Communications Peer Network – Storytelling and philanthropy: three perspectives

Storytelling – it’s vital that the philanthropic sector shares and amplifies its stories with the broader community. Why? To engage, to inspire giving, and to demonstrate that philanthropy has an integral place in today’s Australia.

In this session, we’ll hear three short presentations looking at personal approaches to storytelling and what the philanthropic sector needs to do to enhance its storytelling.

The presentations will be followed with time for questions and discussion.

This event is open to communications professionals (and interested others) working at members of Philanthropy Australia at the Impact, Engaged, Active and New Gen levels.

Not a member at this level? Please contact [email protected] to discuss upgrading your membership.

Speakers:

Nick Place
Noisy Boy Media (a heroic content agency)

Nick Place is a true storyteller, who has proven himself across many mediums, formats and platforms. Whether writing non-fiction books, biographies and novels or devoting years to journalism, and everything in between, Nick has crafted stories for screen, page, website, radio, stage and even social media and virtual reality.

Having started as an old school copyboy at The Herald newspaper in Melbourne in the early 1980s, Nick learnt his craft, and eventually would move between non-fiction and fiction, comedy and documentary, scripted storytelling and journalistic pieces. He was an early pioneer of online journalism and publishing, and continues to explore what is possible.

These days, Nick devotes his storytelling superpowers to championing charities and philanthropic clients, cutting through the jargon, KPIs, the noise and intersectionalities, to get to the heart of their work.

Dee Rudebeck
News and Storytelling Advisor | Editor, Philanthropy Weekly
Philanthropy Australia

Dee joined Philanthropy Australia in early 2023, bringing a rich background in journalism and storytelling.

She spent more than 20 years in the UK in editorial roles for many well-known print titles before settling at the Guardian in London. She has worked at the World Economic Forum, ABC TV News and directly before landing at Philanthropy Australia, as the Media and Content Lead at Vinnies Victoria. She has also run her own video production company.

Dee believes stories connect us to our shared humanity and are a route straight to our hearts. Good stories are always about change and creating a world that’s better – making them a natural fit to share the amazing power of philanthropy.

Thea Snow
Director of the Centre for Public Impact, Australia and New Zealand

Thea Snow is the Director of the Centre for Public Impact in Australia and New Zealand where she works with governments, public servants and a diverse network of changemakers to reimagine government so that it works for everyone.

Thea’s experiences span the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. She has worked as a commercial lawyer, a public servant and, prior to joining CPI, worked at the UK’s innovation foundation, Nesta. 

Thea received her Bachelor of Arts and Law at Monash University, and completed a Master’s of Public Policy (with distinction) from the London School of Economics in 2019, where she received the Peter Self Prize for best dissertation. 

With a strong theoretical and practical grounding in public policy, Thea has been recognised as a thought-leader in her field. In 2019, Thea was named as one of Apolitical’s most influential public sector innovators.

Thea is a co-author of Storytelling for Systems Change: insights from the field (2021) and Storytelling for Systems Change: listening to understand (2023).

Thea is also the proud mum of three beautiful children.