What we fund

West Australian Symphony Orchestra Crescendo students practicing - Photo by Rebecca Mansell courtesy of WASO

The Balnaves Foundation supports Australian not-for-profit organisations that work in the arts, health and education, with a focus on initiatives that benefit young people, First Nations and those facing disadvantage.

INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS

Where positive outcomes reach beyond the immediate activity

OUTSTANDING INDIVIDUALS

Passionate, driven, ambitious and the capacity to deliver

STRONG COMMITMENT

From an organisation and its leaders, to the project or program

DEEP ENGAGEMENT

The opportunity to add value beyond the financial

Current Grants

Adelaide Film Festival (AFF) cements Adelaide’s place on the international stage as a hub of vibrancy, creativity, and innovation. Over twelve days each October, this world-renowned festival provides a wide range of opportunities for festival goers to be inspired, entertained, and educated, through a unique program of the best of global and national cinema, forums, collaborations, and special events.

Adelaide Film Festival

The Art Gallery of New South Wales is one of Australia’s flagship art museums and the state’s leading visual arts institutions. Through their exhibitions and programs, the Art Gallery of New South Wales spotlights fine International and Australian art to a wide audience.

Art Gallery of NSW

The Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA) is a leading cultural institution that attracts more than 700,000 visitors each year. Founded in 1881, AGSA is home to one of Australia’s great art collections, with more than 47,000 works across diverse media in Australian, international and Asian art.

Art Gallery of South Australia

Australian Associated Press

Australian Associated Press

For over 190 years the Australian Museum has been at the forefront of Australian scientific research, collection, and education. Australia’s first public museum was established in Sydney in 1827 and today the Museum has over 21 million cultural and scientific objects in its collection as it continues its roles in research and education.

Australian Museum

Bangarra is an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisation and one of Australia’s leading performing arts companies; widely acclaimed nationally and around the world for its powerful dancing, distinctive theatrical voice and utterly unique soundscapes, music and design.

Bangarra Dance Theatre

batyr is a preventative mental health charity, created and driven by young people, for young people. Through sharing lived experience stories and peer-to-peer education, batyr are keeping young people from reaching the point of crisis and changing lives.

batyr

Belvoir St Theatre is one of Australia’s most innovative and acclaimed theatre companies. It engages Australia’s prominent and promising playwrights, directors, actors and designers to realise an annual season of work that is dynamic, challenging and visionary. As well as performing at home, Belvoir regularly takes to the road, touring both nationally and internationally.

Belvoir St Theatre

Ensemble Theatre is Australia’s longest continuously running professional theatre company. Based in Kirribilli, on the edge of Sydney Harbour, Ensemble pride themselves on presenting and performing the best of international plays, beloved classics and new Australian works. Founded in 1958, Ensemble continues to produces live theatre of the highest quality that entertains, educates, enlightens and challenges.

Ensemble Theatre

Food For Health Alliance logo

Food For Health Alliance

Guardian Australia, launched in 2013 is a free premium digital news site in Australia, with a total reach of 2.926 million people each month. It is a trusted source of quality news with a particular focus on politics, the environment and social welfare. It is also part of the Guardian’s 24-hour global news operation, helping to cover breaking international stories in all parts of the world.

Guardian Australia

James Cook University (JCU) aims to create a brighter future for life in the Tropics and beyond, through education and research that makes a difference locally and globally. JCU is set amid irreplaceable ecosystems and cultures, and is unique among Australian universities, woven into the intellectual, economic and social fabric of the regional and remote communities they serve.

James Cook University

Kaldor Public Art Projects has played a critical part in Australia’s contemporary art history starting with the first project in 1969, Wrapped Coast, by Christo and Jeanne-Claude.

Kaldor Public Art Projects

The Karrkad Kanjdji Trust (KKT) is an Indigenous-led organisation established by Traditional Owners of the Warddeken and Djelk Indigenous Protected Areas (IPAs) in Arnhem Land in 2010.

Karrkad Kanjidi Trust

KidsXpress is a registered charity and a leader in children's mental health, offering trauma-focused Expressive Therapy (therapy which incorporates elements of artistic expression) and Education Services to children under the age of 12 and their caregivers. Established in 2005, KidsXpress was created to fill a critical gap in services for children affected by adversity—neglect, abuse, grief, and household dysfunction—who would otherwise face significant barriers to accessing mental health care.

KidsXpress

Mosman Art Gallery is a leading cultural institution within Sydney that aims to be a place of connection with both the visual and performing arts, offering visitors valuable experiences which enrich and inspire, through exhibitions, art collection and programs. Established in 1998, the Gallery enjoys an enviable reputation for excellence in its program of visual art exhibitions, associated events and education activities.

Mosman Art Gallery

In honour of our Founder, Neil Balnaves AO, the Neil Balnaves Tallawoladah Lawn Commission series at The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia will present a large-scale sculptural work from a leading Australian or international contemporary artist on Tallawoladah Lawn, located outside of MCA Australia, from spring through to autumn each year from 2025-2028.

Museum of Contemporary Art, Australia

The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) is Australia’s leading centre for education and training in the performing arts. Their team of educators is made up of seasoned professionals with proven expertise across the full range of dramatic disciplines including acting, writing, scenic construction, technical theatre, movement, voice, costume and production design.

National Institute of Dramatic Art

Opera Australia

Opera Australia

Story Factory is a creative writing centre for young people based in Redfern and Parramatta. They believe that all young people, no matter their background, should be given opportunities to develop the communication skills and flexibility of thinking that will allow them to live their lives to their full potential and flourish in a rapidly changing world.

Story Factory

Sydney Dance Company is one of Australia’s leading contemporary dance companies. Established in 1969, the Company has cemented its reputation as a creative powerhouse, with an acclaimed group of dancers presenting new work by Artistic Director Rafael Bonachela and guest choreographers, designers, composers and musicians. SDC is recognised as one of the world’s strongest forces in contemporary dance, with a broad community beyond the practice and performance of the lead dancers. SDC has the largest public dance class program in Australia, with over 70,000 people a year connecting with the grace, strength and creativity that lives within us all.

Sydney Dance Company

Taldumande Youth Services is a not-for-profit organisation that supports vulnerable and homeless children and young people aged 12 to 24 years, and their families. Established in 1976, Taldumande’s accommodation and community housing programs provide children and young people a range of practical and therapeutic supports that enable independent living.

Taldumande Youth Services

The Kolling Institute

The Kolling Institute

Founded in 1949, the University of New South Wales is a renowned institution committed to academic excellence, groundbreaking research and societal impact. As one of Australia’s leading universities, the University of New South Wales has a strong reputation for fostering innovation, providing transformative education and cultivating a diverse and inclusive community.

University of New South Wales

The West Australian Symphony Orchestra (WASO) is WA’s state orchestra and the state’s largest employer of performing artists. WASO reaches over two million people with its music performances from staged works to online performances. The Orchestra also delivers a broad array of musical experiences through its broad and comprehensive Community Engagement and Education program.

West Australian Symphony Orchestra

Since 2005, Yalari has been providing Indigenous children from regional and remote communities across Australia the opportunity to receive a full boarding school scholarship for their entire secondary education. Yalari’s vision is to be one of Australia’s great enduring educational and leadership foundations empowering Indigenous people from regional and remote Australia.

Yalari