‘Watch out – when women support a cause, they become activists’
Kimberly Downes
Fri, 8 Mar 2024
Philanthropic strategist Kimberly Downes is author of one of the few pieces of research into how women give in Australia. Here, she shares a story and some of the key findings. Despite women finding it difficult to consider themselves philanthropists, she says, but they instinctively look after those in the community and through philanthropy have the power to give hope.
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Grace Forrest wins prestigious US award for anti-slavery work
Fri, 9 Feb 2024
Human rights advocate Grace Forrest is the first Australian woman to win the prestigious Roosevelt Foundation Freedom from Fear Award 2024. She founded Walk Free, under the auspices of the Minderoo Foundation, which produces the Global Slavery Index, the world's most comprehensive dataset on modern slavery. Grace is the oldest daughter of Andrew and Nicola Forrest and joins the likes of high-profile global advocates who have been honoured with the award previously, including Malala Yousafzai, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Nelson Mandela, the Dalai Larma and former German chancellor Angela Merkel.
Groundbreaking Gender Compass research set to shift the conversation
Fri, 15 Sep 2023
Plan International Australia has undertaken a first-of-its-kind research project, led by Dr Rebecca Huntley, that segments the broad Australian public into six groups based on their attitudes, behaviours and policy preferences in relation to gender equality. Supported by the Trawalla Foundation, it can be used by communicators, advocates and changemakers to meet people where they are, rather than where we think they should be, writes the chair Carol Schwartz AM.
From Brave to SEED: ‘Our country needs healthy families’
Dee Rudebeck
Fri, 8 Sep 2023
As origin stories go, Bernadette Black’s is highly compelling. Her drive to establish Brave Foundation as its first CEO – an organisation supporting young parents into education or work – was grounded in her own experience as a pregnant 16-year-old trying to navigate Centrelink. She found the experience profoundly unwelcoming and unhelpful, and it created a deep determination to one day change the system. Thirty years on, she’s doing that with SEED.
Philanthropy’s role in cracking the code this International Women’s Day
Julie Reilly, CEO, Australians Investing in Women
Fri, 3 Mar 2023
Each year brings a new theme for International Women’s Day (IWD) and a new focus for action on gender equality. A quick look at key gender equality statistics, however, shows very little that’s new.
Trust gives $1 million to State Library
Fri, 21 Oct 2022
Thanks to a $1 million dollar grant from the Helen Macpherson Smith Trust, the State Library of Victoria has acquired the first graphic novel published by a woman.
‘Helping others is the most satisfying thing you can do in life’: Nicola Forrest
Tue, 19 Jun 2018
Co-founder of the Minderoo Foundation, Nicola Forrest, talks about the Forrests’ philanthropic journey and why she’s excited about the next generation.
