Alliance is proud to have been part of the media coverage for this year’s Philanthropy Australia National Conference, in Sydney, Australia. We provided coverage of the event from:

Ferdi Hepworth, Director of Partnerships at Social Ventures Australia.
Sandra Jacobs, CEO of the Bennelong Foundation.
Squirrel Main, Research and Evaluation Manager, The Ian Potter Foundation.
Marisa Mandile, management consultant at Philanthropy Squared.
Amanda Miller, co-founder of Impact Generation Partners.

Read their blogs here.

This year’s event was titled Evolution or Revolution: is philanthropy future ready?  It explored how philanthropy features in an ever-changing society and what is needed to stay ahead of the game. It aimed to determine if philanthropy needs a catalyst for change, to refine its way of doing things, or if everything is on the right track.

Impact investing: the future of philanthropy?

Daniel Madhavan, CEO, Impact Investing Australia

Although the overall conclusion seemed to be that philanthropy is not yet ‘future ready’, it was apparent from the topics discussed and the depth of thought on how we can best create positive change, that philanthropy is certainly evolving. Importantly, it was acknowledged from the outset that we need to hold onto the beauty and power of traditional philanthropy, whilst at the same time being open to innovation in the sector. Whilst stating that the traditional philanthropists are the pioneers, Audrey Exel AO, of Adara group, said that even if all the wealth of every philanthropist in the world was utilized today, it would not be enough to solve the issues we face. We therefore need to innovate and look at new ways of solving problems.

Amanda Miller reports here.

The millennials who don’t want to call themselves philanthropists

The term philanthropist, it seems, is getting a bad rep. The next generation of philanthropists at this year’s Philanthropy Australia conference made it perfectly clear that they would prefer to be known as ‘change-makers’ or ‘social entrepreneurs’, and so, are ‘consciously uncoupling’ from being known as philanthropists. It appears today, as discussed at the Conference, the title of philanthropist is marred with out-of-date connotations for this next-gen crowd and does not reflect their modes of giving.

Marisa Mandile reports here.

Why communities must drive social change

Alexandra Gartmann, Managing Director, Rural Bank

We heard from many community leaders during the conference, reminding us that long-term change needs to be driven from the grass-roots, rather than imposed from outside. We also heard from local community groups forging their own path, who described their work as messy, and challenging, but essentially rewarding. They outlined their need for funders who are willing to walk alongside, keep the faith, build trust, and share the journey.

Ferdi Hepworth reports here.

Lead photo: Philanthropy Australia 2016 Conference