Foundation Wrap - 2025

As the year draws to a close and we turn our attention to the holiday season it seems fitting to contemplate the achievements of not only 2025 but also the past 20 years of the Nelson Alexander Foundation.

At Nelson Alexander, we believe to thoroughly understand our communities, we need to be involved in them, so in 2005 we set up the Nelson Alexander Foundation.

The Foundation provides an avenue for our team to offer funding, material aid and volunteering support to a multitude of charities, community and grassroots organisations working to benefit the communities we call home. We are proud to be part of the fabric our neighbourhoods and to have raised and donated $5.4m to support them.

How we make a difference:

Foundation Day – our major annual fundraiser – donating $251,706, in 2025:

Funds are generated by each of our offices donating the professional fee from an auction and this year Foundation Day was held on Saturday 13th September.

Byron Ko – CEO – Alex Makes Meals

We are very humbled and grateful to have been selected as a Nelson Alexander Foundation Day recipient. Nelson Alexander was with us at the very start of Alex Makes Meals, and this very kind and generous gesture is very much appreciated as we try to increase our weekly meal production to 4,000 meals in the FY26 year. Your donation will make a significant difference to us and make this target a reality.

Hannah Gatland - Pentridge Community Garden

Wow fantastic, what a great result!

We had so much fun coming along to the auction on Saturday and feel very honoured to be a part of Foundation Day. Thank you again for including PCG this year, we greatly appreciate the support from the Nelson Alexander Foundation.

Mark Henderson – CEO – Myeloma Australia

Dear all @ Nelson Alexander - I want to say how deeply grateful I am for your support. The outcome from the auction on Saturday will make a meaningful difference in the lives of the 22,000 people, and their families, living with Myeloma. We run a lean ship, and this enables us to get as much of your donation into the hands of our community as possible.

I wish you every ongoing success. Thank you again.

Foundation Day Video - 2025

Small Grants – donating $120,121 in 2025:

Funds generated from a set fee per sale and also supported by one of our long-term partners.

The volunteer led Foundation committee, made up of a team member from each of our offices, meet each month to assess applications for funding from our community.

Stacey Joson - Corporate Partnerships Manager - Berry Street

That's fantastic news - thank you so much!

We have received the funds from last month’s grant applications, thank you! The children and families are incredibly thankful.

Gregg Vines - La Trobe Student Union

That is absolutely terrific news. Thank you and thanks to your colleagues. We already have 60 students signed up for Christmas Day lunch and a long waiting list. This will make things a lot easier.

Ongoing Partnerships:

We have established a constant presence with many organisations over the years by committing to ongoing funding over a fixed period, usually 3 years but often extending to longer terms.

Organisations who are currently benefitting from this form of funding are the Royal Children’s Hospital Foundation, with funding directed to the CHiPS camping programme, the ASRC Foodbank, and the Exodus Community (West Heidelberg) with the establishment of an in memorium donation in honour of Connor Whyte who volunteered with this organisation.

And in 2025 we formed a new partnership with the Royal Women’s Hospital to offer 2 nursing scholarships to enable enhanced opportunities for learning and growth. This support will continue for the next 2 years with the opportunity to extend our support past this initial period.

Volunteering:

It’s not just about providing funds; it’s also about rolling up our sleeves and giving our time. Nelson Alexander offers our team an extensive and diverse volunteering programme throughout each year.

This year we’ve supported:

St Mary’s House of Welcome

Second Bite / FareShare

It’s The Little Things Community

Alex Makes Meals

Pets of the Homeless

The RCH Foundation

Big Group Hug

Regenerate Org

Weeding with a Side of Fun – Silvia Cavallin – Senior Property Manager – Keilor East – volunteering at the FareShare Kitchen Garden – Abbotsford

At Nelson Alexander, we don’t just help people find homes—we also help feed people. How? By getting our hands dirty at FareShare.

“And then there’s the whole growing-food-to-feed-thousands thing. Once we got past the “How does one even harvest sweet potato?” phase, it hit us: what we were doing wasn’t just about getting our hands dirty for fun (though it was a lot of fun)—it was about something bigger. Each seed we planted or weed we pulled was going to help FareShare serve thousands of meals to people who need them the most”

Material Aid Campaigns:

Share the Dignity – supporting the elimination of period poverty, by collecting sanitary products on behalf of this organisation within each of our offices.

Christmas activity - Nonperishable food collection under each office Christmas Tree, collections to be disbursed to local neighbourhood houses and community pantries.

Christmas Card Partnership:

Each year we select an organisation to receive a $10,000 donation via our Christmas card partnership. This year we are supporting Melbourne City Mission’s – youth homelessness programmes.

In previous years we have supported:

Regenerate Org (2024)

Launch Housing (2023)

Safe Steps (2022)

Foodbank Vic (2021)

As we proudly look back on all we have achieved in 2025, including the distribution of $372,000 to support our community, we continue to look towards what can still be achieved in making a difference within our neighbourhoods, with a particular focus on our Foundation pillars of Youth, Education and Alleviating Disadvantage.

To learn more about our Foundation or to apply for a grant in 2026 visit https://www.nelsonalexander.com.au/foundation/