Good Design

Valuing Key Ingredients for Transformational Social Change

We know that it takes more than financial backing to deliver change. We value youth voices, First People's knowledge and wisdom, as well as creativity, data and evidence as key ingredients in good design. We support organisations with time, connections and the capacity it takes to leverage, advocate and support transformational change to young peoples’ lives.

Authentic Giving

To Support Bespoke Solutions & Overcome Barriers

We support organisations that elevate grass roots voices and lived experience to help inform and shape solutions. To effectively change the life trajectory of young people for the better, we invest in reducing the financial, social and physical barriers that often prevent young people accessing the quality supports and opportunities needed to enable them to thrive in life.

Seeing the Bigger Picture

Going Deep on the Big Issues

We believe in backing solutions to complex problems. This means going all in and supporting organisations and collectives to tackle the big systemic issues and dive deep into the root causes to some of the leading challenges facing young people in Australia. We prioritise amplifying impact and building on what works through collaboration and bringing people together to leverage networks, build capacity and extend reach.

Safe spaces / safe relationships

Championing child safety with a focus on every child and young person having safe spaces to live, learn, and play as well as safe relationships to thrive.

Securing just futures

Improving the conditions and shifting systems (including shifting deep forces such as power, culture and mindsets) through good design. Ensuring that the underlying foundations and settings across education, youth housing and child protection systems work better for the most disadvantaged and marginalised children.

Youth employment

Empowering young people to thrive through training, skills and pathways to employment.

Medical Research

Supporting innovative medical research that can make a difference in the lives of children and young people

Supporting Youth Voice

This funding stream supports organisations to uphold the rights of children and young people in the community. We will back projects that incorporate the voices of children and young people in planning, design and delivery - operationalising youth-led projects so that young people are authentically acknowledged and empowered.

Our goals:

• To back young people and their ideas

• To test new approaches or theories with and for young people

• To keep abreast of issues affecting young people in a timely and informed way

We will do this by:

• Identifying leaders and backing them

• Ensuring decision making is driven by the beneficiaries

• Funding that is flexible and accessible to youth led organisations

• Having a healthy appetite for calculated risk and sharing the learnings

Responsive practical solutions

The Foundation focuses its efforts in this funding stream on supporting organisations to meet existing and pragmatic needs of young people for employment, and for children to have safer spaces and relationships to thrive.

Our goals:

• To support children and young people to be resilient and thrive

• To emphasise the importance of practical fit for purpose solutions to localised issues

• To build the capacity and capability of individuals and organisations to deliver on their mission in a timely way

We will do this by:

• Working collaboratively with organisations on the front line for the long term

• Targeting both urban and rural geographies

• Flexible grants to meet organisational and workforce needs in a timely manner.

• Partnering with local partners (e.g. intermediaries, community foundations, local backbone organisations) to leverage the Foundations resources and achieve greater impact.

Enabling systemic change

Working collaboratively in partnership with and through organisations who wish to break the cycle of disadvantage and tackle systemic challenges facing young people - providing a flexible and holistic approach to the Foundation’s giving.

Our goals:

• To offer ‘Good Design’ grants which support good design for social impact across the Child and Family Welfare and Youth sectors.

• To support the capability and capacity of organisations and collaborations that look to improve and disrupt systems.

• Focusing specifically on impact in the youth housing and child protection systems.

• Working with and for the most disadvantaged and marginalised children.

We will do this by:

• Providing large scale, flexible grants to meet organisational and workforce needs in a timely manner.

• Funding that supports multi-year phased projects.

• Sharing learnings and evaluation with sector and others.