What are Community Foundations?

The first community foundation was formed in the American city of Cleveland in 1908, the brainchild of lawyer Frederick Harris Goff. His aim was to pool bequests from wills and collect donations from the wider community, allowing more people to become involved in philanthropy.

Today there are hundreds of Community Foundations around the world, working in specific geographic areas or with a particular focus in their local community.

A community foundation is an independent philanthropic organisation. It attracts tax-deductible donations to its Public Fund and builds a capital base known as the corpus - a fund of money invested in perpetuity. The income earned each year is returned to the community as annual grants to tax-deductible charities or other eligible projects. A foundation can also apply for and win funding from other sources that flows through to community projects and programs.

Local Pride

Our local focus makes us unique; funding is exclusive to the inner northern region of Melbourne - the communities of Moreland, Darebin and Yarra. The region comprises over 330,000 people and prides itself on its cultural, economic and physical diversity. A local focus ensures we remain connected to emerging needs.

Lasting Impact

We’re a permanent funding source to the community because donations are pooled and invested to create funds for our annual grants programs. Our grants program will exist beyond our lifetime.

Core Objectives

• Develop a grants program that is responsive to employment and learning access, primarily focused on young men and women living in the Inner North of Melbourne.
• Develop grants programs in partnership with donors to support emerging needs in the Inner North.
• Promote philanthropic giving amongst local businesses and individuals through creating a convenient and credible donor program.
• Work in partnership with community organisations, schools, business and government to raise awareness of employment access issues for young people in the Inner North.
• Manage and invest charitable funds responsibly and ethically to secure strong returns for the benefit of the community in perpetuity.

Principles

• Respect for the capacity, potential and rights of people regardless of age, ability, background and circumstance.
• A commitment to establishing and maintaining transparent and accountable decision-making processes.
• A commitment to professionalism, quality governance and protecting the privacy of donors and partners.
• A commitment to ensuring that the expressed needs of communities in the inner north inform the Foundation’s work.
• A willingness to share learnings with people, organisations and government to contribute to better coordination of employment pathways programming.

The Inner North Community Foundation is a member of Philanthropy Australia and signatory to their Code of Practice.