The recipients of the fifth annual Australian Philanthropy Awards have been recognised for supporting initiatives that make real change in the community, both locally and internationally.

Awards were presented across seven categories: Leading Philanthropist, Best Large Grant, Best Small Grant, Environmental Philanthropy Award, Gender Wise Philanthropy Award, Indigenous Philanthropy Award and the International Philanthropy Award.

Art dealer and philanthropist Philip Bacon AM was awarded Leading Philanthropist this year for his work in the Arts community. ‘For me, the Arts are at the centre of my world. I believe utterly in their importance and know how bereft we would all be if art stopped being made, music wasn’t heard, plays weren’t performed, little girls stopped being taken to the ballet by their grandmothers, and the Sydney Opera House became a museum, because Opera could no longer be afforded,’ he said.

The award for Best Large Grant was given to Dusseldorp Forum, Vincent Fairfax Family Foundation (VFFF) and Maranguka Backbone Community Organisation, Bourke (Auspiced by Aboriginal Legal Service NSW/ACT) for Maranguka’s Justice Reinvestment Strategy – Australia’s first justice reinvestment initiative.

The Environmental Philanthropy Award recogisned the achievements of the Melliodora Fund for The Change Agency Community Organising Fellowship which is a training programme for environmental community leaders.

Atlassian Foundation International landed the Gender Wise Philanthropy Award for the Room to Read Australia initiative which is transforming access to education for young women in Cambodia. Elsewhere, the Klein Family Foundation and Karrkad Kanjdji Trust was the recipient of the Indigenous Philanthropy Award for their project supporting an Indigenous women’s ranger program in Arnhem Land.

Australian Philanthropy Awards Chair, Jenny Wheatley, said she hoped each recipient inspired others to achieve similar results. ‘It has been exciting to see how the awards have grown over the last five years to attract a record number of nominations for this year’s event. These nominations reflect philanthropy’s increasing impact and visibility,’ Mrs Wheatley said.

For more on the winners of the 2019 Australian Philanthropy awards see: http://www.philanthropy.org.au