Creating a better future for Melbourne women and families in need, together.

With work and family commitments easing, Sue began exploring how to contribute to her community in a more meaningful way. A chance meeting at the Philanthropy Australia conference led me to Melbourne Women's Foundation and opened the door to a new kind of giving... "If you’ve ever wondered what volunteering at MWF might be like, I encourage you to dip a toe in the water in 2026. You’ll find purpose, connection and a community of remarkable women who make this work deeply rewarding."  

We're excited to announce the establishment of our Development and Engagement Committee—a strategic initiative designed to strengthen the funding base of our giving circle and deepen member engagement.

This new volunteer committee will lead efforts to increase and diversify our philanthropic funding, build meaningful partnerships with aligned organisations, and create opportunities for members to grow their involvement with MWF.

Interested? If you are an MWF member and have relevant skills and a passion for advancing MWF's vision of a vibrant community investing in the wellbeing of Melbourne women and families in need, we'd love to hear from you.

Throughout 2025, we focused on understanding the key issues that shape women’s safety, health and economic security, drawing on the knowledge of experts, practitioners and community leaders. These learning opportunities strengthen our giving circle: they ensure members are informed, our granting decisions are grounded in evidence and lived experience, and our advocacy remains connected to the realities women face every day.  

More than an awards night - and what a night it was!  On Thursday 23 October, our 2025 Changemaker Awards event featured two major grant categories, six nonprofit Finalists, and inspired proposals for empowering Melbourne women and families need. Thank you to all our financial year 2024/2025 members who collectively built this year's $169,000 grants funding pool and voted to award their grants to...

We are thrilled to share the six outstanding nonprofit Finalists for this year’s Melbourne Women’s Foundation Changemaker grants. Each are proposing or already delivering innovative, grass-roots responses to empower Melbourne women and families need. We invite you join us to hear from each Finalist directly as they take centre stage at our 2025 Changemaker Awards this Thursday, 23 October. Who will MWF members vote to receive the two major grants? This is much more than an awards night - it's the power of collective giving in action. 

Giving Power to Possibility  Thank you for your membership of our giving circle! With donors and friends, we gathered to hear directly the powerful stories of the impact of our grants awarded last year.  Heather Saunders, CEO of WomenCAN Australia, and PartnerSpeak’s, Karen Lancaster, Director of Services, with Anastasia Sabatino, gave us an update on progress, and the value each grant is delivering to their organisation and mission. Their stories were powerful reminders of what happens when we back women: caring support protects, and secure futures are shaped.  We thank everyone for their powerful presentations, the impact they have achieved so far, and the opportunity to meet them personally and ask further questions. These connections remain at the core of MWF's mission.

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Sharon McGowan AM and Jody Evans to the Board of Melbourne Women’s Foundation. Both women bring deep experience in for-purpose strategy, leadership and governance as well as a passion to progress our mission. Jody is a senior academic at Melbourne Business School with over 25 years of experience in marketing, leadership development, and the social purpose sector and Sharon is a dedicated MWF member since 2016 and an experienced nonprofit Chief Executive Officer and Non-Executive Board Director. As we welcome Jody and Sharon, we also celebrate the legacy of Christine Darcas and Amanda Thornton, who have vacated their Board member roles.  Read more about the unique contributions of Christine and Amanda and find out what inspires Sharon and Jody! 

We are proud to celebrate our history of inclusive leadership at MWF. Pat Burke, co-founder with Gillian Hund, has resigned her role as Chair. Pat will remain on the Board providing continuity and depth of experience.  Pat has offered leadership at every step of MWF’s development and growth as a giving circle and charity. A generous mentor and visionary, Pat is especially pleased to be creating space for those who will lead MWF into the future.   It is a great pleasure to offer warm congratulations to Leonie Boxtel, who succeeds Pat as our new MWF Chair!  Leonie joined the Board in September 2024, immediately offering her warmth, strategic mindset and depth of leadership within the philanthropic sector. 

At the heart of our healthcare system lies a persistent, hidden issue: gender bias. Women’s Health Victoria (WHV) is driving systemic change to ensure women, particularly those disadvantaged by poverty, cultural background and rural status, receive equitable healthcare. At MWF's June 5th event, WHV CEO Sally Hasler highlighted the challenges, opportunities and ways in which we may all contribute to change. Sally’s eye-opening presentation was almost eclipsed by the opening remarks of Emma Woolley, Partner at event host, Hall and Wilcox. How did she make the subject of Estate Planning intriguing, compelling and funny all at once...?

In early March, Next Gen members Meggan Boag, Linh Do and MWF NextGen Chair Hannah Doherty-McMillan had the pleasure of attending an engaging roundtable dinner co-hosted by the Melbourne Women’s Foundation, Philanthropy Australia, and She Gives (Noble Ambition). The event, which immediately followed the 2025 Nexus Australia Summit, was part of the Growing Women’s Giving initiative, a collaboration designed to explore what motivates women to give, and how we can build and sustain a stronger culture of generosity among women in Australia, especially as the Next Generation takes on more philanthropic involvement.

On Thursday 27 February, expert panellists Hana Assafiri, Adele Murdolo, Julie Kun and Sue-Ann Hunter joined moderator Tania Farha to discuss Gender-Based Violence and Community Action.

Our 2025 Changemaker Grants round in now open for applications from nonprofits supporting Melbourne women and families in need. Thanks to our generous members and supporters, our grants round funding pool is a record-breaking $170,000 this year! We encourage all nonprofits who may be eligible to apply to view the 2025 Grants Guidelines today! Applications close 6pm, Thursday 14 August.