philanthropyOz Blog

Transcript of Kevin Murphy’s Keynote at 2013 AGM

Kevin Murphy’s Keynote Address, Philanthropy Australia AGM, 16 April 2013

Kevin Murphy is President of Berks County Community Foundation and chair of the Council on Foundations. He spoke at Philanthropy Australia’s AGM in Melbourne with the support of Australian Communities Foundation.

Thank you Louise.

It occurs to me that we are truly blessed in this field.

When we’re dealing with our donors, we’re working with people who have made incredibly selfless commitments to the common good.

When we’re working with our grantees, we are working with people who have foregone many other options to dedicate their lives to the service of others.

We work with the best of humanity and we work with them at their best.

Today, we received a stark reminder from Boston that there are dark forces as work as well.

Our thoughts and prayers are with our colleagues and friends in Boston as they begin to deal with the horrible tragedy there. But our work must go on, as we MUST overcome the evil that happened there.

Thank you for inviting me. I bring greetings from Vikki Spruill, the President and CEO of the Council on Foundations and our 1750 member foundations.

I arrived here fresh from presiding over the Council’s AGM in Chicago last week and attending the Philanthropy New Zealand AGM earlier this week. I may be setting some kind of world record for AGM attendance in a two-week period.

Fresh off those experiences and a week of thinking about philanthropy, Louise asked me to talk with you a little bit about two or three key trends in global philanthropy and what I think they mean.

Continue reading Transcript of Kevin Murphy’s Keynote at 2013 AGM…

Gates/Buffett Giving Pledge signs its first Australians

Andrew and Nicola Forrest have become the first Australians to sign the Giving Pledge, committing to dedicate the majority of their wealth to philanthropy.

The Giving Pledge was instituted by Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett in 2010 as a way to encourage a greater level of giving among the world’s billionaires or those who would be billionaires if not for their giving. Signatories make a commitment to devote more than half of their wealth to philanthropy or charitable causes.

Andrew and Nicola Forrest were announced as signatories overnight, part of the first cohort of overseas billionaires who have signed up including Richard and Joan Branson from the UK as well as signatories from Germany, India, Malaysia, Russia, South Africa, and Ukraine.

All eyes are now on the rest of Australia’s 18 billionaires - will more join the Forrests and sign the Giving Pledge?

Emergency relief for Typhoon Bopha in the Philippines

Over the past few days Typhoon Bopha (Pablo) has devastated south eastern provinces of the Philippines, with some calling it “Hurricane Sandy Times Two”. The death toll today is approaching 500 people, with thousands more left injured and destitute. Urgent appeals for disaster relief have been issued by charities working on the ground.

The Australian government has also committed to providing $5 million for survival kits and 1,000 tonnes of emergency food aid.

Australians wishing to make tax-deductible donations can do so via the following organisations:

• Oxfam Australia - Phone 1800 088 110
• Australian Red Cross - Phone 1800 811 700
• Caritas Australia - Phone 1800 024 413
• Plan International Australia - Phone 13 75 26
• World Vision Australia  - Phone 13 32 40

Vale Dame Elisabeth Murdoch

Vale Dame Elisabeth Murdoch

Philanthropy Australia is greatly saddened by the passing of Dame Elisabeth Murdoch on the evening of Wednesday 5 December, 2012, at the age of 103.

Over many years, Dame Elisabeth has generously supported a wide range of projects and organisations in the arts, education, medical research, conservation and social welfare. Her support has enhanced the capacities of libraries, galleries, hospitals and artistic companies, as well as having allowed exciting new ideas in community development, rehabilitation and creative expression to take root and grow.

Dame Elisabeth’s giving nature was ignited in her boarding school years, when she visited the Children’s Hospital, creating a lifelong dedication to the hospital and children’s causes. After her marriage to Keith Murdoch, her association with the hospital was strengthened when she was invited to join the management committee in 1933. She initiated the Good Friday Appeal and has participated in the hospital’s major fundraising efforts, taking over responsibility for the planning and construction of the new improved Children’s Hospital. After nine years’ work, the new hospital was opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1963.

After resigning as president of the Children’s Hospital in 1965, Dame Elizabeth became the first female trustee of the National Gallery of Victoria. In ensuing years she became a strong driver for several arts-based organisations, including the McClelland Gallery and Sculpture Park, and the Victorian Tapestry Workshop. She has supported over 100 charitable organisations. Just a few of the organisations which have benefited from her support are the Australian Ballet, Footscray Community Arts Centre, Hanover, Opera Australia, Cottage by the Sea, Australian Bush Heritage Fund, Somebody’s Daughter Theatre, the Bionic Ear Institute and the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research.

Dame Elisabeth’s great joy was her garden at her home, Cruden Farm, which has frequently been opened to charitable organisations for fundraising purposes.

Dame Elisabeth was a Life Member of Philanthropy Australia, which held a celebration of her life at the Melbourne Town Hall in 2003. Dame Elisabeth’s comment on the celebration was, “Philanthropy is such a joy - I feel I have been the fortunate one. I’m so grateful for the opportunities I have had to become involved with the most splendid people.”

Dame Elisabeth led with her giving. She was never afraid to talk publicly about her support in an effort to encourage more Australians to follow her lead.

The depth and breadth of Dame Elisabeth’s generosity and engagement with those she supported, have become a benchmark for Australian giving. She has become an early embodiment of the rising trend towards lifelong, engaged philanthropy.

The full extent of her largesse will probably never be fully known as she supported so many different charities as well as individuals- both large and small- with gifts large and small.

Dame Elisabeth will be remembered as one of Australia’s greatest ever philanthropists.

Westpac Foundation announces $1.8M in grants

Westpac Foundation have announced their Seed Funding and National Innovation Grant programs, which will award over $1.8 million to eight not-for-profits.

Six Seed Funding Grants have been awarded to new social enterprise and social innovation projects:

• 100 Story Building - Vic
• Sandgate and Bracken Ridge Action Group Inc. - Qld
• Sensorium Theatre - WA
• Australian Rites of Passage Institute - NSW
• Mamre House - NSW
• Saltwater Freshwater Arts Alliance Aboriginal Corporation - NSW

The two National Innovation Grants have been awarded to established projects with plans for expansion:

• Landcare Australia
• Resource Recovery

Through its grants, Westpac Foundation seeks to develop communities in an attempt to ensure the long-term unemployed, Indigenous Australians, refugees, the homeless, and individuals with a disability feel engaged and included.

Westpac Foundation’s Executive Officer Susan Bannigan said the Foundation and Westpac Group work together to provide volunteering and mentoring support, financial education and customised banking solutions that help grantees maximise the impact of their work which seeks to eradicate disadvantage in Australia.”

Since 1999, Westpac Foundation has distributed over $25 million in grants to not for profit organisations across Australia.

Read the press release or find more details on the Westpac Foundation website.

ACNC Bills receive Royal Assent; ACNC Website Launched

Legislation to establish the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) has now received Royal Assent, meaning that the ACNC can officially commence operations as Australia’s charity regulator.

With its official start date, the ACNC website has now moved from its old space at acnctaskforce.treasury.gov.au to http://www.acnc.gov.au/.

Top 50 Gifts: Nominate now!

Philanthropy Australia has joined with Myer Family Company Philanthropic Services, ProBono Australia, Asia-Pacific Centre for Social Investment and Philanthropy, The Myer Foundation and Sidney Myer Fund to discover the top 50 philanthropic gifts in Australia.

The Australian philanthropic sector, although relatively small in comparison to other countries such as the United States, has provided many influential moments in Australian society. Whether by literally changing the landscape of our community or influencing public policy, philanthropy is often the silent funder of extraordinary things.

However, the lack of publicly available information on philanthropy in Australia does little to promote its impact to the Australian public. In order to promote philanthropy in Australia, we are seeking nominations for the Top philanthropic gifts in Australia’s history.

As someone who works in the philanthropic, non-profit, community, academic, business or government sectors, we want your nomination for the most significant philanthropic gifts of all time, including grants, bequests and donations of all time.

The aim of the project is to inspire and promote philanthropy by championing the public’s (your) favourite Australian philanthropic success stories.

HOW WILL IT WORK?

• A list of the Top 50 Gifts will be compiled by the Top 50 Working Group from the nominations received (January -February 2013).
• A public vote on the Top 50 Gifts will determine the Top 10 (February to March 2013).
• The Top 10 (as well as the Top 50) will be disseminated through a media campaign (April to May 2013).

WHAT DOES ‘TOP’ MEAN?

• By ‘Top’ we mean the most significant. We don’t necessarily mean ‘biggest’– in fact a lot may have been achieved with comparatively small gifts. A gift may be significant because of its scale, size, creativity, innovation or impact.
• While we understand that philanthropic achievements take many forms, such as volunteering, for example, or the provision of other resources, we are seeking nominations relating to philanthropic funding only – grants, bequests and donations, both big and small.

We want to hear from you: which gifts are or were significant and why?

THE NOMINATION FORM TAKES ONLY 10 MINUTES TO COMPLETE.

You can nominate multiple gifts. Your nomination may become publicly available if selected, although you have the option to remain anonymous. Your nomination will only be used for the purposes of this project.

CLICK HERE TO COMPLETE THE NOMINATION FORM

If you complete the form by 5pm on Friday, 14th December 2012 you will go into the running to win a Christmas gift of $500 to the eligible charity of your choice!

Guest Post: Kids In Philanthropy launching in Melbourne

This post written by Amanda Miller, Kids in Philanthropy.

“No more pollution, peace in the world, no more homeless people, and of course, lots of lollies…” Those are some of the answers given by young children to describe the kind of world they would like to live in at the recent Kids in Philanthropy Melbourne family afternoon. Whilst lollies featured high on the priorities list, so did orphanages, indigenous children, the environment (’no more factories’) and children who do not have enough food to eat.

Photo: Kids in Philanthropy Melbourne family afternoon, November 2012

Kids in Philanthropy is a not-for-profit sub-fund of the Sydney Community Foundation. It focuses on building social awareness, social conscience and a practice of giving, in kids for kids. KIP aims to engage children between the ages of 5 and 18 years, and their families, in an annual program of active philanthropy where activity is focused on raising awareness of local areas of need, and providing opportunities for these young people to take a leadership role in addressing these areas of need.

With KIP Sydney having been successfully established earlier this year, and planning well underway for the first program it is funding, the natural next step was to set up KIP Melbourne. KIP Melbourne will have up to ten Advisory Board members (there are already six), who will each contribute seed funding to be invested in projects / programs involving disadvantaged youth in Melbourne. The children of the KIP families will also engage in fundraising activities, will learn about giving and the disadvantage that exists in our local communities, and will interact with children in those communities. KIP workshops will also be run for families with the aim of engaging kids in the benefits of giving.

Photo: Kids in Philanthropy Melbourne family afternoon, November 2012

KIP parents are motivated by a desire to pass onto their young children an awareness that whilst they lead a privileged life, not all other children are as fortunate as they are. KIP teaches children that just as sport and learning are part of their lives, so too is giving. The belief is that if we embed a culture of giving from a young age, children will grow up naturally taking on the responsibility of helping those in need. KIP kids will learn that there are children just like them, who live only half an hour away, but don’t have books to read, enough food to eat or a warm bed at night. They will interact with these children and contribute to raising funds to help them.

Last Sunday, KIP Melbourne held its first information session for those interested in being involved. 30 adults and more than 30 children, aged 2 - 11, enjoyed a wonderful discussion about what philanthropy means, through the eyes of children. Whilst some of the children were not sure what ‘that big word’ meant, many understood that it had something to do with ‘helping other people’ and ‘raising money and giving it to people who need help’.

Photo: Kids in Philanthropy Melbourne family afternoon, November 2012

It was fascinating to hear of some of the ideas the children had for helping other kids, such as inviting a homeless child to live in their house. Many of the children had already given away their birthday presents to other causes, such as the RSPCA and Victorian communities affected by the bushfires, but there were lots of other ideas for fundraising, including bake sales, lemonade stands, making things and selling them and sports days.

The enthusiasm and excitement generated by the day has led to a group of the KIP Melbourne kids planning a cake bake / lemonade stand / toy sale to take place in Malvern in early December. The KIP Melbourne parents are also going full steam ahead and have already started considering projects for their first allocation of funding.

For more information or if you are interested in being involved, please visit www.kip.org.au or contact KIP Advisory Board member Amanda Miller: amanda.miller@me.com.

ACNC legislation passed; ACNC to begin operations in December

Amended legislation to enable the establishment of the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission (ACNC) passed the Senate yesterday, was referred back for the Lower House to consider the amendments, and passed through the Lower House this morning. The ACNC is now able to commence operations, and is expected to do so in December 2012.

This means that registration and regulation of charities in Australia will pass from the Australian Taxation Office to an independent, specialised entity in the form of the ACNC.

For more information:

• ACNC’s Facebook announcement
• Homepage for the ACNC Bills

Wind, warming, and what to do next: take-aways from the AEGN conference

By Louise Arkles, Director Knowledge & Communications, Philanthropy Australia

A colleague once said to me: “No one ever goes to conferences to learn things, it’s all about the networking.” I attended the Australian Environmental Grantmakers Network (AEGN) conference this week, and was delighted that it proved this attitude wrong.

I want three things from a conference to make it worth my while:

• to take away new understanding that sticks - sticky facts
• to be inspired enough for the time to fly by, and
• to hear views that challenge me out of my comfort zone, no matter if the speaker is holding a microphone or a cup of coffee.

This Conference was worked on every level. I was riveted.
Here are my top ten sticky facts:

1. We need to shift the frame of the debate – from ‘the need to act’ to ‘strategically managing the problem now’ - in order to accelerate change.
2. The energy industry is turning on its head. Demand is collapsing from too much supply. Australians are learning to do more with less energy. There will soon be wholesale disruption in the energy industry and a strong fight from threatened fossil fuel industries.
3. Technology costs are coming down fast – the big cost is not the generation of electricity but the distribution - but regulation and vested interests are inhibiting change. Solar costs came down 75% in 2010/11, and will come down a further 30% this year. We are already down 15% on forward expectations. We therefore need the renewable energy target to be firm and robust.
4. Funding the environment is funding social justice, and disadvantage, and health, and research - our imposed silos are a furphy.
5. Once the finance sector cottons on that renewables are cheaper than fossil fuels then the markets will shift, as we are already seeing, and finally government policy will follow.
6. It’s hard for people to picture the real impact of climate change, and lack of understanding fuels disempowerment, leading to an absence of personal responsibility. More understanding will lead to more support.
7. No one ever identifies as ‘a member of the public’, so pitching a message to ‘the public’ won’t work.
8. Focusing on facts is not going to work. People have their own beliefs and get stuck in being right. Value sets are important, and control people’s actions.
9. Wind farms pose no threat to human, plant or animal health, but the debate has been hijacked by a climate of fear in Australia.
10. More heat now going into the earth than is going out, so the earth is warming at a staggering rate.

Simon Holmes a Court took a group of delegates to visit the Hepburn Community Wind Farm, of which he is Chair, prior to the conference, presenting a powerful case study (forgive the pun). Hepburn Springs is a small town in central Victoria. Seven years ago 200 people turned up to a community meeting to defeat a developer planning a wind farm. Now a community-owned wind farm in Hepburn has 2000 members, and generates about substantial percentage of the community’s power needs, with the two turbines powering approximately one thousand local homes each. Also a grant maker, the Hepburn Community Wind Farm is on track to donate $50,000 to the local area in the coming year.

Eleven NFPs working in the environmental space were invited to give a 2 minute pitch to the delegates. Lunch was beckoning, but these voices were louder than my stomach, their message imperative, for they deliver the change we want to see in the world. This first-hand account from grant recipients and NFP partners was a valuable connection, linking theory to practice for delegates.

Implementation is always a hard ask at the end of a conference - how can I put this new-found knowledge to work? Here are my top 7 opportunities for the philanthropic to-do list:

1. Support the experts to develop and drive a collective strategic view, understood and owned by the community, so we can recognise the gaps and act to address them.
2. Harness the appetite for behaviour change around climate that is already out there, by disseminating a clear message about renewable energy, coming simultaneously from a range of credible sources. Fund communication campaigns: work with the almost 1 million Australians who have solar panels on their roofs.
3. Act on the strategic goal to sequence the green energy concept, shifting from being a radical idea to becoming the social norm. Philanthropy can take the risks needed to drive this shift.
4. Stop focusing on countering denial, rather focus on getting the killer arguments and key questions ready for when the backlash comes.
5. Reframe the debate from fear to strategy, from reacting to irrelevant questions to answering strategic ones. Identify the pertinent questions - How can we minimise the employment dislocation in the energy industry? How can we protect the disadvantaged through this transition? Prepare sound answers and get them into a variety of media.
6. We must be proactive and assertive in getting our message out to the public, but not anti-corporate. Find leaders from inside successful corporates locally and internationally who have embraced renewables to talk to lagging corporates, instead of relying on NFPs to try to push a green message.
7. Fund research: eg. benchmark policy in Australia, produce report cards on government action.

Congratulations to Amanda and her team at the AEGN for hosting a very worthwhile event.