In late 2018, Dr Squirrel Main, Evaluation & Research Manager at The Ian Potter Foundation travelled to the US to attend the American Evaluation Association Annual Conference. During this trip, Squirrel attended the Foundation Evaluation Directors’ Meeting where she was able to exchange ideas with 20 peers in the US philanthropic sector.  Here Dr Main shares her learnings and reflections from this knowledge sharing opportunity.

Learn more

'I am pleased to share that the vision for the Foundation is now '…a vibrant, healthy, fair and sustainable Australia'. In October 2018, the Board of The Ian Potter Foundation approved the recommendation to add ‘sustainable’ to the vision of the Foundation. 

Adding ‘sustainable’ as a fourth element to our vision reflects the history of The Ian Potter Foundation as a strong supporter of Australian environmental and conservation initiatives and confirms our commitment to grantmaking informed by the best science and the strongest evidence of the time.'

Read more

The Foundation continues to proactively seek partnerships with sector leaders wanting to build their capacity, initiate innovative programs and/or scale up proven approaches. This year 142 grants totalling $24.5m were awarded to many long-term as well as new not-for-profit partners.

This year's report also includes a review of grants supporting Indigenous communities, health and education over the past five decades.

Learn more our grantees, their projects and the Foundation's overall approach to grantmaking.

Read now

The Board of The Ian Potter Foundation recently considered the future of the Conference and Travel program areas as part of its ongoing evaluation of all program areas.

As a result of this process, The Ian Potter Foundation has decided to close its Conference program effective immediately. The Travel program will be suspended through 2019 to allow time for an in-depth review to determine how best to continue providing support to early career researchers.

Read more