Issue 53, July 2025 View this email in your browser
10 Years of Impact celebration in June.
MESSAGE FROM THE CEO
Last month, I had the opportunity to travel with two colleagues to Derby in the West Kimberley region of northern WesternAustralia to witness firsthand the impact of World VisionAustralia’s Early Childhood Care and Development Project.
This initiative establishes supported playgroups in remote communities and trains local Aboriginal people to lead them. The Foundation granted $2.2 million in funding towards Phase One of the project in 2018.
Having previously met community representatives during their visit to Melbourne in March this year, it was a privilege for the team to be welcomed into their community. We observed
Alison Covington AM, Founder & Managing Director of Good 360 Australia, speaking at its
the playgroups in action, engaged with families and facilitators and discussed plans with their local council.
Despite all the well-documented challenges that remoteAboriginal communities face, this trip highlighted what they can achieve when supported by continued long-term funding and partnering with organisations committed to building local capability and sharing their experience and knowledge to allow communities to be independent. The Looma community is rightfully proud of the playgroup it has established, and their engagement was evident as children, parents and elders actively participated.
I am pleased to advise that the Board of Governors has awarded World VisionAustralia a further $2 million grant for Phase Two of the project (read more below).
I was also delighted to see Jimmy Frank Jupurrurla, Chair of Wilya Janta, recently announce that Wilya Janta has signed a building contractor to build the firstAboriginaldesigned 'Explain' home in Tennant Creek The Foundation is one of several philanthropic and corporate supporters of this pilot project to build the first-ever home designed by community, addressing climate and culture requirements. It will be the highest thermally performing home ever built in a remote community, at a similar cost to the current remote housing built by the NT Government.
Congratulations also to Good360Australia, which recently celebrated its 10th anniversary Over this period, the organisation has redistributed $500 million of goods via more than 4,800 charities and schools, supported 4.8 million people during times of need, and diverted 7,000 tonnes of waste from landfills.
Closer to home, LouiseArkles, our Senior Program Manager – Environment, will be leaving us at the end of this month after 10 years with the Foundation. In that time, she headed up theArts and Environment programs. However, her passion for the environment is well known. We thank Louise for her unflagging commitment to building a stronger environment sector, stewarding more than 120 Environment grants worth over $82 million during her tenure. SamanthaArmstrong has been appointed as the new Environment Program Manager and will commence the role inAugust. You can learn more about Samantha below
This month also saw the retirement of several Governors from our Board. We acknowledge the contributions and legacy of Susan CrennanAC KC, Richard LarkinsAC, Brian Schmidt AC andAlex ChernovAC KC. Each has brought wisdom, integrity and a profound commitment to the Foundation's mission. They have shaped our strategic direction, strengthened our governance and inspired us. I wish them all the best in their future endeavours on behalf of our Board and staff, and thank them for sharing their knowledge and insights over their tenure.
Lastly, I am excited to advise that Sir Jonathan MillsAC will join our Board of Governors from 1August 2025. Sir Jonathan is the composer of several award-winning operas and works for chamber ensemble and orchestra. His opera Eucalyptus was performed in 2024 at the Perth and Brisbane Festivals, and in Melbourne by Victorian Opera and Opera Australia. He has been the director of various arts festivals, most notably, of the Edinburgh International Festival between 2007 and 2014. In 2012, he founded and was the inaugural
Director (until 2022) of the Edinburgh International Culture Summit, a UNESCO-recognised biennial meeting held in conjunction with Edinburgh’s summer festivals.
In 2015, he was appointedArtistic Curator of the inaugural Lincoln Center Global Exchange at the Lincoln Center for the PerformingArts, NewYork. He is currently ViceChancellor's Creative Fellow at the University of Melbourne, CreativeAdviser to Museums Victoria,Trumbull Fellow and Visiting Professor of Music at Yale University, and a Guest Curator at the Pitt Rivers Museum at the University of Oxford, UK.
Sir Jonathan has an outstanding international reputation and a broad understanding of cultural organisations that will enable him to make a unique contribution to the Foundation and itsArts program area in particular
Paul Conroy
UPDATE
'Explain' home takes Shape
Video one of a three-part video series tells the story of Wilya Janta’s origins and vision for climate-ready and culturally appropriate remote housing.
Wilya Janta commences build of first ever home designed by community, around climate and culture
Wilya Janta's Tennant Creek Housing Pilot is a community-led design of two demonstration homes using competitive and innovative construction processes. It is based on combining local knowledge of climate-resilient and culturally appropriate design with remote housing innovation, cost-effectiveness, and scalability
Last week, Wilya Janta's Chair Jimmy Frank Jupurrurla announced signing a contract with SHAPEAustralia to commence building in Tennant Creek.This 'Explain' house will be home to an extended family and be used to showcase the innovative and sustainable design and construction model.
To tell the story of its origin and vision for climate-ready and culturally appropriate remote housing, WIlya Janta has produced three short videos in Pintupi-Luritja with English subtitles.To promote the project, the videos will be translated into at least nine other community languages to other communities
GRANTS ROUND UP
$8.5 million in grants
Nature GlenelgTrust received one of five Environment grants earlier this month.
This month, the Foundation awarded $8.5 million in grants. These included five Environment grants (totalling $5 million) and several other grants for continued funding of existing projects.
A$2 million major grant was awarded to World VisionAustralia for the second phase of an Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) project in the West Kimberley region of WesternAustralia.This follows a previous grant of $2.2 million in 2018 for Phase One of this project, which supported the establishment of the ECCD program in three remote Indigenous communities. Watch all videos
Nature GlenelgTrust was awarded $1.35 million for a five-year wetland restoration project at Wirey and Walker Swamps in the Grampians/Gariwerd region. The project will educate and enable private land managers to restore wetland habitats to benefit biodiversity and improve the sustainability of water resources.
FUNDING ROUNDS
Dates for 2026
Funding Rounds for 2026
Our website now has the dates for funding rounds in 2026. Please check the dates before each round.
Please note: Funding Round dates for the Public Health and Medical Research program areas will be announced later this year
Grants announced early July 2026 2 2026 Arts
EOI stage 17 February 2026 - 12 March 2026
Applications close 4 June 2026
Grants announced late September 2026 3 2026 Community Wellbeing
EOI stage 15 June 2026 - 2 July 2026
Applications close 3 September 2026
Grants announced mid-December 2026
Funding Round dates
SECTOR ENGAGEMENT
Resources & Events
Creative Workplaces
The new Creative Workplaces website is a free online resource to help build fair, safe and respectful workplaces acrossAustralia’s creative industries.This website is designed for everyone working in the creative industries – whether you’re self-employed, employed, volunteering, or running an organisation.
The website brings together clear, practical information on:
• Pay, fees and working conditions
• Workplace safety and respectful behaviour
• Real-world examples tailored to the arts
• Referral pathways to support services
It's designed for everyone working in the creative sector — whether you’re an independent artist, a freelancer, an employee, a volunteer, or running an organisation.
Visit website
Benefolk Wellbeing Summit | Launch
Join your sector colleagues for a thought-provoking online session on the state of the forpurpose sector in 2025.
Benefolk's Wellbeing Summit Launch: ‘Sector Wellbeing Deficit – Where to from here?’will be held on Friday 29August 2025.
What are the promising signs of progress in the for-purpose sector, and what do we need to start and stop doing to truly shift the wellbeing dial?
Hear from HonAndrew Leigh MP,Assistant Minister for Charities from his vantage point in the Federal Government
See the results of the latest wellbeing research from the Institute of Company DirectorsAustralia
Register now
Next IPF Welcome Workshop
Our new grantees are invited to an in-person Welcome Workshop on 23 July 2025. Grant contacts will receive an email inviting relevant staff to attend.
For those unable to attend, please let our Research and Evaluation team know, and they will arrange a separate catch-up.
New staff of current grant partners are also welcome to attend this workshop. Please contact your program manager or XimenaAvalos Mendez to arrange an invite.
AWARD
Good360
We're thrilled to share that Good360 Australia took home the award for Outstanding Project Climate and Environmental Resilience at the 2025 ZESTAwards
The ZESTAwards celebrate the incredible
STAFF NEWS
Welcome Samantha Armstrong
We're delighted to introduce our new Environment Program Manager, SamanthaArmstrong, who will commence the role in earlyAugust.
Samantha has just spent two years based in Bangkok at the International Union
work happening across Greater Western Sydney’s Community Sector
AWARD
Mulloon Institute
Mulloon Rehydration Initiative awarded the 2025 BiodiversityAward at the National Banksia Sustainability Awards!
This recognition is a huge honour and a proud reflection of the years of work undertaken by the Mulloon Institute across the Mulloon catchment to restore landscape function, rebuild biodiversity, and support resilient farming systems.
It's also a celebration of the collaborative spirit that drives this work, from the dedicated landholders on the ground to the strategic leadership of the Institute's team.
Conservation of Nature (IUCN), working as the Regional Coordinator – Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants Programme and Project Coordinator for the Species, Science & Strategy Group.
Prior to this, she held various positions locally atAgriculture Victoria and the Department of Environment, Land, Water & Planning.
RECOGNITION
Hugh Possingham | Royal Society
In 2025, the Foundation awarded the Mulloon Institute an Environment grant to develop its Communities of Practice model for grassroots capacity-building.
Our congratulations to Professor Hugh Possingham FRS on being awarded one of science’s highest honours, elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Society (UK), the oldest scientific academy in continuous existence.
He is honoured for his contribution to mathematical ecology and nature conservation research, which includes codeveloping a conservation planning tool, Marxan, used in more than 180 countries to create systems of protected areas.
Professor Possingham is among only 90 experts recognised globally this year for outstanding impacts in their field. He is also Co-Chair of the Biodiversity Council, which was established with the support of the Foundation in 2018.
We produce this quarterly e-newsletter to keep our friends and associates up to date with all the news and recent grants made by The Ian Potter Foundation.
We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we work. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present.
