Public edition #9 | 30 May 2025

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Philanthropy Leadership Summit 2025 - draft program released!

Amid much anticipation and registrations filling fast, Philanthropy Australia is excited to announce the first round of program highlights for its Leadership Summit 2025. They include keynote speaker, the international author and ‘polycrisis’ expert Professor Thomas Homer-Dixon, business and philanthropy leader Carol Schwartz AO, Australian social commentator Dr Rebecca Huntley, highly regarded MCs, stimulating lightning talks and more. 

Historic $50m Ainsworth family gift for endometriosis research 'shows what's possible for women's giving'

Like millions of women around the world, Lily Ainsworth and others in her family have been dealing with the distress of endometriosis for decades – and they don’t want the next generation to face the same problem. It’s this personal experience that’s behind their groundbreaking $50 million commitment to establish the Ainsworth Endometriosis Research Institute (AERI) at the University of NSW in Sydney.

Philanthropy Australia to develop an Innovate RAP after completing Reflect stage of its learning journey

This year’s National Reconciliation Week theme is Bridging Now to Next, which urges us all to continue to ‘push forward as past lessons guide us’. With this in mind, Philanthropy Australia looks at the key learnings and outcomes from recently completing its Reflect RAP, while the organisation prepares to begin the Innovate RAP on the next stage of its learning journey.

Philanthropic collaboration puts Aboriginal Health in Aboriginal Hands

The Spinifex Foundation SA (Spinifex) began implementing a project in 2023 called Aboriginal Health in Aboriginal Hands: Responding to COVID-19. This innovative initiative was First Nations-led and supported by three philanthropic organisations including the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal (FRRR). Jo Kemp, FRRR’s then Philanthropic Services Manager, shares some key learnings on behalf of the group.

Presenting ... Philanthropy Australia's Annual Review 2024

Philanthropy Australia is delighted to share its 2024 Annual Review following our AGM earlier in May. It highlights some significant organisational achievements and shared sector milestones in a year of considerable global and domestic challenges.

Setting the tempo: Insights on ACER's Primary Teachers Survey New South Wales

The Setting the Tempo series is designed to examine
the state of music education in
government primary schools across
Australia and bridge an information
gap on the skills, support and
resources available to teachers. This insights report contains observations, analysis and recommendations as a constructive and critical interpretation of the survey data.

Be part of the 2025 Digital Technology Survey

Since launching in 2015, the Digital Technology in the Not-for-Profit Sector Survey has since grown to become a bastion of evidence-based advocacy, helping ensure the sector’s technology needs are seen, understood and acted upon. It provides the most comprehensive picture of how not-for-profits across Australia and New Zealand are using technology – what’s working, what’s holding them back, and where support is still falling short.

Challenging times: How US nonprofit leaders are experiencing the political context - report

Research from The Center for Effective Philanthropy in the US has shown that not-for-profits are experiencing negative impacts from the political climate under the new administration there. The report highlights their most pressing concerns and what they’d find most helpful from their foundation funders. Consider attending the Philanthropy Leadership Summit 2025 if you are interested in discussing how issues such as those discussed in this report might play out in the Australian context.

WINGS calls on philanthropic organisations to commit to solidarity with those impacted by aid cuts

As the network dedicated to growing and transforming giving globally, WINGS is calling on foundations and philanthropic organisations to sign up to a series of commitments to reinforce civil society in the face of historic cuts to aid from the US and Europe. The cutting of 90% of USAID and State Department foreign assistance programmes alone amounts to about $60 billion, representing a deficit of between 25-30% of the world's total official development assistance.

We would like to acknowledge and thank our partners for their generous support. Click here to learn more about our partners.

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Philanthropy Australia acknowledges the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the first inhabitants of the nation and the traditional custodians of the lands where we live, learn and work. We pay our respects to Elders past and present.