What is Hands Across Canberra?
Hands Across Canberra is the ACT’s community foundation.
- We raise funds for Canberra’s most vulnerable people.
- We invest the money to make it grow
- We give it back in grants.
Community foundations are about giving where you live, for the long-term benefit and enhancement of a community.
Hands Across Canberra is only 13 years old but community foundations in Canada, the United States and New Zealand have become powerful tools for giving grants and making investments in their community’s future, sometimes for a century or more.
Canberra is the most generous community in Australia. With your help, big or small, we can make a lasting, transformative difference for all our neighbours and friends right here where we live.
Make
an Impact
There are many ways you can contribute to Hands Across Canberra and it’s network of community organisations. You can give your time and talent through volunteering, attending events, spreading the word about the work of organisations, or running fund-raising events and activities. There are also a range of ways to donate funds, such as directly through one-off donations, regular contributions such as workplace giving programs or by participating in fund-raising activities and events.
You can give in several ways:
- Hands Across Canberra (fcsuite.com) at any time. This money funds our grants to 350 local charities.
- Donate to the charity of your choice through our platform
- Establish a named fund, distributing interest each year to causes you care about. Named funds are professionally managed long-term investments.
- Contact us to offer your services as a volunteer or a community partner.
This episode features Darrell Leemhuis of multi-generational family building firm A+P Leemhuis Builders, and Ashlee Berry, CEO of Property Council of Australia – ACT, in a conversation about building a legacy that lasts.
Darrell shares the story of his grandfather, who arrived from Holland after the war and started a building business now three generations strong, with a fourth on the way. He opens up about the charity house his team broke ground on with Master Builders Association ACT, his passion for supporting people caught in circumstances not of their own making, and why he covers all the costs of his charity events himself so every dollar raised goes further.
Ashlee speaks to the often-overlooked story of Canberra's homegrown property sector, the industry's role in tackling the housing crisis, and how a group of five or six women turned into a 40-strong network raising funds for Vinnies Australia through the CEO Sleepout.
It's a conversation about leading by example, giving that creates more giving, and what it takes to build a city — and a legacy — for the next 30 to 50 years.
🎧 Listen to the full episode featured on Region Canberra
region.com.au/the-givers-why-act-property-council-ceo-ash-berry-and-ap-leemhuis-builders-darrell-… …
Creativity has a way of bringing people together.
Creative Connections brought people living with dementia from Club Kalina together with Year 5 and 6 students for an eight-week intergenerational art program centred on creativity, connection and belonging.
Supported by a $3,000 GreaterGood x Hands Across Canberra grant, participants were paired with student art partners to create together in a supportive environment, using accessible materials and adaptive tools.
The program culminated in a community exhibition celebrating their work and the relationships formed along the way.
More than creating art, Creative Connections demonstrates the power of shared experiences to reduce loneliness, build empathy, strengthen intergenerational relationships and challenge stigma around dementia.
We are proud to support initiatives that create meaningful connections across our Canberra community.
#HandsAcrossCanberra #greatergood #CreativeConnections #CanberraCommunity #communitygrants� …
Are you an emerging leader and a person with disability? Don’t miss this opportunity! The Sue Salthouse Leadership Fund Scholarships are open now, but be quick, applications close in just a few days.
With $15,000 in funding available this year, the scholarship supports emerging leaders with disability in the Canberra region to grow their skills, pursue new opportunities and make an impact in their community.
If this sounds like you, or someone you know, there’s still time to apply.
📅 Applications close 9 September 2026
🖇️ Learn more and apply via the link
handsacrosscanberra.org.au/grants/sue-salthouse-leadership-fund-scholarship-grant-round-2026/ …