Dusseldorp Forum: Deep, long-term relationships that support community-led systems change agendas

Dusseldorp Forum is a family philanthropic foundation, established in 1989. The Forum’s focus is on improving education, health, and social outcomes for children, their families, and communities across Australia, by bringing people together to develop shared solutions to complex challenges. Today, Dusseldorp Forum works proactively with a select number of lighthouse partners to support place-based, community-led initiatives that transform the life opportunities of children and their families. The Dusseldorp Forum team focuses on building trusted, long-term partnerships to contribute to a range of intended system-level outcomes that include equipping communities to lead change, cultural regeneration, and funding policy/system reform for greater equity. Read the Dusseldorp Forum story below.

In the video below, Executive Director, Teya Dusseldorp, reflects on Dusseldorp Forum’s investment in empowering community storytelling, challenging norms in philanthropy about what counts as evidence, whilst also helping to shift wider narratives and mindsets as a tool for systems change.

NB: This is a case study from The Philanthropic Landscape Volume II: Shifting Culture and Power through Mana-Enhancing Partnerships. Read the full report here.