About Us
We are a community of giving, powered by a courageous ambition for a fairer and more sustainable Australia.
Our founders, Marion Webster OAM and Hayden Raysmith, meet with members of our giving community.
We’ve been making strategic philanthropy accessible since 1997 when our founders, Marion Webster OAM and Hayden Raysmith AM, pioneered the community foundation model in Australia, establishing Melbourne Community Foundation which became Australian Communities Foundation in 2011.
As a community foundation, we’ve grown and learned a lot along the way. One thing that hasn’t changed is the special role we play in Australia’s philanthropic ecosystem and our commitment to being collaborative, agile, responsive and risk-tolerant.
Today, our giving community includes people from all walks of life, from across the nation, serving communities that span geography, gender, race, identity, culture and more. What unites us is an intention to use whatever resources we have, to make things better for people and our planet.
Together, we’re creating a fairer Australia – one where social, environmental and cultural justice is the norm.
Melbourne Community Foundation (now Australian Communities Foundation) is the first community foundation to be established in Australia
First grants are distributed to the Melbourne community
Melbourne Community Foundation initiates the establishment of a peak body for community foundations in Australia and New Zealand
The first themed funds are created to bring even more donors into the collective giving model
$1 million in grants given since Melbourne Community Foundation’s establishment
New milestone of 30 new sub-funds and over $1 million in grants distributed in a financial year
Phase 1 of MacroMelbourne launched to bring sectors together to develop strategic responses to disadvantage
Scholarship Fund launched
Another milestone with more than 100 sub-funds and over $30 million funds under management
Melbourne Community Foundation becomes Australian Communities Foundation reflecting its national presence and scope
Founders Marion Webster and Hayden Raysmith honoured in Australia’s Top 50 Philanthropic Gifts of All Time
Australian Communities Foundation transitions to an environmental, social and governance (ESG) investment approach
Impact Fund launched to inspire investments in bold solutions to the biggest issues facing Australia today
Australian Communities Foundation’s Refugee & Asylum Seeker Donor Circle wins 2016 Best Small Grant at the Australian Philanthropy Awards
20th anniversary celebrations
Inaugural Impact Fund grants announced with over $600,000 to be given to seven projects
Australian Communities Foundation announces its intention to transition to 100 percent responsible investing
We are a community of giving, powered by a courageous ambition for a fairer and more sustainable Australia.