Community is critically important to the social fabric at this time. Local people coming together to back local solutions brings hope and creates change.

From modest beginnings, Southside Community Foundation now has real momentum.

Together with partners, Southside is investing in our community: the latest community grant round is open, the Room at a Time community housing initiative is underway, and we are bringing community together to Celebrate Southside and the great work happening in our patch. As founding supporter, Rob McGauran AM, said recently:

"Southside is helping to build essential, connective tissue that enables communities to grow trees with strong and enduring roots under which we and future generations can all enjoy shade."

But for Southside to nurture this tree and for your community foundation to be sustainable, we need your support.

In this newsletter we highlight how you can contribute; provide more details about grant and housing opportunities and put a spotlight on the work of amazing Indigenous Elder, Judy Jackson.

And, in case you missed it, we are also proud to share that our Chair, John Spierings, has been awarded an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO)!

This honour reflects a career defined by genuine commitment to people and place and what John calls causing ‘good trouble’.

Celebrating Southside at EoFY

Earlier in the month we brought community together for our Celebrating Southside event at the beautiful Australian Tapestry Workshop (ATW). We would like to thank Co-CEOs Catherine Jones and Sophie Travers for hosting a fantastic evening and to Eve Crossett for her amazing organisational help. We encourage anyone who missed the tour to visit the ATW — it is a local gem of great beauty.

A big thank you to Anna and Sophie who helped us with serving food and drinks. 

On the night, we showcased some of the great work taking place in our community.

🛒 Park Towers Community Pantry: Southside was able to connect PTCP and a donor to deliver much need food supplies over the holiday season. Copies of the PTCP cookbook were a hit on the night!

💛 Heartscapes received support from Southside Giving Circle 01 towards the Melbourne Pollinator Corridor Volunteer Program.

🏠 Our A Room at a Time connected donors with Southside community housing providers for much needed refurbishment funds.

This is why Southside Foundation exists: it is how our community backs itself, bringing people, resources and ideas together to shape our future and create lasting change.

As Emma Cutting of Heartscapes said on the night:

"Southside is doing the work that is needed right now - this is community supporting community - and I have the deepest respect and love for this kind of work."

We are enormously grateful for the $30,000 pa for three years raised on the night, in addition to existing pledges. It is just so terrific to see that level of commitment. But we need your support to get across the line and ensure Southside is sustainable for the next three years.

A further minimum $50,000 in multi-year commitments is needed to enable us to plan ahead with confidence.

Please take the time to support our work before EoFY. You can donate today or reach out to organise a coffee catch up for next financial year planning.

Grants for Collaboration — now open! 

Grants for Collaboration is the second stage of our two-year pilot grants program and a direct result of what the community told us matters most in our 2025 Grants for Conversations (G4C).

We're offering grants of $5,000–$10,000 to support initiatives:

• Strengthening collaborations within and across sectors
• Fostering creative ideas, support advocacy, story-telling and organisational sustainability
• Growing community connection, shared local identity and greater social inclusion.

Grants for Collaboration is designed to back in local leaders and the great work already being done in the community. The three focus areas above reflect priorities expressed by community organisations through the initial G4C process. And, as the name implies, we're especially keen to support organisations that team up to tackle shared goals together. 

Applications close Friday 10 July at 5pm. 

A Room at a Time

The ‘A Room at a Time’ initiative, so generously supported by Helen Imber and Silver Gold Fund is progressing nicely.

Helen and Southside Community Foundation are working alongside Charlie Beckley, CEO of South Port Community Housing, and Andrew D'Arcy, CEO of St Kilda Community Housing, to refurbish vacant community housing rooms one room at a time. 

Earlier in the month, Helen and Southside Foundation Community board members joined Andrew and Charlie to identify properties ready for refurbishment. The initiative will result in significant upgrades at several local rooming houses.

Southside Community Foundation played a key role in bringing Helen together with Andrew and Charlie as well as stewarding the initiative.

As Helen said: “Housing and homelessness is something that has been front of mind for me for many years. I live in the City of Port Phillip and daily see people sleeping rough and in varying stages of deep distress. What to do? The issue is just so enormous it is impossible to get my head round. However, a conversation with John at Southside Community Foundation clarified the possibilities and we decided that the idea of addressing these issues ‘One Room at A Time’ was a very constructive way to go.”

We are excited to bring you updates on this initiative as it progresses.

Sorry Day lunch and recognising Judith 'Aunty Jacko' Jackson

Southside Community Foundation was proud to support the annual 26 May Sorry Day lunch organised by Port Phillip Citizens for Reconciliation, at St Kilda Town Hall, This lunch brings our community together to mark the anniversary of the Bringing Them Home report and acknowledge the ongoing impacts of the Stolen Generations.

We now look ahead to NAIDOC week 5-12 July 2026 with Fifty Years of Deadly marking a significant milestone. This year’s theme is a tribute to the Elders, the organisers, the artists, and the communities who keep showing up in support of First Nations history, culture and achievements. NAIDOC Week is an opportunity for all Australians to learn about First Nations cultures and histories and participate in celebrations of the oldest, continuous living cultures on earth.  

We would particularly like to pay tribute to Gunggari Elder Aunty Judy ‘Jacko’ Jackson who tirelessly shows up for the community of Southside. Some of Aunty Jacko's many roles include working alongside the Port Phillip Citizens for Reconciliation group and working with children living in public housing in South Yarra and Prahran areas. Aunty Jacko is also a great supporter of Southside Community Foundation and we thank her for her Acknowledgement of Country at our Celebrating Southside event.

Aunty Jacko was recently profiled in the Stonnington News. You can read the full article here.

Have Your Say - Enchancing South Melbourne Town Hall Public Space 

Many of you will know that South Melbourne Police station will soon be relocating from their beautiful Spanish Mission-style building opposite the Town Hall creating the opportunity to transform the space in front of the Town Hall into an open community plaza. With front access to the old police building no longer required, Banks St could be closed to through traffic delivering a truly spectacular setting for the newly refurbished Town Hall due to reopen in 2028.

This is an opportunity for us to make a significant positive impact on our community now and for future generations.

You can do this by responding to City of Port Phillip’s call for comment in support of this proposal to close Bank Street in front of the Town Hall (Option A). Feedback closes Sunday 5 July.