Dear Friends and Colleagues,

I'm excited to share our New Strategy, a clear pathway to significantly increase our giving and maximise impact. At its heart, this is about being more deliberate and effective in how we deliver on our vision: strong communities alive with opportunity, connection and inclusion.

The fifth Canberra Foundations Collaborative grant round remains a wonderful example of this in action, alleviating pressure and freeing up time for social impact organisations to focus on what matters most, uplifting community members. It was wonderful to see so many of our colleagues, friends and partners at the recipient celebration, hosted by one of our partners Hotel Etico. 

Youth education has long been an important focus for us and even more so in the last couple of years with my sister Scarlett, Executive Director, bringing her passion for evidence-based learning to improve outcomes for youth. The statistics speak for themselves, more needs to be done to lift standards across the board, particularly for equity groups, where the effects are felt hardest. Collaboration across the sector has been hugely valuable, and we've learnt from and partnered with many people and advisors. There's a real opportunity in philanthropy to help close the gap and we invite others to join in. You can see what we've done so far over the past couple of years below.

And finally, welcome to India Boschet, who joins the team in Sydney to focus on our gender work alongside Sally. India brings international expertise across gender equity, sustainability, policy and social impact. There’s strong momentum in this space, and I enjoyed connecting with Paul Ramsay Foundation and fellow funders recently in the Coalition of Funders for Women and Families to align on our shared purpose. It’s so energising to see these collaborations building!

Warmly, 

Georgina Byron AM
CEO Snow Foundation

Our new strategy will set us up to support our ambitious and bold efforts for growth and to achieve lasting social change by building strong communities and forging fair systems.

We are retaining our pillars of Place, Country, Sector and Family and introducing six priority areas where we seek to create lasting impact: Gender, First Nations, Youth, LGBTIQ+, Community all underpinned by Ecosystem. Ecosystem reflects our focus on backing social change makers, acting as the glue between funders and nonprofits, and advancing the impact investing market.

We’ve reaffirmed what makes us Snow: a holistic, entrepreneurial and trust-based approach grounded in long-term relationships and thoughtful stewardship.

We're excited about the road ahead and grateful to have such a dedicated team with us on it.

Canberra Foundations Collaborative Grant Recipients Celebration

Attendees celebrating at the 2026 Canberra Foundations Collaborative Community Morning Tea

This year the Canberra Foundations Collaborative has invested $1.6 million in 58 community projects across the ACT, backing local initiatives that strengthen connection, support wellbeing, and create greater opportunity for people facing disadvantage.

Working in this partnership are Snow Foundation, Hands Across Canberra and John James Foundation, alongside support from Aspen Medical Foundation and Davencare Foundation. Funding supports projects focused on community connection, women and girls, First Nations communities, disability inclusion, and health and economic participation, including 24 multi-year grants.

For Snow Foundation, women's safety remains a significant priority, both locally and nationally. Many of the projects we supported are creating opportunities for women to build economic security, exercise leadership and thrive. 

Since 2022, $8.5 million has been invested (with $3.9m from Snow) in more than 310 community initiatives. Beyond grantmaking, we have provided wrap-around support including sector capacity building, shared learning opportunities and collaboration across organisations.

Canberra Community Law team with Megan Parsons, Scarlett Gaffey and Carolyn Ludovici (Snow Foundation), Abigirl Maminimini (Snow Foundation) with Hotel Etico team, Scarlett Gaffey, Sandra Michie (Anglicare)

Our Educational Outcomes Work, Two Years On

Australia's school results have been sliding for two decades, and the students falling furthest behind are First Nations, regional, and low-SES kids — by Year 9, some are more than five years behind their wealthier peers. Two years ago, we set out to do something about it.

Since then, our advocacy in the ACT has helped evidence-based literacy instruction get introduced in 90 schools, backed by $25 million in new government funding for decodable readers, teacher coaching, and professional learning. We've also commissioned research into curriculum and teacher training, backed EdAssure's push for better lesson materials, supported the early maths check for at-risk students, and helped 500 Schools lift outcomes in disadvantaged communities.

Read on for what we've learned, where we're focusing next, and the opportunity for Australian philanthropy to fill a gap.

Jen Cross (ACT Alliance for Evidence-Based Education), Scarlett Gaffey (Snow Foundation), Jessica Del Rio (Education Advisor)

Social Impact Investing: Thrive Lending Facility

We’ve joined leading Australian foundations to back the country’s first Philanthropic Lending Facility focused on refugee economic participation.

Delivered with Thrive Refugee Enterprise, the $4.1 million facility will expand access to loan capital, supporting refugee-led businesses to start, grow and build long-term economic independence, with a strong focus on women-led enterprises. This gender lens is central to why this investment resonates with us.

A highlight from the launch was hearing from entrepreneur Atefeh Hekmat, who arrived in Australia from Iran in 2013 and began running art classes from her garage. With support from Thrive, she has since expanded her business into a studio and café in Carlingford, now supporting more than 90 students and continuing to grow.

This investment reflects the coordinated, long-term approach needed to create meaningful systemic change in Australia.

Lian Lim (Paul Ramsay Foundation), Prebhjot Kaur (Paul Ramsay Foundation), Bhanvi Anand (Snow Foundation), Sandhya Chakravarty (Thrive Refugee Enterprise), Christina Wilson (Thrive Refugee Enterprise), Anna Curtis (Thrive Refugee Enterprise) 

Karitane's Fairfield Hub Opens Its Doors

We're thrilled to support Karitane's Fairfield Integrated Child and Family Hub, alongside significant funding from government and the Paul Ramsay Foundation. The Hub is a community-based centre for parenting, health and family support services, bringing together services that are typically scattered across a city under one roof, so support is connected, accessible and available early.

The project sits within the Foundation's Our Place pillar and its gender impact theme, deepening a long-standing commitment to Western Sydney. It also aligns with our Capital Works portfolio, helping build the infrastructure that allows community organisations to deliver services well into the future.

Sally Grimsley-Ballard (Snow Foundation), Grainne O'Loughlin (Karitane), The Hon Jillian Skinner AM

Gender Equality: exploring the narrative

Building on momentum from the Women Deliver Conference, we recently co-hosted a session with Plan International Australia to explore how the narrative around gender equality needs to shift to connect with broader audiences.

Plan International's Gender Compass research distils seven clear messaging principles, framing gender equality as a shared benefit rather than a zero-sum issue, uniting with inclusive language, writing men into the story, avoiding polarising language, and painting a positive future. A key theme was the importance of reaching the "middle" audience — those open to shifting their views but put off by polarising language — through more nuanced, relatable communication and effective storytelling. 

Terrific to hear from social researcher Dr Rebecca Huntley and Plan International Australia CEO Susanne Legena, who also gave a preview of their teen project, the generation who have been online their whole life.

We'll continue working with others to progress this and intend to come together again in October.