Improving philanthropy through a series of moments

Eleanor Cater
Philanthropy and Membership Services Director
The Philanthropy Australia Conference 2024 (5-7 August, Adelaide).
12 August 2024

"Philanthropy is having a moment". This seemed a teaser by CE Maree Sidey and a taste of what was to come at the Philanthropy Australia conference in Adelaide, shining sunlight on traditional norms of philanthropy and exploring ways to improve practice through shifting perspectives.

The conference was a series of moments, and it laid bare the wide range of perspectives which permeate the sector. Following the Welcome to Country to “invite your ancestors to sit next to you and be a part of this gathering” - which gave me goosebumps - the Premier Peter Malinauskas’ opening address celebrated coloniser benevolence from wealth created off this ancient land. The day ended with a spotlight shone on philanthropy through the lens of social justice, with a First Nations panel led very capably by moderator Leah Armstrong from International Funders for Indigenous Peoples, including acknowledging the harm that extractive practices have caused to the Kaurna people, the First People of the land now known as Adelaide.

One moment was the exploration of the democratisation of philanthropy through giving circles. US-based Sara Lomelin asked us to shift perspectives around who is a philanthropist and reminded us that giving circles are nothing new “they are rooted in communities all over the world – the idea of people coming together to generate change is as old as humanity itself”. With 4,000 collective giving circles in the world, 370k philanthropists and USD3.1bn donated so far, this is a growing force for good that shifts power and shifts who gets funded.

One moment was next gen perspectives, who don't see wealth in the same way as their forebears and are becoming more interested in its purpose. Charlotte Siddle from the Siddle Family Foundation gave a very honest reflection of wealth “making you reflect on who you are as a human being, examining your own power and privilege”; Charlotte doesn’t want tax advice, she wants to know how wealth can have a purpose. I felt like – or perhaps I hoped - that this moment may have given us a glimpse into the future, of next gen philanthropy.

One moment was the surging interest in community foundations providing the relational infrastructure for more democratised forms of philanthropy to thrive. Community foundations certainly seemed to be a key topic woven through the conference, acknowledged by Hon Dr Andrew Leigh MP as the essential infrastructure for philanthropy and explored through breakout sessions focused on expanding the Australian community foundations network (“we should have 200, not 40 community foundations in Australia”) and shifting power towards communities. It was an encouraging moment to see the Australian government and the philanthropy sector increasingly embracing the potential of community foundations to shift culture and shift perspectives towards more community-based philanthropy, connecting the resources of communities with needs and aspirations.

These are just a few standout moments – there were many more including James Chen and ‘moonshot philanthropy’ and Safeena Husain founder of India’s Educate Girls - but one moment will remain with me forever.

That moment was the courage shown by Stacey Thomas, CE at The Wyatt Trust, Australia’s oldest endowed foundation, standing before the 1000 strong crowd and laying bare the tangled and confronting relationship between philanthropy and colonisation. Her words were powerful, raw, authentic and uncomfortable. Outlining the history of The Wyatt Trust, Stacey revealed recent research, commissioned by the Trust itself, which has exposed how the wealth created by founder Sir William Wyatt harmed First Nations people along the way. You can read Stacey’s speech here (and I highly recommend that you do, her words do this moment far more justice than I ever could). Stacey’s was an authentic moment of self-reflection exposing a can of colonial worms which has taken close to 150 years to untangle, and one of those rare moments at a conference that will remain with the 1000 people in that room, no matter their perspectives, forever. Stacey left the stage to a standing ovation.

The Philanthropy Australia conference 2024 was a series of moments that I think exposed virtuous benevolence to be inadequate to tackle the systemic and enduring issues of society; a series of moments that revealed philanthropy to be imperfect, however undoubtedly improvable through courageous conversations and a healthy dose of respect for the wide range of perspectives present in the international philanthrosphere.

Thank you to Philanthropy Australia and CFANZ for enabling me to attend the conference, along with our ED Arron Perriam (who very capably co-MCed the conference, together with First Nations leader Kirstie Parker).