Protecting the rights of LGBTIQ+ people

Equality Australia

^{Equality Australia and activists from Minus 18 delivering a petition to Parliament House in Canberra. Photograph: Equality Australia.} 

When the Federal Government’s divisive Religious Discrimination Bill was shelved in early 2022, LGBTIQ+ advocate Anna Brown breathed a sigh of relief. 

“Our community should take heart from this incredible result,” says Anna, Founding CEO of Equality Australia (EA) – a national organisation working to create a fair and inclusive Australia for LGBTIQ+ people and their families. 

Intended to prohibit discrimination on the basis of religious belief or activity, the proposed Bill would have wound back hard-fought protections for LGBTIQ+ people, women, minority faith communities and people with disabilities. 

“Our community’s efforts have stopped the Bill from becoming law and that’s certainly a win,” says Anna. “But this has been a really difficult time for our communities. LGBTIQ+ people, particularly trans young people and queer people of faith, have once again been the subject of intense scrutiny and political debate.” 

Reflecting on EA’s collaboration with others concerned about the draft Bill, Anna says there has been an unintended upside of the past few months too. 

“We have built stronger connections with faith communities, multicultural communities, people with disabilities, women and other affected communities.

“We now have this incredible network through which we’re building consensus about the importance of laws that protect us all equally.” 

“The ongoing and flexible nature of Australian Communities Foundation’s support has helped us respond swiftly to changes in the political landscape.”

Australian Communities Foundation and the Impact Fund community are long-term supporters of EA’s work. In 2017, the Impact Fund supported the marriage equality campaign, out of which the organisation was established. 

“The ongoing and flexible nature of Australian Communities Foundation’s support has helped us respond swiftly to changes in the political landscape,” says Anna. 

“When the threat of the Religious Discrimination Bill first emerged in 2019, the Impact Fund’s flexible support helped us quickly shift gears. The more recent support earlier this year enabled us to increase our campaigning work as the debate around religious freedom gathered momentum.”

7-star win for environmental giving

Climate Resilient Homes

In a win for climate and environmental philanthropy, governments across the country have agreed to a historic increase to energy standards in Australian homes. 

From October 2023, all new homes will need to meet the National Construction Code’s (NCC) 7-Star energy standards, reducing both emissions and energy bills, ultimately easing cost-of-living pressures. 

“This decision has been years in the making,” says Dr Fiona Gray, CEO of national sustainability organisation Renew. Indeed, the decision marks the first increase to standards in over a decade. 

Supported by the Australian Communities Foundation Impact Fund and seven other ACF Named Funds since 2018, Renew has been leading calls on governments to lift standards through its Climate Resilient Homes campaign. 

“This campaign just wouldn’t have been possible without philanthropic support,” says Fiona. “The investment in strategic advocacy by the ACF Impact Fund and our other key partners allowed us to build the campaign and deliver a big win. 

“The boosted energy efficiency standards are expected to cut emissions by up to 78 million tonnes and lower the cost of grid upgrades by up to $12.6 billion by 2050. 

“Our community got behind the campaign in its early stages because we saw the potential. This was a way some really targeted funds could make a difference to climate change, and now they have.”

“Lifting energy efficiency not only reduces emissions and makes homes more comfortable,” says Fiona, “it saves households money at the same time.” 

With that in mind, Renew expects the updated NCC to reduce poverty and inequality by ensuring higher standards in social housing and private rentals. 

Australian Communities Foundation CEO Maree Sidey says the win demonstrates the value of working with partners who are undertaking sustained advocacy. 

“Our community got behind the campaign in its early stages because we saw the potential. This was a way some really targeted funds could make a difference to climate change, and now they have. 

“What this shows is the power of funding sustained advocacy and not giving up when things take time. When Renew’s campaign timelines were blown out due to Covid, our community responded with additional support. It’s so important we stick with partners through the unexpected.” 

Progressing the Uluru Statement

Update from Professor Megan Davis

National Sorry Day 2022 marked five years since the Uluru Statement from the Heart was delivered to the Australian people as an invitation to walk with First Nations for a better future. 

The newly elected Federal Government is committed to now putting the Uluru Statement into action, but for advocates like Professor Megan Davis, this moment has been a long time in the making. 

“It’s been a big five years. We’ve done a lot of work to get ready for this moment,” says Megan, proud Cobble Cobble woman from the Barrungam nation in south west Queensland and Pro Vice-Chancellor Indigenous UNSW and Professor of Law, UNSW Law. 

Through her work at the Indigenous Law Centre UNSW, Megan has become one of the key figures behind the Uluru Statement, working to build support for the Statement’s reforms: a referendum to enshrine an Indigenous Voice to Parliament in the Constitution, a Makarrata Commission to oversee treaty agreement-making and a national truth-telling process. 

“As we walk together as a nation towards a referendum, the work of the Uluru Dialogue is more important than ever,” says Megan. “The Impact Fund community has had a tremendous impact on our ability to do that work.”

The giving community at Australian Communities Foundation continues to be a strong supporter of this work through our flagship fund for collective giving, the Impact Fund, and Megan says this support is crucial. 

“As we walk together as a nation towards a referendum, the work of the Uluru Dialogue is more important than ever,” says Megan. “The Impact Fund community has had a tremendous impact on our ability to do that work.” 

“The funding has enabled me to realise outcomes that I wanted to achieve to set up the pathway to a referendum, particularly the public education work on the ground. It can be a lonely road being a constitutional lawyer. In the early days when I tried to raise money, people struggled to understand the connection between constitutional empowerment and health and wellbeing. 

“After the Uluru Statement was issued in 2017, people started to get it and that made it easier to have conversations. I am pleased now that funders are more open to talking about the kind of change that is required to actually ‘close the gap’, because Closing the Gap and all those policies are never going to achieve what they seek to without the kind of public infrastructure required to empower First Nations peoples. That’s what the Uluru Statement can change, and once its reforms are implemented, the landscape will look very different.” 

Protecting the voices of a diverse sector

Hands Off Our Charities Alliance

In 2021 the Federal Government introduced new regulations that would have given the charities regulator sweeping powers to deregister charities for speaking out on behalf of the communities they serve. 

This was despite unanimous opposition from the charity sector and confirmation from the head regulator that the problem the regulations were supposed to solve doesn’t exist. 

After the regulations were tabled in Parliament, the 100+ charities that make up the Hands Off Our Charities (HOOC) Alliance moved quickly to prevent the regulations from coming into effect. 

Saffron Zomer, Executive Director at the Australian Democracy Network – one of HOOC’s founding organisations – says the proposed regulations, if ever instated, would have a chilling effect on the sector and result in more red tape and compliance costs for charities. 

“These regulations are drafted so broadly that it would actually be possible for the Commissioner to move to deregister a charity for something as simple as blocking a footpath at a vigil or failing to have paperwork in order,” says Saffron. 

“It’s inevitable that, in the face of the huge potential risk, charities will choose not to do perfectly legitimate activities. That’s not the kind of regulatory environment we want for civil society in a democratic country.” 

“As an organisation with a shared vision of a fairer Australia, we are concerned about the risk regulations like these pose to our capacity to support our charity partners to advocate in pursuit of this vision.”

Australian Communities Foundation CEO Maree Sidey said the potential impact on the hundreds of charities the Foundation supports each year was concerning. 

“As a proud supporter of advocacy work in the sector, our giving community understands the critical role that civil society advocacy plays in a democracy. As an organisation with a shared vision of a fairer Australia, we are concerned about the risk regulations like these pose to our capacity to support our charity partners to advocate in pursuit of this vision.” 

With support from Australian Communities Foundation, HOOC coordinated a multifaceted response that put a spotlight on the issue in the media and galvanised charities and their supporters to call on federal politicians on all sides to oppose the regulations. 

After a concerted campaign from the sector and in a huge win for democracy, the Senate voted in favour of a disallowance motion in late 2021, meaning the regulations would never come into effect and ensuring the long tradition of charitable advocacy continues. 

Supporting First Nations artists

Adam Briggs Foundation

On its mission to ‘nurture First Nations excellence’ within the music industry, the Adam Briggs Foundation recently announced the recipients of its Barpirdhila grant round. 

Led by proud Yorta Yorta man and one of Australia’s best-known hip-hop artists, Briggs, the Foundation has awarded over $65,000 to 12 emerging First Nations artists with support from Australian Communities Foundation. 

“Barpirdhila is a Yorta Yorta word for Morning Star,” explains Briggs. “More than fitting for what we as a not-for-profit are here to nurture: the next step.” 

Briggs spoke with us about how his Foundation is tackling the barriers he encountered as an emerging artist himself, plus his thoughts on the role of arts funding and some advice for donors when it comes to supporting First Nations communities. 

“the Foundation is about creating a bridge between that beginning stage of an artist’s career and what comes next.”

Q. What’s the story behind the Adam Briggs Foundation? Why did you start your own Foundation? 

At its heart, the Foundation is about creating a bridge between that beginning stage of an artist’s career and what comes next. 

In all my early years of music, I got absolutely nothing in grants – [funders] couldn’t see the positivity in what I was doing because my music was so angry. They didn’t see the positivity – the fact I was an Indigenous kid out of country Victoria making my way in the music scene. That’s a big part of why I started the Foundation – I remember what it was like starting out and getting nothing. 

Q. Congratulations on the Barpirdhila grant round. You mentioned in the announcement that you sought to remove barriers for applicants. Can you share more about that? 

What we were looking for was artists with new and good ideas with well thought-out approaches – really, it’s about having a vision. So we wanted to let artists know that punctuation and grammar and spelling and whatnot don’t matter. Talking the language of academia is not a prerequisite for securing your grant. That’s why we invited artists to just submit a video and talk about what they want to do. 

Q. We’ve seen a drop in arts funding in Australia over the past few years with more resources directed to tackling rising inequality. What is the role of arts funding in this context? 

Art is everything. It has a huge role to play in tackling inequality. As just one example – if you’re passionate about youth justice and addressing rates of recidivism, you need to support things that help keep kids out of the system. I was reading the other day about people complaining about [graffiti] taggers in Melbourne. What I say to that is: the people who make the art this city is renowned for, they started out doing this. It just shows the value of looking at the small things and seeing good ideas and artistry, and supporting them from the start. 

Q. What advice do you have for donors when it comes to supporting First Nations communities? 

My advice would be look in your backyard first and support what’s around you. I think a lot of people’s minds go further afield and they miss the opportunity to fund things that are happening right in their city. Give where you live and you can see the difference. 

Supporting people in times of crisis

National Crisis Response Fund

^{Community members helping with flood recovery in the Northern Rivers region. Photograph: Mark Kriedermann / Northern Rivers Community Foundation.}

Established at the outset of the Covid-19 pandemic, the National Crisis Response Fund (NCRF) is a collective fund that provides support to grassroots organisations in times of crisis.

“The NCRF is an example of what funders can achieve when they come together in difficult times,” says Georgia Mathews, Director of Philanthropic Services.

“The Fund has enabled our giving community to pool our resources and respond effectively to communities most affected by Covid-19 and the recent flood events in New South Wales and Queensland.”

Over the course of two years, the NCRF has raised over $1.5 million and provided over 100 grants to respond rapidly to the needs of organisations helping communities in crisis.

“Australian Communities Foundation’s national reach has meant we have been able to collaborate with an extensive network of organisations across the country to identify community need and funding gaps.”

Collaboration and an agile approach to grantmaking have been the key ingredients to the Fund’s success, says Georgia.

“Australian Communities Foundation’s national reach has meant we have been able to collaborate with an extensive network of organisations across the country to identify community need and funding gaps.”

“Our fortnightly granting cycle has enabled us to quickly distribute the dollars raised through the Fund to fill those gaps.”

Recognising the merit of this approach, the Paul Ramsay Foundation contributed $500,000 in 2020 and has been partnering with the NCRF ever since. The partnership has included dedicated Covid response funding for First Nations-led organisations, as well as general support to complement the ongoing contributions from the Fund’s many individual donors.

Throughout 2021, the NCRF continued to focus on supporting communities most affected by Covid-19, then came the Eastern Australia floods in 2022.

“We saw a huge outpouring of support from our giving community in response to the floods, enabling us to quickly channel resources to where they were needed most,” says Georgia.

Grants distributed during this period include:

• $20,000 to repair and replace water-damaged furniture and personal items for young women and children in Brisbane
• $10,000 to deliver free meals to Indigenous communities facing food insecurity around the Lismore region
• $10,000 for an accommodation hub and free counselling in Mullumbimby
• $5,000 to support Queer Family Northern Rivers’ crisis response

Given the Fund’s focus on filling gaps and the unprecedented extent of the flooding’s impact, Australian Communities Foundation chose to partner with a local community foundation to distribute some of the funds raised.

“We wanted to ensure we were reaching communities missing out on existing support,” explains Georgia. “To complement our team’s efforts to reach these communities, we partnered with the team at Northern Rivers Community Foundation, whose connections in the region meant they were well-placed to quickly fill gaps.”

Northern Rivers Community Foundation Director Allison Henry says the Foundation’s knowledge of the local area and an understanding that “the devastation of the floods extended far beyond Lismore, which rightly attracted so much attention” meant support was provided all over the Northern Rivers region.

“Our experienced team distributed almost $1 million in rapid response grants to 106 organisations across the region in six weeks, with most grantees receiving funds within 10 days of application,” says Allison.