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Building Confidence, Capability & Connection

WomenCAN Australia — 2024 Capacity Building Grant recipient

CEO Heather Saunders began by reflecting on her own life and experience of systemic inequality. With two older brothers, she learned early to question why boys were encouraged to climb and explore while girls were taught to make tea. That questioning spirit has stayed with her, guiding her towards WomenCAN Australia, an organisation dedicated to creating pathways to financial independence for women, sometimes in non-traditional gender roles.

Heather painted a stark picture of the barriers many women face, leading to poor economic outcomes and loss of opportunity for industry.

WomenCAN Australia’s answer is to build confidence, capability, and connection. Their programs range from supporting women to gain driving licences, to establishing social enterprises in trades, to helping women enter industries traditionally closed to them, then following up with support. 

Specifically, MWF’s $80,000 grant is funding 20 women to train and work as bus and truck drivers. More broadly, the grant is also supporting WomenCAN Australia to establish, scale and sustain WomenCAN Work, a social enterprise placement service.  

The transport industry is changing, with an ageing workforce and shortages during a time of major infrastructure development in Melbourne. Already, four women have been placed with transport companies. 

Heather shared the story of a refugee who couldn’t get her first break in Australia. With WomenCAN Australia’s support, she gained her licence, built her confidence, and now proudly drives buses. Watching her step into the driver’s seat, Heather said, was a powerful reminder that when women are supported, industries change — and communities thrive. 

Thanks to a grant from Fernwood, you can watch her story here. 

“When women thrive, businesses thrive. When women achieve financial independence, communities grow stronger. And when women can shape their own futures, we all benefit.” 

Standing Beside Families in Crisis 

PartnerSPEAK — 2024 Enabling Grant recipient

Karen Lancaster and Anastasia Sabatino of PartnerSPEAK showed us what it means to hold women steady when their world suddenly falls apart. 

PartnerSPEAK is Australia’s only peer-led organisation supporting the non-offending partners and families of people who are found to be involved in child sexual abuse or exploitation. Their work is heavy, but it is vital — offering connection, safety, and hope. 

Karen described “the knock at the door” — the moment when police arrive at dawn, and in an instant a family’s safe space becomes unrecognisable.  

It is in these moments that PartnerSPEAK steps in. Anastasia painted the picture of “Emily,” a young mother holding her baby as police dismantled her home. Amidst the chaos, Anastasia introduced herself quietly: “I’m not a police officer. I’m here for you.” Emily’s relief was immediate. She didn’t need advice just then — she needed someone on her side, someone who had walked this path before and could help her take her first steps forward. 

MWF’s $45,000 grant has is helping PartnerSPEAK to begin embedding their specialised peer support alongside law enforcement. Non-offending partners and families are supported at the very moment they need it most, and police officers too, who find relief knowing someone is there for the women and children whose lives have suddenly been turned upside down. 

By combining their MWF grant with a major grant from the Victorian Legal Services Board, PartnerSPEAK has a two-year project underway that will not only expand their service model across Victoria but also build in reflective practice for police and evaluation through research partnerships to inform future policy. As Anastasia reminded us, early support changes outcomes for families in every area of their lives — and that’s the change our collective giving is helping make possible. 

The Power of Collective Giving 

The stories from WomenCAN Australia and PartnerSPEAK could not have been more different in detail, yet their heart was the same: when women are supported — with dignity, empathy, and opportunity — lives are rebuilt and futures are transformed. 

Our Impact Update 2025 reminded us of why the Melbourne Women’s Foundation exists. Together, we harness the power of collective giving to fund work that restored hope, created opportunity, and builds a stronger, fairer Melbourne for women and their families in need. 

To our members and supporters: thank you. Your generosity is the spark behind every story we heard, and every life being changed. To continue the impact we create together, or to experience the power of our giving circle for the first time, you are invited to join us for our Changemaker Awards 2025 event on 23rd October to meet this year’s new grant finalists and to join in our impact. Tickets on sale soon!

When we back women, we change the world — one life, one family, one community at a time.