Founded by Dr Andrew Forrest AO and Nicola Forrest AO in 2001, Minderoo Foundation is an Australian philanthropy working to forge a fair future. Minderoo’s vision is for every person to have the opportunity to thrive in a healthy environment – now and for generations to come.

In 2013, Andrew and Nicola were the first Australians to sign The Giving Pledge, committing to give away most of their wealth in their lifetimes. Minderoo is backed by Tattarang, the Forrest family’s private investment group.

Minderoo focuses on three areas of impact: uplifting communities, supporting gender equality and safeguarding natural ecosystems. Alongside these Focus Areas, Minderoo responds to existential threats and urgent challenges in an agile and targeted way through a series of impact missions.

While the wellbeing and prosperity of children feeds into all of Minderoo’s work, the Foundation specifically pursues change designed to see “all children in Australia reach their full potential in thriving communities” through its Communities Focus Area. 

Sitting within the Communities Focus Area is Vibrant and Connected Communities; a Body of Work that builds cultural and social capital through partnerships that foster community belonging, pride, shared identity and trust. Through this work, Minderoo is privileged to support ideas and initiatives such as Practice In Community with Regional Arts Australia. 

Minderoo is a proud champion of the community arts and cultural development sector. By supporting place-based and regional arts engagement, Minderoo seeks to strengthen hope, identity and belonging for children and families, enriching their lives through meaningful cultural experiences.

As a values-based organisation, Minderoo also recognises that some barriers to change are greater than others. Minderoo has a long history of working with First Nations people and believes it must actively listen to and prioritise First Nations voices in decisions that impact their lives. Minderoo is committed to integrating a First Nations perspective into all its decision-making processes, operational practices and engagement strategies.  Minderoo applies this, and a climate change and gender equality lens, to all its work, engagements and partnerships.