Our community of donors contribute enormously to the positive impact that Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation makes in Melbourne.
Over the past five years, almost $46 million has been granted to charitable organisations both small and large working to support and improve the lives of people across Melbourne’s communities.
As the community foundation for greater Melbourne, the Foundation has been at the forefront of identifying emerging issues and leading the way in tackling these issues.
Catherine Brown, the Foundation’s Chief Executive Officer, said “We’ve been able to approach donors to seek support on emerging issues and begin the process of tackling it head-on through our research and grants program. We have used a combination of research, consultation, collaborations and grants to learn and fund strategically.
“Having undertaken due diligence, we are prepared to go in early and fund pilot and demonstration projects where there is potential for major change. This is an important leadership role that a philanthropic foundation can play.
“Preventing homelessness has been a long-term priority for the Foundation, and issues such as climate change, older women ageing in poverty, and jobs for the future, are more recent issues that the Foundation has been working on.”
Funding of innovative projects that showcase new solution ideas often attracts government attention through extra long-term funding or recognition through awards. The initial support for the Monash University's Weather Presenters project has recently leveraged a $300,000 grant from the Victorian government; and a $600,000 grant to VincentCare for the redevelopment of Ozanam House attracted a further investment of $10 million from the Victorian government.
Another example is Barwon Child, Youth and Family's The Geelong Project, “We were the first and only funder to The Geelong Project which has now attracted $2.8 million in funding from the Victorian Government.
“This is an amazing achievement not only for Barwon Child, Youth and Family but for the Foundation’s community of supporters and Kerryn Jones, our Program Manager for Homelessness & Affordable Housing,” added Catherine.