Public edition #15 | 22 August 2025

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Leading with hope

Liz Gillies, CEO of the Menzies Leadership Foundation, walked away from the Philanthropy Leadership Summit 2025 feeling the urgency of the polycrisis but also buoyed by a ‘wellspring of capability and imagination’, and a belief that leadership can still shift our trajectory. Here, she offers her reflections and provides a strong call to action for the future.

Catch up on the Philanthropy Leadership Summit breakout sessions

Many at the Leadership Summit said that it was almost impossible to choose between the diverse breakout session topics, so here's your chance to catch up on what you missed. From First Nations leadership to community-led solutions and the rise of AI, among a plethora of other topics from our ‘Deeper dive into real life leadership’ breakout sessions – our facilitators share their reflections. 

Impact-driven networks - this is how philanthropy can 'fund the glue'

Julia Gillard’s call to action was possibly the most oft-repeated at the Philanthropy Leadership Summit 2025. This Q&A with Darius Polok, Managing Director of the International Alumni Center (iac Berlin), who spoke at the event, delves into how philanthropy can invest in supporting the community networks and ecosystems necessary to achieve systems change. However, this will require shifts in perspective and practice.

Read more: Philanthropy Australia's recent policy advocacy submissions

Philanthropy Australia advocates for policy outcomes that will help grow giving and its impact, and we’ve recently made two submissions to Australian Government consultation processes: Giving Fund Reforms, which includes consideration of an increase in the minimum distribution; and Deductible Gift Recipient System Reform, which is focused on simplifying the system and expanding access to more charities. 

How a leadership program creates catalytic connections across sectors

Fellows of the Williamson Community Leadership Program commit to ‘always take the call’ from another Fellow. This creates a web of influence that spans business, government and civil society lasting decades. Katherine Ellis, CEO of Leadership Victoria, which runs the program, says that investment in leadership is an ‘impact accelerator’.

The Canva mission: 'We want our giving to grow as fast as the company is growing'

Tech company Canva’s unique approach to corporate giving is baked into its business model – to provide its visual communication platform free to educators and not-for-profits. That mission has just passed some remarkable milestones. More than 100 million teachers and students, and 870,000 NFPs in 190 countries now benefit, a gift valued at $1.5bn annually. On top of this, the Canva Foundation gave out $50m+ last year. Head of Social Impact, Robyn King, says there is much more to come.

Giant Leap's Impact Startup Benchmark Report

Giant Leap’s 2025 Impact Startups Benchmark Report is now live! They take a deep dive into the past three years of Australia’s impact startup ecosystem, exploring how founders have navigated change, where capital has flowed and the trends shaping what’s next across climate, health and people.

Western Australia Snapshot of Giving survey

The Centre for Social Impact at the University of Western Australia (CSI UWA), with support from Philanthropy Australia, is conducting this landmark research to establish baseline data on philanthropic giving in the state. Survey results will be analysed and included as part of a report to be shared publicly this year.

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.