Earlier this month, the State Library of Queensland (SLQ) launched Together We Grow, a five-year initiative developed with the Queensland Brain Institute at The University of Queensland. It translates neuroscience into practical ways for families, carers and communities to support children’s brain development through everyday talking, reading, singing and playing.

With connections to all 78 Queensland local government areas and a network of 325 public libraries and Indigenous Knowledge Centres, SLQ is well-placed to take this knowledge into communities across the state. The Foundation is proud to support Together We Grow through our largest Early Childhood Development grant to date ($2 million).

This month also saw the launch of the Early Childhood (EDGE) Study, an evaluation of Victoria’s introduction of a second year of kindergarten. The study shows that two years of quality kindergarten provides measurable gains in children's learning and development. The Foundation is a proud supporter of this evaluation project, led by the University of Melbourne in partnership with The Front Project.

Our latest funding round centred around several significant multi-year, capacity-building grants arising from the Foundation's participation in the Investment Dialogue for Australia's Children (IDAC). These grants support community-led initiatives in urban and regional settings, each shaped around the priorities of a particular place or cohort, with the focus on improving the lives of children and their families.

IDAC brings philanthropic funders and government together with local organisations and community leaders. By investing time in relationships, listening to local experience and building trust, philanthropy and government can better understand priorities and direct strategic funding towards responses developed by communities themselves. We are pleased to back these initiatives and look forward to sharing their progress.

Listening also informs how we work as a funder. In April, we undertook our third survey of grantees with the US-based Centre for Effective Philanthropy (CEP), continuing a process that began in 2015 and is repeated every five years. We invited 200 organisations funded during an 18-month period to participate.

The results show that the Foundation has maintained — and in several areas strengthened — its performance. They also reinforce that organisations value more than financial support: they want trusted, long-term relationships with funders; useful guidance and resources; opportunities to connect with others; appropriate contact throughout the life of their grants; and a clearer understanding of funding strategy. I thank every organisation that contributed candid feedback. Below, we outline more details on what we heard and how we are responding.

This month, we also farewelled Professor Karen Day AM after five years as a Governor. Karen chaired the Foundation’s Health and Early Childhood Development committees and was deeply respected by fellow Governors and staff. Generous with her expertise, thoughtful in her counsel and quick to recognise the strengths of others, she made an important contribution to our work and to the organisations we support. We thank her warmly for her service.

We are delighted to welcome Dr Megan Clark AC to the Board. Dr Clark is Chancellor of Monash University, Chair of MITRE Australia (a not-for-profit subsidiary of MITRE Corporation) and the founding Head of the Australian Space Agency. Her earlier roles include Chief Executive of CSIRO, Vice President Technology at BHP and Non-Executive Director of Rio Tinto and CSL. Her breadth of experience across science, innovation, governance and the not-for-profit sector will be a valuable addition to the Foundation.

Finally, it was fitting to see the enduring legacy of Professor Emma Johnston AO honoured at the 2026 Australian Museum Eureka Prizes. The newly named Professor Emma Johnston Eureka Prize for Promoting Understanding of Science recognises people and teams who make science accessible, engaging and meaningful. Emma believed deeply in science’s capacity to improve lives and in the importance of bringing the community on that journey. This tribute will help inspire future generations of scientists to share their work with the world.