The Field Catalyst Fund

Established in early 2025, the Field Catalyst Fund (FCF) invites diverse actors from within our wider field – private and public funders, local leaders and change-makers – to pool funding, share learning, and coordinate collective action.

The Fund is grounded in the belief that community philanthropy is a powerful model for locally led development—one that strengthens community capacity and voice, builds trust, and mobilises local resources. By fostering local ownership, governance and accountability, community philanthropy has been shown to deliver deeper, more enduring outcomes.

We believe that the cause and effect of community philanthropy can be explained as a ‘murmuration’. Each bird in a murmuration is a participant and leader within a complex and ever-evolving system. Each has the power to shape the direction and form of the whole system, each has the power to create entirely new constellations.

Community philanthropy posits that if we are paying attention and are attuned to the relationships within our micro networks, much like a bird within a murmuration, we have the ability to make a difference and influence greater change in our macro systems.

Together, we can create an Australia where all local communities can participate in and benefit from community philanthropy, and all funders will have a community philanthropy partner to walk alongside them no matter where they fund.

How the Field Catalyst Fund works

The Field Catalyst Fund exists to put in place the building blocks for an accessible, thriving community philanthropy ecosystem in Australia. It is shaped by a set of shared values and principles that keep us focused and accountable:

• Alignment with and across our strategic priorities, acknowledging much of our field catalyst work is interwoven
• Informed by deep knowledge, engagement and relationships in the field that give us a unique view of the ecosystem, reflect community philanthropy practices and support trust-based approaches.
• Amplification of reciprocity and collective benefit by resourcing initiatives that give back to the field.
• Enabling the free flow of resources to the field, not hoarding or withholding, instead being bold and taking on an abundance mentality.
• Transparency of decision-making processes and communications

Getting resources into the field

The Field Catalyst Fund will make resource transfers to the field. A ‘resource transfer’ is any transfer of resources from the FCF to the field for the purposes of creating an accessible, thriving community philanthropy ecosystem in Australia.

Resource Transfers may take two forms:

• Resource Transfers from the FCF to field actors for their own use in line with the FCF purpose and strategy
• Resource Transfers from the FCF for the procurement of goods or services to be delivered in line with the FCF purpose and strategy

Each type of support falls into one of the three below categories:

• Proactive: Strategic investments that help build the field over time
• Adaptive: Quick responses to urgent or emerging needs
• Responsive: Open calls for proposals, reviewed by a field-led stewardship committee

Contributions from the following organisations have helped pave the way for the Field Catalyst Fund: Paul Ramsay Foundation, Helen Macpherson Smith Trust, Jack Brockhoff Foundation, Ian Potter Foundation, GlobalGiving, Australian Communities Foundation , Mott Foundation, Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation, Minderoo Foundation, Menzies Foundation, Global Fund for Community Foundations, and  Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal.

We also acknowledge the valuable contribution of Georgia Mathews (Georgia Mathews Consulting) whose insight and expertise as an extended member of our team have helped shape this work.

With collective contributions totalling over $3 million, this represents an unprecedented investment in Australian community philanthropy, and is one of the most significant opportunities in our history to accelerate and strengthen the field at scale.

United by a shared commitment to long-term, systemic impact together we are laying the groundwork for the next generation of community philanthropy in Australia.

Field-led Stewardship Committee

We’re excited to announce that we will soon be calling for Expressions of Interest to join the Field Catalyst Fund Stewardship Committee — a key mechanism for supporting transparent, inclusive, and values-aligned governance of the Fund.

This Committee will play a vital role in overseeing the Responsive Transfer process, ensuring that decisions are effective, accountable, and informed by the needs and perspectives of the community philanthropy field. Guided by the Fund’s values — participation, equity, and shared leadership — the Committee will help ensure resources are stewarded strategically and with integrity.

We’re seeking broad representation from across the national field, and welcome individuals with relevant expertise, including lived experience in community-led work, systems change knowledge, philanthropic practice, and community development.

Please stay tuned for Responsive Transfer Guidelines and Committee EOI details.