research and wide consultation with stakeholders as part of our strategic planning process.
 
The Impact Areas are currently alleviating homelessness; increasing community resilience to withstand major social and health challenges; reducing urban impacts on the natural environment; and reducing education and economic inequality.

The Foundation's grantmaking is driven by our vision of an inclusive and resilient community and guided by our values and granting principles. We seek out and develop projects and initiatives that reflect the many aspects of our Philanthropy Toolbox:

We also work proactively on key initiatives in our Impact Areas, including the Affordable Housing Challenge, Energy Efficiency & Climate Resilience in Vulnerable Households, Hot Spots, and Resilient & Inclusive Melbourne.

Our project logic model helps us work with our grant partners to define project specific outputs and outcomes that align with our grant partner’s and the Foundation’s own impact objectives.

This collaborative approach is designed to increase the shared impact we can have together on the challenges the Foundation has prioritised. 

Grant partners report on activities, outputs, outcomes, targets and budget expenditure in Progress and Acquittal Reports. Learning is an important part of the innovation process and the Foundation is committed to sharing project findings and reports with the broader sector, including via our website. 

Projects that involve partnership, collaborations and/or networks designed to increase impact are encouraged by the Foundation. 
 

Each year, Lord Mayor's Charitable Foundation receives and evaluates grants applications from charities and not-for-profit organisations seeking assistance for initiatives which contribute to improving quality of life for those experiencing disadvantage and to address important social issues and challenges.

The Foundation's approach to grantmaking is reflected in the following funding principles:
 

Equality and equity 
Support projects and programs which provide equitable access to opportunities and overcome barriers for participation.

Evidence-based
Require projects to be developed from a reliable evidence-base. Support the exploration of new ideas and solutions.

Promote social inclusion and cohesion
Support projects, programs or organisations which actively promote social inclusion and cohesion.

Community Engagement
Support projects, programs and organisations that encourage community engagement and consult and communicate with affected community members and relevant stakeholders.

Engage beyond grants
Leverage our grantmaking, wherever appropriate, with other tools for change.

Knowledge creation and dissemination
Promote and encourage knowledge creation and dissemination through our work, both as an organisation and as a partner.

Sustainability
Sustainability of the activity following the conclusion of the grant will be taken into consideration when assessing grants noting that change takes time.

Long-term change
Take a systems-change approach to addressing persistent social and environmental issues.

Balanced Giving
Work to achieve a balance in our granting between addressing immediate needs and investing in projects and organisations that support long-term social change.

Scalability and replicability 
Give priority to projects that can demonstrate scalability or replicability to amplify the impact of our grant making and investments. 

Partnerships and collaboration
Give priority to projects that include relevant and useful partnerships and work collaboratively to maximise impact.

Innovation Grants
Enquiries for the 2022/2023 Innovation Grants round will be accepted 5 - 23 September 2022.
 
Proactive Grants
In addition to the responsive grant round, the Foundation also makes Proactive Grants. These are initiated by the Foundation to respond to specific issues of particular interest or concern to the Foundation.

Grant Agreement

Successful applicants are required to sign a Grant Agreement which outlines the Foundation’s requirements.
 

Reports and Acquittals

Reports and financial acquittals are a standard requirement for all grants.

• Progress and Final Report forms are emailed to grant recipients one month prior to the submission date
• Satisfactory progress reports are required for all multi-year grants before subsequent instalments can be paid
• A final report on your project outcomes and expenditure is due within one month of its completion
  
  We appreciate photographs of your project (via email, USB or CD) for possible inclusion on our website or annual report (please note that photographs that feature faces require permission from all individuals or their guardians).

Grant Amendments

You are required to contact the Foundation with any changes to your project, including key personnel, project scope, timeline, expected outcomes and outputs.
 

Communicating Outcomes

A key part of the Foundation’s work is the dissemination of the outcomes of its grants. This may be as a case study on our website or in one of our newsletters. If your application is chosen as a case study, you are welcome to use it as a promotional tool. Grant partners are encouraged to use the Foundation’s logo on public documents relating to the project however they must not use the Foundation’s name or logo without the written permission of the Foundation’s Marketing and Development Team.
 

Acknowledging the Foundation

Grantees are welcome to acknowledge our support. A .png or .eps format of our logo is available on request. Please contact the Marketing and Development Team for a copy of the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation Style Guide and Brand Pack for further detail.

1. CHECK ELIGIBILITY AND EXCLUSIONS
2. SELECT IMPACT AREA
3. SELECT GRANT TYPE
4. CONTACT US TO DISCUSS YOUR APPLICATION
5. SUBMIT APPLICATION
6. APPLICATION ASSESSED BY LORD MAYOR'S CHARITABLE FOUNDATION STAFF AND EXPERT GRANTS ADVISORY PANEL
7. APPLICATION CONSIDERED BY LORD MAYOR'S CHARITABLE FOUNDATION BOARD
8. RECEIVE NOTIFICATION OF APPLICATION OUTCOME 

Mr Eldon Foote QC and Mrs Anne Foote

The Eldon & Anne Foote Donor Advised Program was established in 2000 by Mr Eldon Foote QC and his wife Anne within the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation.

Mr Foote was a successful lawyer, entrepreneur and businessman. Mr Foote’s philanthropy through the Foundation later grew through a generous bequest.

Today, grants are made by the Foundation in the many areas of interest specified in the Foote Trust Deed of Gift. This includes grants from the Donor Advised Program. Under the Deed of Gift, the Board of the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation as trustee has the overall responsibility for final grantmaking decisions.