The Funding Network Australia

06/10/2026

When we back First Nations-led solutions, we strengthen community, culture, and Country ✨

We’re delighted to invite you to our First Nations Crowdfunding Event on Wednesday the 4th of November, hosted in person at KPMG Barangaroo and streamed globally.

Together, we will channel funding to grassroots organisations and social enterprises working directly on Country to build food security, expand mobility and inclusion, and foster community health. This giving event will feature:

🌱Growing Masig - An emerging, community-led social enterprise establishing a micro-farm pilot on Masig Island to strengthen local food sovereignty, create jobs, and secure long-term food security across the Torres Strait.

🚐 Iwiri Aboriginal Organisation - An Anangu-led organisation in Adelaide acquiring a dedicated accessible vehicle to safely transport Elders and members with mobility needs, ensuring full inclusion in cultural and community life.

🏃 TriMob Australia - A First Nations-founded non-profit empowering communities through movement, health, and cultural pride by expanding local running clubs, upskilling local coaches, and scoping a Mob-led flagship running event.

Be part of an inspiring evening filled with first-hand stories and the shared joy of turning sparks of compassion into direct funding support for these changemakers.

Register now to attend: https://www.thefundingnetwork.com.au/event/first-nations-crowdfunding-event-2026/?utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=FN2026

📍 Sydney, NSW (or stream online) | 📅 Wednesday, 4 November 2026 | ⏰ 5:30pm - 8:30pm AEDT

01/10/2026

Lemons piling up under the tree? Plums you can't give away fast enough? 🍎

Plenty of backyard trees grow more fruit than one household can eat. Fruit Share Adelaide is a volunteer-driven initiative in South Australia that rescues excess edible produce from backyards, orchards and farms. It passes that produce on to local relief agencies, so fresh food reaches people who need it instead of going to waste.

At our Healthy People, Healthy Planet live crowdfunding event, hear how they plan to double their capacity to rescue produce and fill more baskets.

📍 Bupa Campus, Melbourne (or join online) | 🗓 Monday 26 October 2026 | ⏰ 5:30pm – 8:30pm AEDT

Register now to attend: http://www.thefundingnetwork.com.au/event/healthy-people-healthy-planet-2026-melbourne?utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=HPHP2026

29/09/2026

Climate action asks a lot of the people doing it, and for many young Australians, eco-anxiety and burnout come with the territory. 💚

ECOMIND is a youth climate mental health charity supporting young people aged 16 to 35 through climate distress and activist burnout, so they can look after themselves while they keep showing up for the planet.

At our Healthy People, Healthy Planet crowdfunding event, ECOMIND will share how it's turning its climate mental health first aid programme into an accessible, licensable framework and digital hub ahead of COP31.

📍 Bupa Campus, Melbourne (or join online) | 🗓 Monday 26 October 2026 | ⏰ 5:30pm – 8:30pm AEDT

Register now to attend: https://ow.ly/maJX50ZSuPm

24/09/2026

When we care for our planet, we care for our communities 🌿

Join us on Monday, 26 October 2026 for our Healthy People, Healthy Planet event, presented alongside our flagship partner, the Bupa Foundation.

Together, we will channel funding to community-driven programs working at the vital intersection of human health and environmental sustainability. Prepare to experience the power of story and the inspiring momentum as we work side by side to transform compassion into action!

Meet the organisations ready to pitch:
🌱 : Australia's leading youth climate mental health charity, empowering young changemakers to navigate climate distress and activist burnout.
🍎 Fruit Share Adelaide: A volunteer-led initiative harvesting excess backyard and orchard produce to provide fresh, healthy food for local relief agencies.
🌳 The Groundswell Collective: An environmental charity mobilising communities to restore native biodiversity by rapidly transforming underutilised urban spaces into dense, biodiverse native ecosystems.

👉 Don't miss your chance to experience the incredible energy in the room and be part of an uplifting live crowdfunding evening!

Register now to attend: https://www.thefundingnetwork.com.au/event/healthy-people-healthy-planet-2026-melbourne/?utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=HPHP2026

📍 Bupa Campus, Melbourne | 🗓️ Monday, 26 October 2026 | ⏰ 5:30pm - 8:30pm AEDT

23/09/2026

"It's Just Not Sexy"

This morning at Two Good Co, we brought together three changemakers whose work covers periods, consent and sexual violence, and who have heard some version of that line from funders more times than they can count.

Thank you to Geena Dunne (The Cova Project ) Angelique Wan (Consent Labs) and Eloise Hall (TABOO) for a conversation that was honest, often funny, and hard to forget. You spoke plainly about what it's like to keep knocking on funding doors when your work is too business for philanthropy and too charity for investors, what it costs communities when this work goes unfunded, and who benefits when these conversations stay in the "too-hard" basket. Sarah Rosenberg (With You We Can) couldn't be with us in person, but the video she shared opened the discussion and set the tone for everything that followed.

As Geena mentioned, "If it's uncomfortable to say, it's underfunded."

A huge thank you to Two Good Co. for hosting us.

17/09/2026

A sneak preview of our 6-month Thriving Young People 2026 update, and these numbers speak for themselves.

When Matthew Smith and Margaret Armstrong pitched for FosterCare Sports at our event in March, they wanted to get more kids in out-of-home care onto the field. Six months on, backed by the TFN community, they've taken player registrations from 150 to over 400 nationally, brought on a community engagement officer, reached 170 previously unfunded children in regional and remote areas, and signed up more than ten state sporting associations.

Stay tuned for more stories of impact

15/09/2026

10/09/2026

Thank you to everyone who joined us for the breakout session "Giving Together: The Power and Potential of Collective Giving in Australia" at the Philanthropy Australia Conference.

Moderated by TFN CEO Kristen Lark, the discussion brought together Melissa Smith of She Gives, Stephen Pfieffer of Groundswell Giving and Raisera McCulloch of Indigenous Giving Circle for a rich conversation on why people are increasingly drawn to giving together.

Collective giving in Australia is a movement at an inflection point — no longer emerging, but not yet fully realised. It was a privilege to be part of exploring what it will take to get there.

07/09/2026

FY26, in numbers.

Every one of those numbers started as a pledge made in a room full of strangers who decided to become collaborators. That’s the model TFN was built on: crowdfunding that happens live, together, and out loud.

To everyone who pledged, attended, presented, hosted or spread the word this year - thank you for showing up, and for what you’ll help build next.