MacroMelbourne towards 2030 

MacroMelbourne is one of Melbourne Community Foundation’s major initiatives.   It is designed to ensure that Melbourne is, and continues to be, a liveable city for all its people as it faces the challenges of growth over the next 20 years.  

Despite an increasing public policy focus on addressing disadvantage and increasing social inclusion, research indicates there have been continuing and growing levels of poverty and inequality over the past decade.  

Understanding that disadvantage and inequality can divide communities, the Initiative aims to identify areas where philanthropic investment can contribute to creating a more equitable, sustainable and liveable Melbourne.  

Two key reports have been produced as part of the initiative: 

MacroMelbourne Media Kit

Click here to download the MacroMelbourne Media Kit with Media releases and Profiles 

See information about MacroMelbourne Phase 1, 2006-2008

MacroMelbourne in the Media

Climate change, sea levels will split rich, poor - study - Herald Sun 01/12/09

Climate change to hit Melbourne: report - The Age 01/12/09

Projects for Hume disadvantaged need cash

Growth areas a social 'risk'

Key urban challenges

Zooming in on our society

Get Involved and Contact Us

Want to know more about what you can do?  Want to find out more about Melbourne Community Foundation?  Want to donate?

Phone 03 9412 0412

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Melbourne Community Foundation held its Annual General Meeting 17 November 2009.

The year's activities were briefly outlined, highlighting the year’s funds under management, investment performance and $2.5m in grants distributed to charitable organisations and projects.

2008-09 presented MCF with many challenges and Sarah Davies, CEO of MCF, provided an overview of the previous year's activites, MCF 2008-09.  

Over the past 12 months 224 grants were made totalling $2.5m.

27 new sub-funds and Gumnut accounts were established during 2008/09, bringing the total of MCF funds to 147. Donors contributed a total of $4.1m to funds during the year.

Ian McHutchison, the Chair of the MCF Finance Committee, outlined the role and responsibility of the Board, the Finance Committee and MCF’s investment managers in the management of MCF investments. 

Financial Statements 2008-09 (2.6mb pdf)

Financial Statements 2008-09 Main Fund only (pdf)

Dr Marion Frere, Deputy Director, from the McCaughey Centre at the University of Melbourne was guest speaker at the AGM. Marion spoke on the research undertaken by the McCaughy Centre which underpins the development of the latest phase of MCF's MacroMelbourne Initiative. Marion's speech can viewed here.

There is no doubt that 2009 started as a turbulent, challenging and confronting year.  The prevailing economic conditions, rising unemployment, volatile financial markets, together with the rapidly increasing demand for community support and services, has been dominating philanthropy’s thinking over the past few months.  The latest MCF newsletter discusses issues of philanthropy in hard times, as well as news of MCF board and recent grants.

MCF Newsletter

On 18 November 2008 at it's AGM,  Melbourne Community Foundation launched a new product, Gumnut Accounts.

These Accounts allow people from all walks of life to invest in the future of the community and build a charitable endowment.

• See more information about Gumnut Accounts

Melbourne Community Foundation (MCF) has recently established the National Community Foundation under its umbrella structure. The two new funds are the National Community Foundation Fund, a tax deductible fund and the National Community Foundation Extension Fund and non-tax deductible fund.

A number of companies have established or are planning to establish a sub-fund under our community foundation structure.

In Australia like other parts of the world, staff are becoming more engaged with their company's giving programs and CSR activities. Employees now look at prospective employer's CSR programs as one of the criteria to be considered before working for a company.  They often feel more motivated to work for a company they believe is concerned about its impact on society and the environment.

National corporate donors who want to work with MCF as well as engage staff at a national level have indicated it would be much easier with a fund which is seen to have a national reach than a Melbourne reach.  Through a sub-fund with NCF they have a vehicle for a workplace giving program and they can support organisations and charities both in Australia and overseas through registered Australian Charities.

In addition to MCF's grantmaking expertise philanthropic consultants in Sydney and Brisbane have been employed to work with donors to research and identify projects to support.

MCF has also launched a new site  www.nationalcf.org.au

The National Community Foundation website is designed to assist Victorian based organisations who want to partner with their staff, stakeholders and communities wherever they are within Australia, and build an endowment fund to support an on-going charitable giving program.

•  Click here to view our Community Foundation structure in PDF Format

Women's Health Victoria, a non government organisation which operates as a state-wide women's health promotion, information and advocacy service.  WHV have an endowment sub-fund with MCF.  On 24 July they launched 'The Index' website.  'The Index' is a new initiative of WHV and highlights sources of gendered data to assist policy development, planning, research and service provision. Facilitating the use of gendered data will result in a more detailed picture of the lives of Victorian women, achieving better health outcomes for women and men. The Index is an online gateway to evidence-based health and wellbeing data on Victorian women and girls across a wide variety of indicators relevant to a social model of health.  

Link:   www.theindex.org.au

The new MacroMelbourne Liveable City report document was released today.

The document outlines MarcoMelbourne's vision for our city as one for all its people and provides information about the program and how to get involved. A link to the report in PDF format is provided below.

Media Contact Details:

Trudy Wyse 0419 581 678

Karen Mahlab 0417 538 001

• MacroMelbourne Liveable City - Sept 2007 (3mb PDF)
  

International expert agrees to join MCF's Board.

Peter Hero, international philanthropy expert and senior adviser to the USA's Silicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF), has agreed to join the Board of Melbourne Community Foundation (MCF) after taking part in week-long activities to mark the foundation's 10th anniversary.

As part of his visit to Australia, Peter Hero was a guest speaker at a number of functions and workshops aimed at highlighting the benefits of community foundations to Australian professional advisors, corporates, community groups and donors. He also participated in the Board's two day annual retreat.

Mr Hero is credited with growing SVCF's assets from US$7 million to over US$1.6 billion, making it the fourth largest community foundation in the US, one which now distributes up to US$3 million a week in grants.

The highlight of MCF's 10th Anniversary was a dinner dance held at historic Abbotsford Convent.

During the evening, founding MCF Board member, Adjunct Professor Hayden Raysmith, led an engaging, amusing and often confronting conversation between Peter Hero and Peter Singer, Professor of Bio-ethics at Princeton University.

Responding to the topic 'The values that underpin philanthropic giving', both related their experiences of 'modern' philanthropists, especially in the US, who have made their fortune at a young age through the dot.com boom.

Peter Hero, with his greater experience of local place-based giving at the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, stressed the difference that strategic philanthropic giving can make in local communities in the US, while Peter Singer focused more on the extraordinary impact that similar amounts of funding can have on alleviating problems of world health, such as TB and malaria.