Looking ahead with hope.

Founded in 2016, the Australia-based Phillips Foundation (TPF) is a values-driven philanthropic organisation focused on improving the lives of young people through education, wellbeing and participation. Since its establishment, TPF has partnered with more than 100 organisations across Australia, East Africa and Southeast Asia, supporting initiatives that address systemic barriers to opportunity and help young people build hope, resilience and agency.

Over time, TPF has developed a strong portfolio grounded in long-term partnerships, trust-based philanthropy and a belief that educational outcomes are deeply connected to wellbeing, belonging and access to opportunity.

As is hard to ignore, this year was one of significant global change. Across the international development and philanthropic sectors, shifting aid priorities, economic instability, climate pressures and growing recognition of locally led development continued to reshape the role philanthropy can play. As one foundation leader reflected during our conversations this year, “Aid collapse is a shock — but it’s also an opportunity to build local capacity and local intermediaries differently. Money, power, and norms are shifting hands. Philanthropy can — and should — do more.”

These broader shifts were echoed across many of the global forums and sector discussions TPF participated in throughout the year both those we convened through our Community of Practice, and those we attended, including the AVPN Global Conference, the World Drowning Prevention Conference, the Asia Philanthropy Circle Summit, and the Skoll World Forum. Across these gatherings conversations consistently centred on the importance of trust-based partnerships, flexible funding and solutions designed by communities themselves, rather than short-term or transactional approaches to giving.

While these ideas are nothing new, the sense of urgency — and the practical focus on how to action more ambitious, locally led and systems-oriented approaches — felt markedly stronger throughout the year.

Against this backdrop, in 2025-26 TPF undertook a review of our Access to Education portfolio to reflect upon what we have built in ten years, to consolidate learning and to consider how the Foundation can deepen its impact into the future. We are grateful to Becky Schutt and Lucy Phillips for their care in research and conversations, and to our partners for their candour and insights, which have enabled us to look backwards in order to plan forward

While the Foundation itself is nearing a decade of formal giving, the values underpinning its work extend much further back through the Phillips family ethos of generosity, coaching, teaching and contributing beyond oneself — often grounded not in abundance, but in the belief that acts of service and community responsibility matter regardless of circumstance.

No longer a new entrant in the philanthropic sector, we are proud that TPF has matured into a confident organisation with a strong track record of long-term partnerships, collaborative learning and meaningful impact across diverse communities and contexts. The Foundation has evolved beyond establishing programs and relationships to playing a more active role as a trusted partner, convener and contributor to broader conversations around youth wellbeing, education and systems change. We are indebted to our many colleagues and friends for continuing to push our thinking, including but certainly not limited to Ben Clark, Priyanka Willis, Becky Schutt, Susan Shaw & Tim Donohue.

While the global environment continues to evolve, TPF remains optimistic about what can be achieved through collaboration, careful learning processes and curiosity, and sustained commitment to young people. At the centre of the Foundation’s approach is a belief that how philanthropy is practiced matters just as much as what is funded.

We were encouraged throughout the year to hear our partners consistently reinforce the importance of long-term relationships, convening, honest dialogue and funding models that create space for learning, adaptation and ambition. TPF’s approach has always been grounded in partnership — working alongside organisations with humility and a willingness to listen deeply. As one partner reflected during the review process, “The Foundation is approachable, they are real, they’re determined, and they want to leave a legacy. They want to make a difference.”

We deeply cherish this feedback, which reinforces the values and ways of working that we will never cease prioritising as we evolve. TPF believes that effective philanthropy is not about having all the answers, but about asking thoughtful questions, building trust over time and supporting the people closest to the work. Partners repeatedly described the Foundation’s approach as grounded, human and coaching-oriented: “They didn’t come in telling us what to do — they came in asking good questions.”

The Foundation is equally committed to creating spaces where learning can happen collectively. Through our tailored communities of practice, learning events and informal connectivity across the portfolio, TPF seeks to strengthen relationships, reduce competition and encourage more open sharing across the sector. As one participant observed, these spaces create an environment where “all the competition dies” and more authentic conversations can emerge.

Underpinning all of this is a continued belief that hope, wellbeing and participation are fundamental to long-term change. Hope is not viewed as passive optimism, but as something built through relationships, opportunity, dignity and belonging. As one sector leader shared during the review process, “Hope is the opposite of isolation. It’s contagious. You build it through relationships, not through services alone.”

As TPF enters its second decade, the Foundation remains committed to continuing this work thoughtfully and ambitiously — listening carefully, learning openly and working alongside communities to help create the conditions in which more young people can flourish, contribute and imagine positive futures for themselves and those around them.

We look forward to continued friendships and a better year to come.