Dear Friends and Colleagues,

We’ve recently returned from the Philanthropy Australia Conference, buzzing from the energy, ideas and people who came together, including 60 First Nations delegates and a wonderful bunch of young people. With insightful global and local speakers, there was a strong sense of the urgency of the challenges around us, and the need for philanthropy to be brave and accelerate action. The team and I enjoyed contributing to discussions on First Nations partnerships — I loved sharing our learnings through 15 years of partnership — as well as gender equality and impact investing.

The gender conversations were particularly confronting, against a backdrop of escalating violence towards women and teenagers, and new Monash University research highlighting widespread sexism and misogyny in schools. It was timely that No to Violence launched its new report, providing a pathway towards building a more effective preventative system with and for men. Enormous thanks to Dr Rebecca Buys and Max Castle, who led it with care. We’re glad to support such important work.

On a more uplifting note, we celebrated the graduation of our second cohort of Snow Entrepreneurs, the Gidgees. Over three years, these remarkable founders have strengthened their leadership, grown their organisations and expanded their collective reach from 25,000 to an extraordinary 175,000+ people across Australia. It was a joyful reminder of what can happen when we back great people.

I was also fortunate to spend time on Gumatj Country at the Garma Festival, alongside our First Nations Advisor Maree Meredith and philanthropic peers — with gratitude to the Paul Ramsay Foundation for hosting us. Another personal highlight was Sydney Women’s Fund’s Saluting Sydney lunch, where we honoured the extraordinary playwright and former lawyer Suzie Miller. I especially loved having my daughter Jasmine, herself a young lawyer, there with us.

And finally, a thank you to our Snow team in Canberra and Sydney. It’s been a big month, and I’m thrilled we squeezed in an escape to the Southern Highlands for some valuable time together, a chance to play some games, reflect and have a laugh.

Across all these different moments, I’ve been reminded of the importance of investing in relationships, courageous leaders and bold ideas — and staying alongside them for the long haul. That’s when meaningful change is possible.

Georgina Byron AM
CEO Snow Foundation

Celebrating country and culture at the Garma Festival on Gumatj Country with Paul Ramsay and colleagues

Philanthropy Australia Conference

A Shared Direction: Gender Equity Panels at the Philanthropy Australia Conference 

We participated in two gender equity sessions: Australians Investing in Women's 'Breakfast for Gender Equality' and a collective impact session on gender, co-hosted with Paul Ramsay Foundation, Sydney Community Foundation and Sydney Women's Fund. It was encouraging to see such a fantastic turnout!

Both pointed to a common theme: philanthropy's efforts to advance gender equity are gaining momentum through collective action, alongside a growing focus on prevention, increasing interest in positive masculinity, and the need to challenge the influence of technology platforms that are directing young people towards manosphere content.

Across the sessions, three takeaways stood out:

• Collaboration is happening – there are active initiatives that funders can engage with today, such as the Coalition for Women and Families and the Community Funds for Gender Equity.
• The next frontier is community-led – particularly the aspiration for a First Nations Women's Fund that is First Nations-led from the outset.
• Culture matters as much as capital – narratives and online content are shaping attitudes and norms, as highlighted by Gender Compass and Teen Compass (stay tuned for the results).

Australians Investing in Women Breakfast of Champions: Darrell Wade - Philanthropy Australia, Michelle Steele - Paul Ramsay Foundation, Georgina, Virisila Baudromo - ResourceFULL Collective 

First Nations Leadership & Philanthropic Partnership: what 15 years of working together can teach us

Brilliant to see such a packed room for our session on First Nations leadership and philanthropic partnership. Using rheumatic heart disease as a case study, we traced Snow Foundation's journey from early relationship-building, through collective advocacy, to today's broader work across housing, hygiene and clinical innovation, all grounded in community leadership.

Thank you to Aunty Vicki Wade and Dr Bo Reményi for sharing so generously, with Georgina and Snow Foundation's First Nations Advisor, Maree Meredith. Maree also did a wonderful job moderating the discussion. The takeaway: listening comes before strategy, and communities already hold the knowledge.

Snow Entrepreneurs - the Gidgees graduate!

Last week, we celebrated the graduation of Cohort Two of the Snow Entrepreneurs, a group we've come to know and love as the Gidgees.

Through over $5 million in grants and wrap-around support, we have backed nine founders, including the first two First Nations Snowies, as they scaled their ventures. Collectively, they now support 175,000+ people, up from 25,000 at the start of the program. Across the group, the number of people employed by these organisations has grown to more than 300, and collective revenue has increased fourfold to more than $13 million.

Building a social enterprise is rarely a straight path, but through the challenges and opportunities of the past three years, the Gidgees have demonstrated resilience and ambition, continuing to learn, adapt and evolve. Supported by a strong peer network and tailored development opportunities, they have strengthened their leadership and deepened their impact. It has been a privilege to witness their journey.

Congratulations to the Gidgees, we can't wait to see what comes next!

Photo credit: Ninja MG Productions

The Gidgees: Reece Miller, Jason Davis, Joel Anderson, Melanie Greblo, Nicole Dyson, Georgia Weir, Renuka Fernando, Maryanne Harris, Tony Rothacker

No to Violence: Landmark Report Shows How to Stop Men's Violence Earlier

Our partner No to Violence, the national peak body for organisations working with men who use family and domestic violence, has released From Fragmentation to Framework, a research report supported by Snow Foundation that makes a compelling case for reforming how Australia engages and supports men to prevent violence before it occurs.

The report brings together the insights of around 150 practitioners from across Australia and outlines seven principles for a more connected approach to engaging men. With victim-survivor safety and accountability at its centre, it highlights the need for urgent reform to ensure men can access services, interventions and pathways that support behaviour change and help prevent future harm.

At a time when much investment remains focused on responding to violence after it occurs, the report offers practical insights into how governments, services and communities can work together to strengthen prevention, improve support for men to change, and create lasting systems change.

Snow Foundation’s Sally Grimsley-Ballard with practitioners, researchers and government leaders at the launch of the report. 

Wilya Janta: A new model for culturally informed housing in Tennant Creek

Wilya Janta's first Explain Home, designed by Warumungu people, for Warumungu people is complete. Snow Foundation joined Warumungu Elders, families and the Wilya Janta team to celebrate the milestone, built using locally made mud bricks from termite mounds and spinifex, and designed around culture, climate and the way families want to live.

For Snow Foundation, the project brings together two long-term priorities: First Nations self-determination and eliminating rheumatic heart disease with a holistic strategy that includes housing and hygiene. 

Congratulations to Norman Frank Jupurrurla, Serena Morton Nabanunga, Jimmy Frank Jupurrurla, Patricia Frank Nurururla, Dr Simon Quilty and the wider Wilya Janta team for their leadership and vision. 

Photo credit: Andrew Quilty

Celebrating Suzie Miller at Sydney Women's Fund Saluting Sydney Women

We joined our longstanding partner, Sydney Women's Fund, for its 12th Saluting Sydney Women event with a full room celebrating trailblazers who advance gender equality and social justice. Our CEO and Sydney Women's Fund Chair, Georgina, loved hosting the celebration again alongside the Fund's Advisory Committee and team.

This year's recipient was Suzie Miller, a human rights and criminal defence lawyer turned globally acclaimed playwright, screenwriter and novelist, who found a new way to pursue justice through storytelling that has reached the world stage. Her landmark play Prima Facie has been performed in more than 50 countries, translated into 30+ languages, adapted into a bestselling novel, and is now headed to the screen. It's just one part of a body of work that has changed hearts, minds and, in some places, the law. 

Photo credit: Ninja MG Productions

Loredana Fyffe, Suzie Miller, Governor of New South Wales Margaret Beazley AC KC, Sophie McCarthy, Georgina 

Snow Foundation Canberra and Sydney teams enjoying time together in the Southern Highlands