This CEO letter accompanied the September 2026 edition of Community News.
There’s a sense of change in the air as we move into spring. For the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung People, it’s Poorneet (Tadpole) season, a time when the yellow flower of the yam daisy blooms and signals it’s time for harvest.
Over the past couple of months, we’ve had the pleasure of connecting with many of you through our Fund Forums across the country, and at the start of September, members of our team joined more than 1,200 delegates in Brisbane for the annual Philanthropy Australia (PA) Conference.
Something that has stayed with me after the PA Conference is the sense that we’re seeing a broader shift in how philanthropy understands its role. Across keynote presentations and smaller conversations, I heard a consistent message: lasting change is stronger when communities aren’t simply consulted but are genuinely involved in shaping the decisions that affect them. It felt less like an aspiration for the future and more like an approach becoming embedded in how our sector thinks and works.
An absolute highlight for me was hearing Cherie Heslington, CEO of Aarnja and ACF Fundholder, speak about working collectively from a First Nations perspective. Her invitation to come into conversation – coupled with a promise to create a safe space in which to do so – was incredibly generous. It was a powerful reminder that moving forward together requires more than inviting different perspectives into the room; it requires trust, openness and a willingness to listen.
Many of my colleagues came away with their own reflections from the three-day Conference – from the role belonging plays in growing generosity to collective giving, lived experience and the future of AI. You can read the team’s top five reflections from the Conference here.
For this month’s Community News, we spoke with ACF Fundholders Terence and Lara Jeyaretnam about their giving journey, shaped by family, service and a belief that generosity extends well beyond financial support. Their story is a wonderful example of the relationships, time and personal commitment that can sit alongside funding to create meaningful change.
Next month, we’ll continue the conversation to explore community voice and participation with a timely Impact Fund discussion of the relationship between climate action and democracy. With speakers from Australian Democracy Network, Grata Fund and Centre for Public Integrity, we’ll look at how strong democratic systems can help create lasting climate progress. I hope you’ll join us for the online conversation.
This discussion feels particularly relevant as attention turns to Pre-COP in the Pacific and COP31 in Türkiye. Having attended a COP myself, I know these global negotiations can sometimes feel distant and difficult to navigate. But at their heart are decisions with very real consequences for communities around the world – making the question of who gets to participate all the more important.
That’s why our latest Impact Fund co-funding opportunity is supporting Our Islands, Our Home to help Torres Strait Islander climate leaders participate in Pre-COP and COP31. Learn more about this opportunity and the broader context of the Impact Fund’s support of climate and democracy initiatives.
Finally, for our Fundholders, invitations to our End of Year celebrations across the country are now live. These events are always a highlight for our team and a welcome opportunity to reconnect in person and celebrate another year of giving together. Please save the date and find a link to register in our latest newsletter – I look forward to seeing many of you there.
As we head into the final few months of the year, I’m reminded that meaningful change rarely happens in isolation. It comes from listening, learning and creating the conditions for communities to lead.
I’m grateful to be part of a giving community committed to doing just that.
Cheers,
Andrew Binns
CEO, Australian Communities Foundation
