When leading arts administrator Michael Lynch returned to Sydney after a 14-year break he was deeply disturbed by what he viewed as a growing gulf between rich and poor.
Catching the train from the Blue Mountains to Sydney was akin to travelling between two different worlds.
"For someone like me it was eye-opening," he said.
"You just saw that there is one Sydney which exists in the city and eastern and northern suburbs. Then there is this whole other Sydney and the divide between the two is quite extreme. It refocused my view on what I can do to make the place better."
At the same time, he observed some areas which had barely changed at all.
"Some things have moved incredibly slowly," he said. "I was appalled by the lack of progress on the indigenous front."
The former head of the Australia Council, Sydney Theatre Company and Sydney Opera House has taken up a position as the chairman of the Sydney Community Foundation, a philanthropic organisation which supports a large number of grassroots organisations helping disadvantaged groups.
Mr Lynch, who has spent the past 14 years running leading arts organisations in London, Hong Kong and Melbourne, hopes to use his considerable connections to raise awareness about the "other" Sydney, pointing out that 90,000 families live on less than $300 a week.
"That is almost scandalous," he said.
"Those who are fortunate in Sydney are really fortunate and it's been rolling on, year after year, getting better and better for them. Correspondingly, it's getting tougher and tougher for those who aren't in that privileged position."
The Sydney Community Foundation supports a diverse range of causes to help break the cycle of generational disadvantage, from a community garden in Fairfield to a beauty salon which upskills women to schooling assistance for marginalised students.
"If you haven't got a job and you have not had the educational opportunities or the work opportunities or the family opportunities, there is a treadmill you are on and that treadmill is not going to get easier over many decades," Mr Lynch said.
"That has to be recognised by the people on the other side of the divide."
Chief executive Jane Jose said the nature of the projects attracted support from donors who couldn't necessarily afford to write a $100,000 cheque but still wanted to do their bit.
"They are projects that people can give a little bit to and make a huge difference," she said.
Mr Lynch said it was this philosophy which set the Sydney Community Foundation apart.
"They're not curing cancer but they are giving people chances and that is life changing," he said.
