We believe it is our role to back new ideas, support changes in policy, and invest in community-led solutions that help people take control of their own lives and shape their futures.
Together with our donors, we have provided funding to these three organisations where their approach centres on agency - the ability of the people they serve to act and make choices. In doing so, they are working towards achieving social justice for some of the most underserved members of our community.
The Beautiful Bunch
The Beautiful Bunch is social enterprise that offers paid training, employment and support to young women in Victoria from refugee backgrounds who face challenges finding work. The program is delivered in a safe, culturally informed, female-led floristry business.
It focuses on practical skills such as training, peer and industry mentoring and learning to understand workplace expectations, while also helping participants build interpersonal skills, confidence, belongingness and a sense of purpose. This combination empowers young refugees to take control of their futures.
Home Time – Melbourne City Mission
Young people experiencing homelessness face major obstacles, especially a lack of safe, suitable housing. Home Time tackles this by pushing for long-term changes to the housing system through policy reform and targeted investment.
Utilising the 2023 National Youth Housing Framework, Melbourne City Mission is leading Home Time to bring together community groups, unions, universities, and industry leaders to advocate for lasting solutions.
Home Time focuses on developing and maintaining youth tenancies, connecting young people with support services, and making it easier for housing providers to rent to young people who have been homeless by addressing the ‘Youth Penalty’ and rental gaps. These efforts help young people find stability and move toward independence.
Willum Warrain’s Bush Nursery
Willum Warrain’s Bush Nursery is the only fully Aboriginal-owned nursery, located on the Mornington Peninsula, south of Melbourne. The social enterprise nursery plays a role in nurturing Country, culture, and community.
The project the Foundation supports contributes to long-term community and ecological climate change resilience through enabling Willum Warrain to grow and sell over 170 native plant species local to the region, while also sharing their plant knowledge with the wider community.
It is a space for connecting to Country, healing, learning, and for sharing traditional knowledge with the broader public. In this context, agency is very much about self-determination, where the local First Peoples community have a safe place to gather, re-capture traditional knowledge, heal, and share culture.
Why Agency Matters?
Having agency means having the power to shape your future. By removing barriers, offering tailored support, and creating opportunities to build skills and connections, people who have been left behind get a real opportunity to make significant steps in moving forward in their lives.
Supporting Agency
We’re encouraging our donor community to think about how the organisations you support empower the people they seek to serve.
Join our efforts to empower people and organisations to proactively shape their lives and communities by donating to Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation.