What Minderoo Foundation does

Minderoo Foundation is a privately endowed Australian philanthropic organisation founded in 2001 by Dr Andrew Forrest AO and Nicola Forrest AO, originally as the Australian Children's Trust and rebranded to its current name in 2024. It is structured as Minderoo Foundation Limited as trustee for The Minderoo Foundation Trust, with related entities spanning impact investing (Minderoo Investments No 1 and No 2 Pty Ltd), public-benefit international giving (Minderoo PBI Limited; International Health Philanthropy Limited), and documentary film production (Minderoo Pictures Limited). The foundation operates across four focus areas - Communities (early childhood development in Australia), Gender Equality (women's empowerment in Australia and Asia-Pacific), Natural Ecosystems (ocean conservation, climate, plastics and human health), and Impact Missions (agile response to existential threats such as AI safety and crisis response in Ukraine, Gaza, and Lebanon) - and executes through four roles: Partner, Advocate, Develop, and Generate Evidence.

Operating model is endowment-funded grantmaking combined with impact investing and strategic advocacy. Capital is deployed via grants to UN agencies (WFP, UNICEF, FAO), civil-society organisations (55+ in Ukraine), UN-aligned NGOs (World Central Kitchen, Médecins Sans Frontières), specialist funds (Future Generation Women, Scale Venture Fund 1, Startmate Accelerator, Women's Livelihood Bond 7), and direct programmatic investments (US$10M Marine 30x30 Finance Initiative with Blue Nature Alliance; Global Fishing Watch satellite fishing map; New Earth Ventures packaging vehicle). Quantified outcomes include 770,000+ square metres of farmland de-mined in Ukraine, food aid reaching ~9 million food-insecure people, and a planned reach of 900,000+ women and girls across India, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka.

Distinctive technology assets are concentrated in the Natural Ecosystems and Impact Missions verticals: the OceanOmics programme uses environmental DNA analysis enhanced by AI to detect and monitor marine species from water samples; the Global Fishing Watch partnership uses satellite radar and high-resolution optical imagery combined with AI to surface previously unobserved fishing activity. The foundation does not sell products or services, has no public APIs, and discloses no revenue; its primary "revenue" mechanism is corpus drawdown from the Forrest family endowment. Distribution is exclusively B2B/enterprise in nature - direct relationships with multilateral agencies, governments, and specialist investment vehicles - rather than consumer-facing.

Name

Minderoo Foundation

Legal name

Minderoo Foundation Limited as trustee for The Minderoo Foundation Trust

Website

https://minderoo.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Minderoo Foundation is an Australian philanthropic foundation founded in 2001 by Andrew and Nicola Forrest that deploys endowment capital through grants, impact investments, and advocacy across four areas: children's communities, gender equality, natural ecosystems (marine conservation, climate, plastics), and impact missions (humanitarian crisis response and AI safety).

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Philanthropic Foundation

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312), Voluntary Health Organizations (813212)

akta.pro primary industry

International Grantmaking & Development Foundations (BPAGAKAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Environmental & Climate Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAM), Maternal, Newborn, Child & Adolescent Health (MNCAH) NGOs (HLAJAKAG), Social Justice & Human Rights Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAN)

Keywords

• Philanthropic foundation
• Humanitarian aid programs
• Marine conservation research
• Gender equality advocacy
• Impact investing grants

Headquarters

HQ city

Perth

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Minderoo Foundation is an Australian philanthropic foundation that deploys grants, impact investments, advocacy and program delivery across four focus areas: Communities (early childhood development), Gender Equality (women's empowerment), Natural Ecosystems (marine conservation and climate action) and Impact Missions (crisis response in Ukraine and Gaza, AI safety, plastics and human health). The foundation partners with civil society organisations, UN agencies, governments and research institutions to deliver humanitarian relief, demining, food assistance, gender-lens investing, ocean monitoring and policy advocacy.

Product overview

Minderoo Foundation is a philanthropic organization, not a product or technology company. It does not offer products or services for sale. The foundation operates across four focus areas: Communities (early childhood development), Gender Equality (women's empowerment), Natural Ecosystems (marine conservation, climate action), and Impact Missions (crisis response including Ukraine and Gaza, AI safety). All activities are charitable in nature, funded by the foundation's endowment, and do not constitute commercial product offerings.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 770,000+ square metres of farmland demining in Ukraine
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Global Fishing WatchcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 June 2026Partnership to create world-first global map tracking fishing activity across every class of vessel combining vessel tracking data with satellite technologies including radar and high-resolution optical imagery.
• Blue Nature AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 June 2026Joint launch of Marine 30x30 Finance Initiative at Our Ocean Conference in Mombasa, Kenya, backed by $10 million commitment to help countries develop sustainable financing for marine protected areas. Working with pilot countries Seychelles, French Polynesia, and Dominican Republic.
• StartmatecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 June 2026Partnership to tackle gender gap in Australian venture capital. Minderoo invested $2 million in Startmate Accelerator Fund with commitment of up to $8 million over four years to expand reach and support women building high-growth companies.
• World Food Programme (WFP)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2025Ongoing partnership for Ukraine agricultural support. Minderoo committed US$2 million to WFP to support Ukrainian agrifood businesses enabling them to scale, access finance and continue feeding communities despite war impacts.
• UK Partners (AI International Guardrails)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Three-year project with UK partners to advance regulatory reform and align efforts with Australia, supporting safer and more responsible AI use.
• Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 October 2024Lebanon humanitarian aid partnership. A$2 million funding to help MSF meet immediate humanitarian needs of displaced civilians in temporary shelters across Lebanon including medical consultations, psychological first aid, and supplies.
• World Central KitchencoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 October 2024Gaza humanitarian response partnership. Minderoo provided US$5 million supporting World Central Kitchen's work in Gaza, funding more than 1.5 million meals.
• Palestinian Water Authority and UNICEFcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 October 2024Gaza water and sanitation infrastructure partnership. US$2.5 million contribution to help address health risks from water scarcity and inadequate sanitation, supporting procurement of water tankers, solar powered desalination units, and sewage pumping stations.
• Olena Zelenska FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 February 2024Partnership to construct homes for displaced families in Ukraine with A$1.67 million funding, part of the First Lady of Ukraine's 'Room for Childhood' project for foster families.
• World Food Programme and FAOcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 February 2024Ukraine de-mining program using satellite imagery to map mined land and dispatch specialized teams. Minderoo committed $5 million as first philanthropic partner supporting WFP's food system project with de-mining component.
• UTS Human Technology InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Major funder of Corporate Governance Program helping company directors govern AI responsibly. Also partnered on development of Australia's first AI Safety Standard.
• Tech Impact NetworkminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Global research initiative examining societal impacts of AI, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration across leading universities in Australia, United States, and United Kingdom.
• Brookings Institution and Tsinghua UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019US-China Track II Dialogue on AI and National Security initiative, convening American and Chinese experts to build consensus on AI's role in national security. 11 rounds of dialogue held since 2019.
• 55+ Ukrainian Civil Society OrganisationscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity-led recovery partnerships including Adult Education and Learning Centre South, Angels of Freedom, Association of Disabled People of Zaporizhzhia Land, Development of Educational Initiatives, iHelp, and others supporting education, livelihoods, disability inclusion, and social cohesion.
• Gender and Disaster AustraliaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership focused on reducing gender-based harm before, during and after disasters, especially as extreme weather becomes more frequent and intense.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Rockefeller Foundation: Iconic US foundation with substantial climate, food systems and health programs; comparable to Minderoo on systems-change framing, large-scale grants, and use of data and evidence to drive advocacy.
• MacArthur Foundation: Large US foundation running 'Big Bets' programs in climate solutions and women's empowerment among others; comparable to Minderoo on the use of large, multi-year bets plus impact investing and a focus on equity and inclusive development.
• Open Society Foundations: Global grantmaker focused on human rights, democratic governance and gender equality; highly comparable to Minderoo on gender equality, humanitarian work in Ukraine and Gaza, and willingness to back contested or reformist agendas.
• Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: Largest global private foundation; comparable to Minderoo in deploying multi-hundred-million-dollar grants and impact investments across global health, development, gender and climate with systematic measurement. Both operate globally with vertically-managed program strategies.
• Bezos Earth Fund: $10B US foundation focused on climate and nature; highly relevant peer for Minderoo's Natural Ecosystems program and OceanOmics/eDNA marine work given overlap in environmental grantmaking scale and tech-enabled approaches.
• Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF): UK-based foundation with major focus on child welfare, climate, and gender; similar to Minderoo in targeting children/adolescents globally, deploying impact investments, and partnering with multilaterals.
• Ford Foundation: Large US foundation with global programs in social justice, gender equality, climate and inequality; similar in funding civil society in multiple regions, including crisis-affected countries, with significant endowment-driven grantmaking.
• Bloomberg Philanthropies: Founder-driven philanthropy with global health, environment, education, and gun safety programs; similar in centralizing decisions in a single principal and operating across multiple continents with measurable outcomes.
• Wellcome Trust: Large independent foundation with a corpus in the tens of billions; closely comparable on global health grantmaking, climate/health, and research-funding model, though more UK-anchored.

Regional players

• Paul Ramsay Foundation: Major Australian private foundation backing disadvantaged communities and systems change in Australia and globally; the most direct Australian peer to Minderoo on home-soil grantmaking strategy and scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights4 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/minderoo
• Facebookfacebook.com/MinderooFoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/minderoo
• Instagraminstagram.com/minderoofoundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments11 records

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Frequently asked questions about Minderoo Foundation