Best practice lives at home too: Insights from North American philanthropy
Andrew Binns, CEO, Australian Communities Foundation
Fri, 11 Jul 2025
North America often looms large in the philanthropic imagination. It’s home to some of the world’s most storied foundations, biggest givers and boldest initiatives. Andrew Binns, CEO of Australian Communities Foundation, has had two weeks of meetings and conversations across Canada and the US. He has returned with a powerful reminder: the most effective and innovative philanthropy isn’t confined to one part of the world. Best practice lives here, too.
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Beyond the 5% Rule: Why charity trustees should invest for impact
Paul Ronalds, CEO, Save the Children Global Ventures
Fri, 11 Jul 2025
You can’t have your cake and eat it too. Or some would argue that if you want to generate social or environmental impact from your investments, you have to compromise financial returns. This debate matters because society desperately needs to unlock large, patient chunks of capital to use to scale innovations that can solve the planet’s biggest social and environmental challenges, writes Paul Ronalds, CEO of Save the Children Global Ventures.
What do the taxation statistics of giving reveal?
Emeritus Professor Myles McGregor-Lowndes and Dr Alexandra Williamson
Fri, 11 Jul 2025
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has recently released its statistics for the financial year 2022-23, including gift tax deductions by claimed individuals, as well as the latest numbers on private and public Ancillary Funds. Both provide a backdrop for the potential implementation of recommendations from inquiries and the current Treasury consultation on ancillary fund distribution rates.
Sarah Hardy to be new PA Deputy CEO
Fri, 11 Jul 2025
Philanthropy Australia’s CEO Maree Sidey has announced that Sarah Hardy has accepted the role of Deputy CEO of Philanthropy Australia. Sarah has more than 30 years of cross-sector leadership experience spanning philanthropy, local government, and the not-for-profit sector. For the past eight years, she has served as Chief Executive Officer of the R E Ross Trust, where she led the organisation through a period of strategic change and elevated its impact through values-driven grantmaking.
The power of Five Bucks: founder Brianna Kerr on ‘going small to go big’
Dee Rudebeck, Advisor, News and Storytelling
Fri, 27 Jun 2025
Five Bucks – a giving community where members chip in $5 a week – is all about ‘going small to go big’. Giving News talks with the founder of this collective giving initiative as the community distributes its first $62,000. In this Q&A, Brianna Kerr shares fascinating insights on the democratisation of giving in action – and what’s in store for year two.
Sydney Women’s Fund emergency domestic violence appeal was ‘saving lives’ in weeks
Dee Rudebeck, Advisor, News and Storytelling
Fri, 27 Jun 2025
Sometimes there’s only a window of a few hours to get locks changed and save a woman’s life. Weave Youth & Community Services, a Sydney not-for-profit that works at the ‘pointy end’ of keeping women and children safe from domestic violence, has a trusted team of trauma-informed tradies on call to do the job. The work is funded in part from an emergency appeal by the Sydney Women’s Fund that was in Weave’s hands within weeks.
Leaders on … leadership for our times
Fri, 27 Jun 2025
With the Philanthropy Leadership Summit 2025 rapidly approaching, Giving News is contacting speakers and leaders for their thoughts on the topic of “leadership for our times”. Each day we see more global and local news that confirms the urgent need for a robust discussion about leadership in a time of polycrisis. So, what do leaders think?
