Community Foundations Australia

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Growing community foundations for a fairer Australia.

News & Analysis

Adelaide Hills Foundation gets off the ground while Greater Shepparton celebrates 25 years

CFAustralia Update

Welcome to Michelle Baldwin as she begins our inaugural Community Collaboration Fellowship

CFAus opens 'engine room' to navigate the Community Charity framework

The focus at CFAus is to ensure that the community foundation network realises the full potential of the new Community Charity DGR-1 framework. Consequently, a dedicated Community Charity Engine Room is being launched to help foundations make sense of the guidelines in practice.

‘Communities are rushing in to create their own futures’: Ian Bird's Leadership Victoria Oration 2026

CFAustralia Update

Community Funds for Gender Equity alliance gathers paces as new groups join the conversation 

Energy working group renews focus on practical skills to support a ‘just’ transition

CFAustralia Update

What is an Impact Community? CFAus Lead Mari De Liseo explains

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News & Analysis

CFAustralia Update

CF Lifecycles Framework & Card Game

Designed with and for community foundations, the Lifecycles framework and card game offer community foundations the chance to reflect on four fluid stages — emergence, growth, durability, and renewal - not as a linear progression, but as an ongoing journey.

CFAustralia Update

Hungary’s historic movement for change ‘grew out of community connections’

Tamás Scsaurszki, one of our international guests at the National Community Foundations Forum, shared the powerful story of how Péter Magyar’s landslide win over Viktor Orbán came after he spent two years visiting hundreds of communities in rural Hungary holding 'talking groups' about civic matters.

CFAustralia Update

Em Scott: How Australia can build community-led, resilient funding for LGBTIQ+ equality, inclusion and safety

Em Scott, CEO of the national community foundation Rainbow Giving Australia, has published nine major recommendations to address chronic underfunding for community organisations supporting LGBTIQ+ equality and inclusion as part of her Churchill Fellowship research.

Community foundations roundtable contributes to renewables legislation in real time

Community foundations influence renewable energy policy in real-time as NSW parliament debated bill

Image gallery

National Community Foundations Forum 2026 - in pictures!

The thread running photographs taken during our three days together illustrate an overarching threads of connection, shared insights and laughter.

CFAustralia Update

Biggest ever National Community Foundations Forum left the network buzzing

Community Foundations Australia (CFAus) was delighted to bring together more than 200 network leaders and collaborators in May at our National Community Foundations Forum 2026 on Wurundjeri Country in Naarm, Melbourne.

Deakin receives major ARC funding in collaboration with CFAus and Mpartnwe Alice Springs for local media project

Community Foundations Australia is delighted to be part of a collaboration that includes Mpartnwe Alice Springs Community Foundation and Deakin University on a research project exploring ways to strengthen local media.

Media release

Community foundations double as Australians seek local solutions in an era of uncertainty

The rapidly growing network of community foundations is emerging as one of Australia’s most important responses to rising inequality, housing stress, climate disruption, gendered violence and social fragmentation.

Media release

Community Foundations Australia appoints Georgia Mathews and Dylan Smith as Co-CEOs

Media release

CFAustralia Update

Respect Ballarat: a whole-of-community response to gender-based violence

In early 2024, a traumatised Ballarat community – reeling from the violent deaths of three local women within months – took to the streets to demand action to end gendered violence. The community’s call for change led to Respect Ballarat, a collaboration led by Respect Victoria and supported by the Ballarat Foundation.

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What we do

Community Foundations Australia connects and supports community-led philanthropic organisations so that the field can operate more effectively and efficiently, and create lasting social change in communities.

Our mission is to catalyse collaboration, participation and innovation within the community philanthropy movement to create a fairer, more sustainable Australia.

We work with the whole field–community groups, community foundations and other forms of community-led philanthropy, partners and government–to advocate for community governance models, and to empower local communities to determine their own futures.

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Acknowledgement of Country

Community Foundations Australia acknowledges the traditional custodians of the country where Community Foundations Australia and its Community Foundation members operate. We recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and culture and pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.