Asian Australian Foundation

Name

Asian Australian Foundation

Legal name

Asian Australian Foundation Ltd

Website

https://aafoundation.org.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Foundation and Charitable Grantmaking

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132), Other Grantmaking and Giving Services (813219)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK), Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC), Foundation/NGO & Philanthropic Scholarships (EDAIAOAH)

Keywords

• Community foundation
• Education grants
• Charitable giving
• Donor giving circle
• Philanthropic programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Melbourne

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Charitable Donations: The Foundation receives donations from individuals and organizations. As a registered charity with Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) status, donations over $2 are tax deductible in Australia. Donors include founding supporters, benefactors, and the Circle of Promise giving circle members.
2. Event Revenue: Revenue generated from fundraising events including annual dinners, oration dinners, fashion events, and community gatherings. Profits from these events go towards supporting the Foundation's grant-making activities to education organizations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Asian Australian Foundation is a community foundation that pools donations from Asian Australian donors and corporate sponsors and redistributes the funds as education-focused grants to qualifying Victorian charitable organisations. It operates giving-circle programs (Circle of Promise, The Gathering Circle), an Education Grants Program providing scholarships and program support, an emergency relief fund (AAF Relief Fund), and event-based fundraisers including annual dinners and oration dinners. All programs are administered in Victoria, Australia, with rigorous due diligence through the AAF Granting Committee.

Product overview

The Asian Australian Foundation is a community foundation offering a portfolio of philanthropic programs and initiatives. The core offerings include the Circle of Promise donor giving circle for strategic granting, The Gathering Circle women's leadership-through-giving initiative, Education Grants providing scholarships and program support, and the AAF Relief Fund for emergency support. All programs connect Asian Australian resources to support education and community welfare organisations in Victoria.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Circle of Promise: A giving circle initiative that brings together passionate and committed donors to make a significant impact through granting to charitable organisations. Focuses on education-based philanthropy.
• The Gathering Circle

Products and services

• Circle of Promise A donor giving circle that aggregates contributions from passionate and committed donors to make significant impact through grants to suitable charitable organisations, with a focus on education scholarships and programs.
• The Gathering Circle A women's giving circle that gathers women, particularly Asian Australian women, to share resources, knowledge, and experience, focused on leadership through giving for the benefit of the wider community.
• Education Grants Program Core granting program of the foundation, providing education grants to qualifying Victorian organisations including scholarships for students from culturally diverse backgrounds at Swinburne University and support for community education programs.
• AAF Relief Fund Emergency relief fund providing rapid grants to education programs that help rebuild the community during crises, including the Swinburne University Student Emergency Fund during COVID-19.
• Hope in Motion Virtual fundraising initiative featuring walk, run, swim or cycle activities undertaken by supporters to raise funds for the foundation's education programs during COVID-19 recovery.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 500 students accessed Immigration Museum educational programs through Museums Victoria grant
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Social Wave and Level: AsianminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 23 May 2023Social Wave and Level: Asian were media partners for the AAF Annual Dinner 2023. They brought together a panel including Tanya Hosch (AFL), Joanna Lin (Collingwood AFLW), and Jiaming (Jamie) Pi for discussions on 'Amplifying Shared Voices: Extraordinary Sporting Stories of Asian Australians'.
• Alibaba GroupminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 March 2019Alibaba Group Melbourne Offices hosted the AAF donor engagement event on 14 March 2019. Managing Director Maggie Zhou generously provided the venue for AAF donors to network and raise funds. The evening included sumptuous food curated by Jeremy Oliver and presentations from grantees PANDA and Doncare.
• Brown BrothersminorOthers · 25 October 2017Wine sponsor for Fashion for a Cause 2017, providing Prosecco and Moscato for the event.
• Hong Kong Australia Business Association - Victoria ChapterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Hong Kong Australia Business Association - Victoria Chapter made a leadership donation of $5,352 at its Awards dinner in August 2016, with Scott Keck (Charter Keck Cramer) matching the donation.
• Swinburne University of TechnologycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership established in February 2021 to provide 2 scholarships for students from culturally diverse backgrounds studying undergraduate or postgraduate courses. Details available through Swinburne University.
• State Library of VictoriaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe 10 Year Celebration Dinner in 2025 will be held at State Library of Victoria to raise funds for the AAF Fellowship at the State Library that will document Asian Australian stories.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Swinburne University of Technology (Scholarships Office): Melbourne university that administers AAF-funded scholarships for culturally diverse students; comparable as an education-grant administrator in the same local market, although it operates a broader academic mission rather than purely philanthropy.

Direct peers

• Reichstein Foundation: Melbourne-based family foundation funding disadvantaged communities, refugee/asylum seeker support, and the arts. Comparable as a smaller Victoria-focused grantmaking foundation with similar cheque sizes, though without AAF's Asian Australian community focus.
• Victorian Women's Trust: Melbourne-based foundation focused on gender equity, women's leadership and community giving circles. Comparable on giving-circle/community philanthropy model that mobilises donors around shared values, but with a gender-equity lens rather than cultural-community lens.
• Australian Communities Foundation: Australia's leading community foundation, pooling donations from many donors to make grants to charitable causes. Highly comparable to AAF as a community foundation with a giving-circle model and grant distribution focus, though operating at national scale rather than Victoria-only.
• Lord Mayor's Charitable Foundation: Melbourne-based community foundation established in 1923, focused on homelessness, education and community resilience in Victoria. Directly comparable as a Victoria-focused grantmaking foundation with similar geographic mandate, though much older and larger.

Broad incumbents

• Paul Ramsay Foundation: Major Australian foundation with ~$3B corpus funding education, mental health and Indigenous advancement. Overlaps with AAF on education and mental health grantmaking focus but at vastly larger scale and broader geographic reach.
• Myer Foundation: Major Australian family foundation supporting the arts, education, reconciliation and the environment. Overlaps with AAF on education funding and event-based fundraising heritage, but operates at much larger scale with broader thematic remit.
• Ian Potter Foundation: One of Australia's largest private foundations, distributing over $30M annually across education, community wellbeing, medical research and the arts. Comparable grantmaking function, particularly in education scholarships, but operates at materially larger scale nationally.
• The Smith Family: Australia-wide charity supporting disadvantaged children's education through scholarships and learning programs. Direct overlap on education scholarships for disadvantaged young Australians, but a direct service provider rather than a grantmaking foundation.

Others

• Philanthropy Australia: National peak body for Australian philanthropy, providing membership, advocacy and sector data. Not a direct peer but the principal industry association for foundations like AAF and a natural networking/credibility reference.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/asian-australian-foundation

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Asian Australian Foundation