News
Out and About
The VFFF team loves getting out and about to see our partners in action and attend sector events. This quarter, we spent time visiting our partners and attending events focused on supporting young people and regional communities.
Australia’s megaphone celebrates diversity in the arts
British screenwriter, producer and director Richard Curtis, has called the world-famous Sydney Opera House (SOH) “Australia’s megaphone,” in recognition of the level of attention the SOH receives around the world.
What happens at the SOH matters. Which is why centring the organisation’s strategy around the simple idea that the SOH was built to serve the community is so powerful. The commitment to the idea of the SOH being “Everyone’s House”, was on full display at a recent event to celebrate Global Goals Week.
VFFF CEO, Jenny Wheatley, was joined by VFFF Deputy Chair, Ruth Armytage, at this special event where the SOH’s highly successful Workplace Readiness Program was showcased to the arts sector more broadly.
This program is delivered in collaboration with VFFF grant partner Jigsaw Australia and sees ten young people with intellectual disability employed at the SOH.
A grant from VFFF is enabling the SOH to expand the program to include a broader range of career pathways for young people facing barriers to work, addressing the need to foster a more diverse and inclusive creative arts sector.
This video captures the incredible impact of the program and the SOH hopes that the sharing of these stories will inspire other arts organisations around the country to invest in diversity programs and create similar opportunities for young people.
Philanthropy Australia Leadership Summit
In August, VFFF joined over 450 leaders in Canberra for the 2025 Philanthropy Australia Leadership Summit to explore the kind of leadership that is needed for our times. The Summit offered a powerful reminder of the role philanthropy can play in times of complexity and uncertainty. From Julia Gillard’s rallying call to “fund the glue” to Professor Thomas Homer-Dixon’s insights on the polycrisis, the Summit agenda challenged us to think boldly, act courageously, and lead with clarity and compassion.
The Summit explored what this can look like in practice: from backing community-led leadership to embracing emotional intelligence and investing in long-term systems change. Sessions on advocacy, First Nations, youth, and gender leadership, and the role of AI in philanthropy, sparked rich conversations about how we can evolve our strategies to meet the moment. VFFF CEO, Jenny Wheatley was honoured to share the important role the Social Impact Leadership Australia (SILA) program plays in building the capacity of our sector leaders.
A recurring theme of the Summit was the importance of trust built through transparency, decisive action, and authentic relationships. As one speaker noted, “Leadership is not about having the answers. It’s about asking the right questions.”
VFFF was pleased to be part of this vibrant and thought-provoking event, and we’re excited to bring the ideas and inspiration from the Summit into our work – particularly in how we support young people and amplify their voices. We look forward to continuing these important conversations with our peers and partners across the sector.
In Conversation with Zara Seidler and Sam Koslowski
On 14 August, VFFF CEO, Jenny Wheatley, and Program Managers, El Schwanke and Tessa Grey, were delighted to attend an ‘In Conversation With’ event at the Ethics Centre in Sydney. With VFFF’s grantmaking strategy, Backing Young People, the team often come across amazing young people who are driving change on issues that matter most to them. In our experience, young people are not indifferent to what’s happening in the world – they just engage with issues in their own way.
That’s why the team were eager to hear from VFFF Director, Sam Koslowski, and Zara Seidler, co-founders of The Daily Aus (TDA), at a recent ‘In Conversation With’ at the Ethics Centre in Sydney. Sam and Zara spoke about how they have built a youth media platform that is recognised as one of the most influential in Australia, by delivering news in a way that is relevant to young people.
There were so many insights to take away from the incredibly rich discussion, including the need to rebuild trust, particularly of young people, in news, journalism, and politics. TDA sees their role in this as one of accurate and transparent reporting and building an ecosystem for young audiences to effectively engage with the issues that affect them, and the world more broadly. Sam and Zara discussed how this might be done and how it can support a healthier democracy in Australia that includes the active participation of young people.
As well as the examination of many challenging issues throughout the conversation, there was a lot of optimism in the room for the future of Australia’s young people. Both Zara and Sam emphasised that they feel very strongly that the trust can definitely be rebuilt, and that providing the foundations for respectful dialogue around issues, through accurate reporting, is key.
A celebration of community, connection
Held in Grafton this August, the Social Impact in the Regions (SIITR) conference was a highlight for the VFFF team. With nearly 200 attendees, the event didn’t just talk about impact—it lived it. Inspired by Nirvana’s Come As You Are, the theme invited everyone to show up as their full selves, creating an inclusive, joyful space deeply grounded in place.
The conference celebrated place-based practice, immersing participants in Grafton’s local culture. From marching down South Grafton’s main street with balloons and brass bands to dining in local cafés and dancing at the gala dinner, the event injected an estimated $380,000 into the local economy.
A clear message resonated: regional communities know what’s best for them, and empowering them to lead change is vital. We were especially thrilled to see young people as active contributors—their voices heard, valued, and celebrated. Conversations explored how communities can enable young people to shape the issues that matter most to them.
Highlights included the National Pitchfest, won by previous Backing the Future recipient, Jameson Harvey. Jameson’s prize includes support from StartSomeGood to grow Red Dirt Robotics, an initiative bridging the STEM education gap in regional and remote schools.
We were also delighted to reconnect with our partner, the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal (FRRR), who supported a group of inspiring young changemakers to attend—among them, several Backing the Future recipients. On the final day, these young leaders took centre stage, sharing powerful reflections on building community readiness through clarity, connection, capability, collaboration, and advocacy.
For VFFF, SIITR was a powerful reminder of why we do what we do. The energy, creativity, and leadership shown by community leaders and young people reaffirmed our commitment to supporting rural and regional communities to thrive.
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