About the Foundation
About the Foundation
Improving health outcomes in Canberra and beyond
Who we are
The John James Foundation is Canberra’s leading medical philanthropic foundation. We are a not-for-profit charity with Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) status.
At the heart of everything we do is a simple but powerful purpose – to improve the health and wellbeing of our community, today and for generations to come.
Our origins
Before our foundation officially came to life, our story had already begun.
Long before private medicine had firmly found its feet in the capital, our founding members were breaking new ground and advocating for the needs of both doctors and patients. We believed that private practice could offer something truly special: personalised care, professional independence, and the freedom to innovate.
That pioneering spirit still runs through everything we do today, never better reflected than when in 2006 this group of leading private medical specialists established the John James Foundation.
This transition – from a private hospital owned by medical practitioners to a charitable foundation – makes us a unique example of how healthcare professionals reinvested their legacy into philanthropy.
This transition – from a private hospital owned by medical practitioners to a charitable foundation – makes us a unique example of how healthcare professionals reinvested their legacy into philanthropy.
For the next 14 years we retained ownership of the hospital campus, utilising revenue generated through a lease with the hospital operator to fund and support medical and community health services.
We divested the hospital in 2018 to commit holistically to the mission of the Foundation, resolute in maintaining the values of our founding members.
Our legacy is built on a relentless commitment to improving the health and well-being of our community — a passion that has driven us from the very beginning and continues to guide every step we take today.