IndigiGrow is a 100% Aboriginal-owned and operated social enterprise under First Hand Solutions Aboriginal Corporation, specialising in propagation and growing of Australian native edible plants in the critically endangered Eastern Suburbs Banksia Scrub (ESBS). Indigigrow employs, educates, and engages First Nations young people in culture and connection to Country, teaching them how to care for Country and restore endangered plant species. The organisation also encourages the wider community to learn about local biodiversity and supports wildlife corridors and sustainability.

Our grant enables IndigiGrow to deepen the expertise of its Aboriginal horticultural staff, focusing on propagation and restoration of ESBS plant species. Across Australia, only 10-12% of native species are grown for regeneration purposes, IndigiGrow will raise the bar and grow many more ESBS species not currently grown by nurseries because of the lack of available material and seed or difficulties in propagation.

The funding supports the development and testing of the propagation of plants, documentation of cultural and ecological significance, and delivery of community education programs. By supporting IndigiGrow, we are helping increase the ESBS seed bank, address environmental degradation and socio-economic disparities, preserve cultural knowledge, and empower young Indigenous people with specialised skills.

Environment Centre NT (ECNT) is the Northern Territory’s trusted voice for the environment, with a vision for a future Territory where nature is abundant, climate is safe, and a just economy supports community aspirations and wellbeing. ECNT holds government and industry to account, advocates for improved environmental policy and regulation, and fosters a diverse movement of people to champion change. Its work is underpinned by solidarity with First Nations communities and leaders.

Our multi-year grant provides untied funding to support ECNT’s advocacy, community engagement, and strategic campaigning to defend nature and push for stronger environmental governance. The funding enables ECNT to respond flexibly to emerging threats, support advocacy efforts, and sustain its watchdog role. By supporting ECNT, we help protect free-flowing rivers, challenge harmful developments, and advance climate justice in the Northern Territory.

Environment Tasmania is Tasmania's Conservation Council and was founded in 2004 to unite member groups across the state and address critical environmental issues. It plays a central convening and coordination role, enabling groups to share local knowledge, align on strategic priorities, and build coalitions that have delivered major environmental outcomes. Environment Tasmania has played a central role in: the signing of the Tasmanian Forestry Agreement in 2012, the permanent ban on Super Trawlers from state waters in 2017 and the quadrupling in size of Australia’s Heard and McDonald Islands Marine Reserve in 2024. One of its current objectives is to secure a new Marine Environment Tasmania Act, a once‑in‑a‑generation opportunity created through sustained public and political momentum.

Our funding will support Environment Tasmania’s marine advocacy campaign, helping to amplify political engagement, community mobilisation and coalition‑building during a critical legislative window. The Tasmanian Government is preparing to introduce the Marine Environment Tasmania Act providing a rare policy window to secure major reforms and increase marine protection. The funding builds on Australian Ethical’s broader stewardship and ethical investment commitments, including past work on the impacts of the salmon industry, and is designed to accelerate progress toward meaningful reforms to strengthen environmental governance, establish new marine protected areas, and improve ecosystem‑based management across Tasmania’s coastal and marine environments.

Environs Kimberley (EK) is a leading environmental not-for-profit based in Broome, Western Australia, dedicated to protecting the globally significant natural and cultural heritage of the Kimberley region. EK leads major campaigns to ban fracking, stop gas drilling near Scott Reef, and safeguard the Martuwarra Fitzroy River, working closely with Traditional Owner communities, local residents and all Australians who care about the Kimberley. EK’s work is rooted in strong local movements, state and national advocacy, and alliance building, achieving enduring outcomes valued by the community.

Our multi-year grant provides core operational funding for EK’s campaigns, enabling strategic coordination across the region and alignment with state and national advocacy organisations. The funding supports EK’s vision for a Kimberley where the environment is well managed and thriving, with communities supported by regenerative economic opportunities. By supporting EK, we help protect the lands and waters of the Kimberley, empower Traditional Owners, and build long-term resilience for nature and people.

The MFRC is an alliance of Traditional Owner groups from across the river catchment, advocating for the health and protection of the Fitzroy River, in the Kimberley, Western Australia. Entirely Indigenous led, the MFRC is guided by a diverse representation of senior elders with cultural authority. 

Massive irrigation and gas projects are underway in the Martuwarra Catchment and Indigenous communities in the catchment are working to defend against destruction of cultural heritage, ecological damage, poverty and climate change. The indigenous communities are eager to secure environmental markets including carbon storage, eco-tourism and biodiversity conservation.   

In previous years the Foundation has provided core funding to allow MFRC to work on climate justice, water justice and building new economies for First Nations people. MFRC’s focus is to stop imminent threats of mining, but to also regenerate the River system after years of moving people off the Country, intensive agriculture, incorrect burning, and water harvesting.

In 2025, we are funding Climate Adaptation pilot in the West Kimberley region, a collaboration between Martuwarra Fitzroy River Council, Nulungu Research Institute, Notre Dame University, Griffith University and the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists. The project aims to apply the Blueprint for Repairing Australia’s Landscapes to the West Kimberley region, combining Indigenous knowledge and Western science to find practical, place-based solutions for climate adaptation and nature repair. It will develop a prospectus outlining the actions and investments needed to protect the region’s unique cultural and ecological heritage, and if successful, will unlock further government funding and serve as a model for Indigenous-led, bi-cultural climate resilience and landscape restoration across Australia.

We are funding a Climate Adaptation pilot in the West Kimberley region, a collaboration between Martuwarra Fitzroy River Council, Nulungu Research Institute at Notre Dame University, Griffith University and the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists. The project aims to apply the Blueprint for Repairing Australia’s Landscapes to the West Kimberley region, combining Indigenous knowledge and Western science to find practical, place-based solutions for climate adaptation and nature repair. It will develop a prospectus outlining the actions and investments needed to protect and restore the region’s unique cultural and ecological heritage, and if successful, it is expected to unlock further government funding and private investment and serve as a model for Indigenous-led, bi-cultural climate resilience and landscape restoration across Australia allowing communities to lead their own, locally tailored pathways for landscape repair and climate resilience.

ActionAid Australia is a global women’s rights organisation working to advance gender equality and social justice, with a strong focus on climate justice and empowering women to lead transformative change. In Australia, ActionAid campaigns to stop fossil fuel financing, support locally-led climate solutions, and amplify the voices of Pacific and First Nations women impacted by climate change. The organisation serves as the secretariat for the Shifting the Power Coalition, promoting Pacific women’s leadership in climate and humanitarian action.

Our grant supports a movement-building initiative to advance feminist climate justice across the Pacific and Australia. The funding enables regional gatherings, training for women leaders in climate policy, and advocacy to influence Australian government policy. The project prioritises inclusion of young women, women with disabilities, LGBTQIA+ women, and First Nations women, fostering cross-regional collaboration and amplifying their voices in climate dialogues. By supporting ActionAid, we help build a coordinated women’s movement for gender and climate justice, elevate women’s leadership, and drive transformative policy change.

We are providing a multi-year grant to advance ACOSS’s Climate and Energy Program. ACOSS is the national peak body advocating for people affected by poverty, disadvantage, and inequality, and their work is crucial in ensuring that Australia’s transition to clean energy is fair, fast, and inclusive. Our funding will help ACOSS continue to centre people and communities experiencing disadvantage in policy design, promote equitable access to energy-efficient housing and clean energy, and amplify the voices of those most impacted by climate change.

This partnership builds on previous successes, including ACOSS’s national heat survey and advocacy for home energy upgrades, and will enable them to further mobilise their networks, conduct targeted research, and engage with government, media, and the public. By supporting ACOSS, we are helping to keep equity at the heart of climate policy, mitigate the risk of exclusion, and drive systemic change through campaigns such as Renew Australia for All. Together, we are working to ensure that climate action improves living standards for people experiencing disadvantage and secures stronger, fairer climate commitments for all Australians.

Groundswell's Major Giving Circle is a collective of 20+ family foundations, high net worth individuals and corporate partners who collectively grant $1 million+ to high impact organisations working in climate advocacy. It was a new initiative in 2024, and the Foundation is one of the inaugural members.

The fossil fuel industry's grip on power is delaying critical climate action. Their influence on policy and deliberate misinformation campaigns are undermining trust in renewable energy and harming communities on the frontlines.

With a narrowing window to mitigate and adapt to climate change impacts, there is a pressing need for targeted, high-impact investments in organisations and initiatives driving real change across renewable energy, community transition and resilience, fossil fuel opposition, countering energy disinformation and more. In 2025, 14 high-impact organisations were awarded grants.  

Original Power is a community focused Aboriginal organisation engaged in realising community-driven solutions, advocating for the rights and interests of First Nations communities in the energy transition. The organisation works with First Nations communities to develop projects that overcome the structural and policy barriers locking them out of the benefits of lower cost, clean energy.

We are supporting Original Power in its role as technical partner for the Ngardara Cooperative, an Indigenous community-controlled entity established to address energy poverty in Borroloola, NT. Original Power provides governance support, capacity building, and project management for the Ngardara Microgrid Project, which will deliver a large-scale solar and battery microgrid to significantly reduce the community’s reliance on diesel and lower household energy costs. The Ngardara Cooperative, governed by local Aboriginal residents with gender parity and traditional owner representation, will be the majority owner of the microgrid, ensuring that benefits are equitably distributed and community-led. This project in Borroloola will be a first-of-a-kind utility-scale grid-connected solar project that is First Nations-owned and led and will serve as a proof of concept for this kind of project to be replicated in other communities. Construction of the $19 million microgrid project is scheduled to commence in mid 2026

In 2024, the Foundation supported Original Power to work with Wilya Janta, a not-for-profit Aboriginal remote housing design consultancy to develop the first climate resilient, culturally appropriate housing in the Northern Territory. The project addresses housing inadequacies, such as poor thermal performance, lack of cultural consideration, and overcrowding, contributing to First Nations' energy insecurity.

Image credit: Andrew Quilty

Accounting for Nature^® is a transparent, affordable, verifiable, and certifiable environmental accounting framework with a vision to be the global leader for measuring changes in the health of the environment, enabling better informed management of natural landscapes and unlocking new streams of finance to support environmental conservation and restoration and provide integrity and trust to environmental markets.

We’re supporting Accounting for Nature to strengthen its core operations and expand capacity building for landholders, Indigenous groups, and environmental managers who use the Accounting for Nature^® Framework. This funding addresses a critical gap enabling Accounting for Nature to invest in essential business administration, governance, and strategic operations that underpin its ability to scale impact. The grant has also enabled the co-funding of a senior ecological technical specialist, who will assist stakeholders in developing high-quality, scalable Environmental Accounts in line with the Accounting for Nature^® Standard. This empowers communities and project developers to credibly track and verify environmental outcomes, participate in emerging nature and carbon markets, and contribute to measurable gains in restoration and conservation. Through this partnership, AEF and Accounting for Nature are advancing science-based frameworks that value nature, support ethical investment, and deliver systemic benefits for people, planet, and the economy.

In 2024, our funding supported AfN to recruit expertise in Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities to help lead meaningful First Nations engagement. Our fundingl helped ensure that the integration of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and Indigenous values into Accounting for Nature Certified Environmental Accounts aligns with best-practice principles, including Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC), co-design and inclusiveness, data sovereignty, and cultural integrity.

Country Needs People (CNP) is a leading non-profit, non-partisan organisation dedicated to growing, supporting and securing Indigenous Rangers and Indigenous Protected Areas across Australia. Indigenous-led and working alongside over 50 Indigenous partners, CNP’s core functions include frontline support, advocacy to governments to sustain cross-party support, and communications which highlight the vital work of community-based Indigenous-led land and sea management. CNP does not run ranger groups itself but strengthens those who do, supporting Traditional Owners to protect nature and culture for the benefit of all Australians.

Our multi-year grant provides unrestricted support for CNP’s core operations and sector strengthening. This enables CNP to advocate for stronger systems, build capability, and support Indigenous-led organisations to thrive. The funding supports bespoke assistance for planning and development of IPAs and Indigenous Ranger teams, advocacy with governments, and communications that showcase the benefits of Indigenous Land and Sea Management. By supporting CNP, we help build a strong policy and funding environment for Indigenous-led conservation, sustain culture and livelihoods, and unlock further investment for the sector.

Pictured: Minyumai Rangers Justin Gomes and Maitland Wilson. Photographer: Annette Ruzicka/Country Needs People. 

Jabalbina Yalanji Aboriginal Corporation manages over 200,000 hectares of land and 500,000 hectares of sea country for the Eastern Kuku Yalanji people in the Daintree region, with a strong focus on economic empowerment, cultural stewardship, and community resilience. The organisation employs approximately 90% Yalanji people and aims to diversify revenue sources by developing income-generating projects in clean energy, carbon, tourism, and agriculture. Social Ventures Australia (SVA) partners with Jabalbina to provide technical expertise and support for these ventures.

Our grant enables SVA to identify, structure, and support up to three pilot projects that unlock the value of Jabalbina’s assets and deliver on First Nations ambitions for self-determination. The funding supports capacity building, development of open-source replication manuals, and knowledge transfer to other Aboriginal Corporations and communities. By supporting Jabalbina and SVA, we help create sustainable income streams, reduce reliance on government grants, and accelerate Indigenous-led conservation and climate resilience.

Karrkad Kanjdji Trust (KKT) is an Indigenous-led organisation established by Traditional Owners of the Djelk and Warddeken Indigenous Protected Areas in 2010 to support their vision for healthy Country. KKT works with eight community-owned Aboriginal organisations across Arnhem Land, one of Australia's most culturally significant and biodiverse landscapes, supporting community-led initiatives that combine environmental stewardship, cultural preservation and sustainable economic development.

Our funding supports Arafura Swamp Rangers Aboriginal Corporation (ASRAC), a First Nations-led ranger organisation working to restore and protect the internationally significant Arafura Swamp in Arnhem Land. Feral buffalo are causing extensive damage to wetlands, waterways and culturally significant landscapes across the region. ASRAC is undertaking ecological monitoring, governance and market-development work to support a long-term, financially sustainable approach to feral buffalo management and wetland restoration. This work aims to link improved environmental outcomes with emerging nature repair and biodiversity markets and could help demonstrate a scalable Indigenous-led model for managing feral herbivores across northern Australia.

NSW Aboriginal Land Council (NSWALC) is the peak statutory representative body for Aboriginal people in NSW, representing 121 Local Aboriginal Land Councils across the state. NSWALC delivers systemic change at scale, advocating for economic self-determination and leading innovative projects in renewable energy and economic empowerment. The organisation’s governance structure ensures democratic accountability, with all Councillors and executives being Aboriginal people elected by Aboriginal constituents.

Our grant supports the development of the First Nations Certificate of Origin (FNCO) initiative, a market-based mechanism designed to accelerate investment in First Nations-owned renewable energy projects. The FNCO attaches a tradable certificate to each megawatt-hour of electricity generated, creating a price premium and making these projects more attractive to investors. The funding enables technical design, legal structuring, and stakeholder engagement, helping to unlock new income streams for Aboriginal communities and drive equitable participation in Australia’s energy transition.

WWF-Australia is a leading environmental organisation committed to conserving nature and reducing the most pressing threats to biodiversity. The organisation collaborates with Traditional Owners, ranger groups, and research institutions to develop innovative, market-based approaches to land management.

Our multi-year grant supports WWF-Australia’s work to adapt and validate a framework for Indigenous-led savannah fire management assessment aligned with the Nature Repair Market, embed cultural knowledge into the method, and prepare technical documentation for formal approval. The funding enables co-designed workshops, ranger training, and the development of tools to verify Healthy Country outcomes. This method is intended to be scalable across the Kimberley and Northern Australia savannas. By supporting WWF-Australia, we help empower Indigenous organisations to participate in emerging biodiversity markets and create pathways for long-term stewardship and economic sustainability.

The Australian Democracy Network (ADN) is a campaigning organisation dedicated to strengthening democracy in Australia. ADN brings together over 200 civil society organisations and thousands of individuals to address threats such as the erosion of protest rights, undue influence of the fossil fuel industry, and disinformation. Their work includes leading campaigns, building alliances, and advocating for policy solutions that protect democratic integrity and enable effective advocacy on climate and nature. ADN’s team delivers training, convenes national roundtables, and coordinates joint actions to defend public interest advocacy and future-proof charitable advocacy.

Our multi-year grant supports ADN’s growth plans, enabling them to expand their team and enhance campaign tactics. The funding will help ADN organise campaigns, develop research partnerships, and deliver masterclass training sessions for community advocates. By supporting ADN, we are investing in a healthy democracy that puts people and planet first, ensuring the right to protest is protected, reducing the influence of harmful industries, and strengthening public interest advocacy for climate action and nature protection.

Environmental Justice Australia (EJA) is a leading public interest legal organisation. Their lawyers act on behalf of people and community organisations to safeguard health; to protect magnificent forests, rivers and wildlife; and to tackle climate change. They partner with communities and other social justice organisations to amplify the impact they can have.  

Australian Ethical Foundation will provide core funding to allow Environmental Justice Australia to be responsive to opportunity and truly strategic in achieving its mission using the law to protect people and the planet from harm. It aims to achieve this by representing communities that are working to prevent emissions from fossil fuels, challenging the industries that damage ecosystems, and helping communities remove systemic barriers to participation and access. 

Nature Media Centre is a dedicated hub for amplifying credible, solutions-focused stories that strengthen advocacy for nature and influence government decision-making. It connects journalists with a diverse network of trusted voices, including Indigenous leaders, scientists, farmers, and community experts. The Centre aims to close the gap between the reality of Australia’s biodiversity crisis and public perception, countering misinformation and disinformation that undermine action. It provides targeted training in media skills and content creation, equipping advocates to inspire stronger public connection to nature.

Our multi-year grant supports the Centre’s national roll-out, expanding its network of trained spokespeople and embedding nature-focused voices in media across Australia. The funding enables the Centre to build foundational resources, deliver workshops, and monitor the impact of media stories and public engagement. By supporting Nature Media Centre, we help ensure that trusted voices reach Australians everywhere, improving the quality and impact of environmental reporting and mobilising support for biodiversity protection.

The Murray–Darling Basin is Australia’s largest river system and supports internationally significant wetlands, native species, agricultural production and the cultural wellbeing of Basin communities and First Nations peoples. Yet the Basin continues to face significant challenges, including over-extraction of water, declining river health, loss of wetlands and floodplains, and the growing impacts of climate change. Decisions being made now about water recovery, environmental flows and the implementation of the Basin Plan will have long-term consequences for the health of the river system. This makes it critical to support organisations that can provide independent expertise, strong community advocacy and evidence-based solutions to ensure environmental, cultural and economic outcomes are not compromised. Their work helps ensure the Basin can continue to sustain both people and nature for future generations.

The Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists is an independent group of leading Australian scientists who work to improve the health of the nation’s land, water and biodiversity through evidence-based policy reform. Our funding supports the Wentworth Group's work to advance strong, science-based outcomes for the Murray–Darling Basin at a pivotal moment in Basin reform. As governments review water management arrangements and make critical decisions about the future of the Basin Plan, the Wentworth Group provides independent analysis and practical policy advice to help ensure river health, cultural values and long-term environmental sustainability remain at the centre of decision-making.

WELA is a national NGO that connects, develops, influences, and funds women and gender-diverse changemakers, increasing the effectiveness of Australia’s response to environmental and climate crises. Women and gender-diverse people are disproportionately impacted by climate change, facing increased violence, poverty, and exclusion from policymaking. WELA’s relational and feminist approach empowers participants to lead with purpose, collaboration, and courage, creating the conditions for systemic change that benefits both people and the planet.

Our multi-year grant enables WELA to deliver leadership programs, intensives, and scholarships, expanding access for First Nations and culturally diverse participants. The funding supports the growth of WELA’s alumni network, coalition-building, and advocacy for gender and climate justice at national and international levels. By investing in diverse leadership, we help drive systemic change in environmental and climate policy, ensuring those most impacted are at the centre of decision-making and action.

The Australian Climate and Biodiversity Foundation (ACBF) delivers nature positive change to support communities, industry, businesses, and governments, through research, advocacy, and convening. Focused on advocating for the rapid protection and restoration of Australia’s native forests at scale from key threats such as logging and land clearing.   

Our funding will support ACBF in implementing its updated Forest Futures Strategy in 2025 to continue to work in forest protection, ecological restoration and industry transition to secure the long-term conservation of Australia’s native forests.  

ACBF is taking a comprehensive approach to ending native forest logging on public lands and reducing deforestation, focusing on creating profitable, sustainable business models that incentivise forest restoration, enhance biodiversity and strengthen regional economies.  

Beyond Zero Emissions (BZE) is an independent think tank specialising in bold, ambitious science and engineering-based solutions to Australia’s climate challenges. Their mission is to fast-track Australia’s shift to a zero-emissions economy through place-based research, industry engagement, and policy advocacy. Through collaborations with regional communities and local industry, they focus on high-emission sectors like manufacturing, heavy industry, and exports.

We funded BZE to develop a National Action Plan (NAP), which sets out a clear path of what projects must happen, where, and when. This plan will guide industry leaders, business groups, and policymakers to coordinate turning on renewables, phasing out fossil fuels, and decarbonising Australia’s exports.

BZE will pinpoint the strengths, opportunities, and barriers to decarbonisation in Australia’s industrial regions. These Critical Success Criteria will be used to support business groups, industry, and key decision makers to develop place-based action plans with clear reporting criteria around emissions reduction outcomes. The work is supported by BZE’s “show, not just tell” strategy through Showcase Tours, designed to promote successful decarbonisation and cleantech efforts in regional hubs.

Blue Carbon Lab conducts innovative research into Australia's coastal vegetated systems.

These ecosystems act as natural sinks of carbon, effectively reducing atmospheric CO2 concentrations that contribute to climate change. They can trap carbon 30-50 times faster than typical "green" forests (eg. boreal forest, rainforest), where it is locked away for centuries to millennia. Blue Carbon ecosystems also support additional ecosystem services including enhanced biodiversity (eg. sustain migratory birds), support fisheries, provide ecotourism revenues and protect our coast against erosion and extreme weather events.

This collaborative project will generate new knowledge in preparation for, and in response to, climate change. It will enable us to better understand and predict the degree to which the natural process of biosequestration from coastal vegetated systems will help offset anthropogenic emissions.
Specifically, the fully funded PhD project will:

• Determine rates of blue carbon accumulation from restored blue carbon ecosystems (currently data is only available from mature ecosystems),
• Perform a cost benefit analyses from previously restored coastal wetlands (including valuation of blue carbon offsets, biodiversity gains, coastal protection and other social benefits),
• Trial low-cost sensors and techniques for evaluating blue carbon gains from restoration of coastal wetlands.

 Image credit: Blue Carbon Labs

The vision of Boundless Earth is an Australia we can all be proud of - a prosperous, renewable energy superpower and a global force towards a decarbonised world. Its purpose is to accelerate climate solutions at the scale and speed required for Australia to do its fair share to avert the climate crisis.  

Boundless focuses on a topic at a time, building a strategy to make progress and scouting for partners and projects that make it happen. Australian Ethical Foundation is partnering with Boundless in this work.  

Climateworks Centre bridges the gap between research and climate action, operating as an independent not-for-profit within Monash University. Climateworks develops specialist knowledge to accelerate emissions reduction, in line with the global 1.5°C temperature goal, across Australia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

Climateworks will undertake independent analysis on Australia's 2030 Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) and be ready to apply this analysis and influence the forthcoming 2035 NDC, due in November at the United Nations Climate Conference.

NDCs are emission reduction target goals and climate action plans submitted by countries under the Paris Agreement, outlining their commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate impacts to help limit global warming.

The Fistula Foundation is the global leader in fistula treatment, providing more surgeries to more women than any other organisation. Obstetric fistula occurs when a mother has a prolonged, obstructed labour but lacks access to emergency medical care, such as a C-section. If untreated, a woman will uncontrollably leak urine, stool, or both, for the rest of her life, making this one of humanity’s most disabling injuries.

Australian Ethical Foundation project funding will be directed to Fistula Foundation’s obstetric fistula surgeries in Pakistan. More than 60% of Pakistan’s population live in rural areas with limited access to maternal healthcare, putting women at risk of developing obstetric fistula. Fistula Foundation’s treatment partner, Pakistan National Forum on Women’s Health (PNFWH), estimates there are between 3,000 to 5,000 new cases every year. As the only hospital network in Pakistan offering free fistula treatment, PNFWH’s services are vital to ensuring women have access to care. In addition, because PNFWH is based in the capital city of Karachi and operates a network of regional fistula centres, it is uniquely positioned to reach women across the country. 

Impact:

Over the life of the project, over 400 women will be treated for obstetric fistula¹.

1. Australian Ethical Foundation reporting

Fletcher Street Cottage (FSC) is a vital initiative launched by the Byron Community Centre (BCC) in 2022 to address the escalating homelessness crisis in Byron Shire, which has become one of the most affected areas in New South Wales. The cottage was established in response to a severe shortage of housing and essential services, exacerbated by catastrophic floods that displaced thousands and increased the demand for support. Despite representing just 0.42% of New South Wales’ population, the Byron Shire represents 17% of the state’s rough-sleeping population.  
Over 80% of FSC's beneficiaries have been directly impacted by the catastrophic floods in 2022, which displaced many individuals and exacerbated the local housing crisis. 

Due to funding constraints (FSC receives no government funding) the cottage only operates 4 days per week and our funding will allow it to meet the unmet demand it faces currently.  

We funded the work of Food Frontier – Australia and New Zealand’s think tank on alternative proteins – to help diversify protein supply with nutritious and sustainable alternatives. 

With the world’s population tipped to reach 10 billion by 2050, demand for protein will continue to rise. Global economic, environmental and public health authorities have stressed that a more diverse range of protein sources will be essential to feeding growing populations safely and sustainably into the future. 

To grow and galvanise the market for alternative proteins across our region, Food Frontier helps businesses, policymakers and innovators to understand the emergence of plant-based meat, precision fermentation and cultivated meat, and unlock the economic, environmental, and public health benefits they offer.  

With our core funding, Food Frontier will work to gain government support for protein innovations, increased media coverage and policy focus on alternative proteins in climate change solutions, and more large food providers exploring alternative protein options.  

Giving Green & the Australian Ethical Foundation focused on making it easier for you to give back to the planet.

We funded Australia’s first extensive research into the most impactful climate change charities, so you can donate with complete confidence.

Greenfleet is a leading Australian not-for-profit environmental organisation protecting our climate by restoring our forests. They plant biodiverse native forests to capture carbon emissions on behalf of individuals and businesses and help fight the impacts of climate change.

The Foundation funding is being used to help revegetate a 340-hectare property that forms part of the Wychitella Bio-link in Central Victoria. Greenfleet is working with the Traditional Custodians of the land, the Dja Dja Wurrung people, to revegetate the property with native trees and grasses, creating a vital vegetation link. This project is restoring resilient ecosystems and creating habitat for local wildlife species, including Lace Monitors, Quolls, Shy Heathwrens, Inland Thornbills, and the vulnerable Mallee Fowl.

Influence:

The project will restore 340 hectares of native ecosystem, create landscape connectivity and address critical biodiversity loss, capture carbon emissions to protect our climate, reduce soil erosion, improve water quality and restore critical habitat for wildlife. The forest the Foundation is creating will be legally protected for 100 years.

As one of the world’s leading human rights organisations, Human Rights Watch is in a unique position to expose the human cost of climate change and advance urgently needed policies and protections. Researchers at Human Rights Watch cover more than 100 countries, and many of them are documenting the impacts of climate change around the world. Human Rights Watch (HRW) is undertaking a three-year research and advocacy project aimed at showing how advancing the rights and elevating the voices of women, including women within Indigenous and forest-dependent communities, can strengthen and make more impactful efforts to mitigate climate change.

Research shows that protecting forest-dependent communities, including Indigenous peoples’ tenure rights, and ensuring women’s participation, agency and economic empowerment in local forest governance delivers major benefits for climate action. Human Rights Watch has already identified some of the most valuable carbon sinks, including in places like the Greater Mekong region, Indonesia, the Amazon, and the Congo basin. In these regions, their work conducting a critical mapping of safeguards related to land, environmental management and women’s rights to use and manage land and natural resources, can significantly contribute to systemic changes in ownership structures, long term conservation, food security, and promote gender justice objectives within the context of climate change mitigation efforts.

This project aims to make significant inroads toward eliminating discriminatory laws and practices concerning women’s land and property rights and help women around the world to understand, claim and realise their equal rights to land and property.

Climate Action Pays Off is a targeted public education and policy advocacy campaign by Investor Group on Climate Change to secure a strong 2035 climate target and investable sectoral plans that align with limiting warming to 1.5°C.   

The Government is expected to set Australia’s 2035 emissions reduction target in 2025 and create six economy-wide sectoral decarbonisation plans to achieve it. The majority of Australians support climate action, however the support for the transition to renewables has softened due to misinformation and anxiety over cost of living. Without intervention by IGCC, the Government may set a low 2035 target and weak sector plans that increases risks to beneficiaries of a disorderly net zero transition and greater physical damages from worsening climate hazards.  

IGCC’s campaign completed in late 2024 delivered digital ad content into strategic locations in order to bolster public support for the renewables transition and secure the social licence necessary for the government to set an ambitious 2035 target.   

The Australian Ethical Foundation has been supporting Living Goods to reliably deliver lifesaving, affordable, critical medicines to the doorsteps of millions in Uganda. Living Goods recruits, trains, equips, and manages networks of Community Health Workers (CHW’s) who provide their communities with health education, accurate diagnoses, essential medicines, and health products that save and improve lives. Living Goods programs address the significant shortage of frontline health workers and the inadequate distribution of health products and knowledge.

Living Goods works with governments and partners to ensure community health workers have access to digital technology, medical treatments, supervision and compensation to cost-effectively deliver high quality, impactful health services.

Impact:

In 2021, CHW’s funded by the Australian Ethical Foundation:

• Supported 11,500 people in their communities

• Provided 4,645 treatments and positive diagnoses to children under five-years-old

• Administered over 6,000 assessments to children under five-years-old

• Registered 395 pregnancies

• Continued delivering vital health services and scaled family planning services

Furthermore, the preliminary results from a new external Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) of Living Goods supported CHWs in Uganda show a strong 30% reduction in U5 child mortality and a 27% reduction in infant mortality. This highlights that well-equipped and supported CHWs can save lives at scale, but also showcases how and why data and research are such critical enablers for iterating and improving community health programs.

1. Australian Ethical Foundation annual acquittal reporting

We’re supporting Love Mercy Foundation to scale-up their longstanding agricultural project Cents for Seeds to an additional 2,000 vulnerable women in Northern Uganda, providing them with farming assistance through access to seeds, fertilisers and agricultural education. This will build the resources and capacity of women to generate sustainable incomes and food security for their families and communities both during and beyond the COVID-19 global recovery.

The funding will also facilitate the smooth transition out of the program and into self-reliance for 3,000 existing program participants from Otuke East and West, Lira, and Alebtong Districts. These women have been participants in the Cents for Seeds program and will commence graduation in 2022 as a result of the program’s creation of sustainable livelihoods in several village areas.

The Medical Advances Without Animals Trust’s aim was to advance medical science without using animals or animal products for biomedical research.

The MAWA Trust worked in partnership with The Australian National University and provides support and funding to universities and medical research institutions throughout Australia. As the only organisation in Australia providing funding to researchers and students in the rapidly developing field of animal replacement in scientific research, MAWA has successfully stimulated broad interest in animal-free alternative approaches within the medical research community.

We funded organ-on-chip research work with MAWA at The University of Sydney, specifically the development of lung disease-on-chip. These models will be vital for testing the efficacy of new generation therapeutics to regenerate lungs damaged by disease, including COVID-19. To validate the models, the researchers will investigate the effects of stem cells and stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles on lung structure and functionality. It is expected that this lung disease model will provide accurate representations of physiological responses and allow for testing of lung regeneration thereby replacing the traditional use of animals in this research.

With the support of Australian Ethical, the Girls Emerge Program has successfully graduated 200 young women in Wakiso & Kyankwanzi Districts, Uganda. The program trains young women in male dominated vocations, including bee-keeping and honey production, briquette and cookstove production, mobile phone repair, and baking. In addition to this training, the young women are provided business mentoring to assist them to build their business skills, marketing and growth plans.

The young women are further supported to establish co-operatives where they work together, are provided capital to invest in their businesses, and share their income in revolving loans, known as Village Savings and Loans (VSLA). The program targets young women who have not been able to complete secondary schooling, providing an alternative education pathway towards their financial independence.

Pollinate Group empowers women from neglected communities in India and Nepal as entrepreneurs and leaders for change. They recruit, train and support a network of women entrepreneurs to deliver clean, sustainable energy solutions to the communities they live in.

We support Pollinate Group’s work in Nepal as they upskill and support local women to sell products and services that improve quality of life in their communities and ultimately help to lead their communities out of poverty by sourcing high-performing, durable products that reduce carbon emissions and improve quality of life.

In eight years they have empowered over 650 women and reached more than 650,000 individuals with impactful products like solar lanterns, clean and efficient cooking appliances and sanitary products.

Through PSI's Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) work over the last several decades in Kenya, it has learned that the journey women face from puberty to menopause remains confusing, unclear, "trial and error" based and often riddled with shame and guilt. In 2020, driven by insights gathered from target demographics, PSI (with funding from the Australian Ethical Foundation) developed and tested SRH content in six countries to gauge the viability of addressing these issues through social enterprise and technology.

PSI knows that sexual pleasure is a driver of sexual behavior. Sex-negative programming often produces effects opposite from those intended, and health programs that incorporate sexual pleasure consistently have positive results. However, evidence is generally limited to high-income settings, and less is known about the relationship between pleasure and sexual activity and potential entry points for pleasure-inclusive programming in different environments.

To address these challenges, PSI, with support from the Australian Ethical Foundatoin, developed Nena, a seamless digital solution to reframe the narrative to make SRHR more meaningful and relevant. Over the last year, PSI refined, optimised and tested this on-demand chatbot as a pleasure forward guide for young people exploring sexual and reproductive health. Through Nena, PSI also improves sexual literacy, self-efficacy and agency.

Nena launched at the end of 2021 and is already proving effective, with online comparison testing showing that content with a pleasure component is 126% more effective at engaging users versus campaigns that only focus on contraception.

Impact

Since launch, Nena has:

• Reached 4,065,896 users through social and behaviour change communications

• Provided 10,000+ users, specifically more than 5,900 women, with access to digital tools

• Achieved an 86% (4.3/5) satisfaction rating for digital health solutions

Wildlife Asia’s mission is to protect Asia’s tropical forests and key landscapes which host the highest levels of biodiversity and iconic megafauna habitat.

The Leuser Ecosystem is recognised as the most critical remaining habitat for survival of the Sumatran rhino, and the largest population can be found in western Leuser. Sadly, outside of western Leuser, sub-populations have become isolated and numbers are dangerously low. By deploying intensive monitoring solutions and teams, as well as developing strong relationships with local communities by providing local employment and education, Wildlife Aisa are able to ensure the protection of some of the world's most valuable biodiversity and carbon stores.