Looking for the latest sector news? Catch up on what’s happening across the world of funding, philanthropy, and research with the latest updates from Team SG’s busy research team. It’s been a couple of months since our last update, so this is a big one!
The research team at Strategic Grants spend hundreds of hours each month reviewing newsletters, funder sites, LinkedIn and many other resources to find funding and grants to update in our Grants Expertise Management System (GEMS), ensuring our clients have a strong pipeline of funding prospects.
We also share relevant articles with the rest of Team SG as our commitment to keeping up-to-date with what’s happening across the sector here at home in Australia and New Zealand, and across the globe.
Here’s a round-up of what we’ve been reading lately.
Latest sector news
Not-for-profit sector development blueprint (Australia)
This was big news for Australia and the not-for-profit sector in late November 2024 with several key changes to be implemented and more recommended. It sets out a ten-year vision, framework, core initiatives and implementation approach.
The blueprint includes 18 initiatives grouped across three pillars:
- an enabling operational and regulatory environment, focused on funding, improved philanthropy and harmonising regulation and data collection,
- a strong people‑led and purpose‑driven sector, focused on co‑governance, co‑design and shared decision making, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander self‑determination and community control, and
- an adaptive and dynamic sector, focused on innovation, digital transformation, and improved outcomes measurement.
Read more:
https://www.dss.gov.au/panels-and-other-groups/resource/not-profit-sector-development-blueprint
She Gives – Women being open about their philanthropy
The She Gives movement is on the move! Further discussions around women and philanthropy powered by She Gives were catalysed following an event in late November at Government House, hosted by the Governer General, Her Excellency Sam Mostyn AC.
Others in attendance included Paul Ramsay Foundation CEO Kirsty Muir, Paula McLean ($1M donation to the Stella Prize), representatives from Minderoo Foundation and Gandel Foundation plus members of some of the country’s wealthiest families including Fiona Geminder, Kirsha Kaechele, the Pratt Family, the Fox family, the Smorgon family.
Read more:
Foundation North – Participatory grantmaking report
Participatory grantmaking is a community-led, collaborative philanthropic approach that actively involves communities in the design and decision-making process of funding. This approach promotes equity by shifting decision-making power from funders to the communities and individuals with lived experience who will benefit from the funding.
This summary report shares learnings from Foundation North’s experiences with participatory grantmaking approaches, including the who, what, when, where and why.
Since it was founded as the community trust for Auckland and Northland in 1988, Foundation North has returned over $1.25 billion dollars in grants to the region.
Read more: https://www.foundationnorth.org.nz/report/participatory-grantmaking
Australia’s top corporate donors
Canva, Cotton On and Atlassian are among the top 20 corporate givers as listed by the Australian Financial Review. The amount of funds donated by the top 50 corporate philanthropists has jumped to $1.7 billion. The Corporate Philanthropy 50 list is compiled by John McLeod, co-founder of JBWere Philanthropic Services, and Jarrod Miles, the founder of Strive Philanthropy.
And access the full AFR Philanthropy 50 List 2024, created and compiled by JBWere, here: https://www.jbwere.com.au/our-services/for-purpose-organisations/philanthropic-advice/afr-philanthropy-lists
Philanthropy’s 2025 buzzwords: Concerns about power will dominate the nonprofit world
A USA based article discussing power words and terms from “accelerationism” to “weaponize”, and their implications for non-profits.
How ‘big bet philanthropy’ is transforming the sector
Although this article references US based donations, there is a growing trend within Australia of bigger and untied funding.
Big bet philanthropy, the practice of making multimillion-dollar investments in a single organisation with the intention of transforming a sector, issue, or organisation, has gone mainstream.
Read more: https://blog.candid.org/post/how-big-bet-philanthropy-is-transforming-the-sector/
Annual reports and giving highlights
Charities Services Annual Review 2023/2024 (New Zealand)
Registered charities also reported approximately $86.98 billion in assets and $27.34 billion in income, an increase from the previous year. This growth indicates that the sector is effectively using its resources and continuing to provide impactful services and support to those in need.
https://charities.govt.nz/assets/Nga-Ratonga-Kaupapa-Atawhai-Annual-Review-2023_2024-V1.pdf
Paul Ramsay Foundation 2024 Annual Review
https://www.paulramsayfoundation.org.au/annual-review
Equity Trustees Giving Highlights 2024
$178M in total funding; $1.7M largest philanthropic grant; 1200+ trusts and foundations under stewardship
https://www.eqt.com.au/campaigns/giving-review and https://view.publitas.com/equity-trustees/philanthropy-giving-highlights-2024/page/1
The Ian Potter Foundation Annual Grants Report 2023-24
This year marked the 60th anniversary of The Ian Potter Foundation and cumulative distributions of $492 million. This financial year, the Foundation awarded 34 grants totalling $20,743,550. https://issuu.com/ianpotterfoundation/docs/ipf_annual_grants_report_2023-2024
Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal
Funds received ($39.4M) and grants awarded ($25.4M). Supported 1,188 projects, valued at more than $45.2M. https://frrr.org.au/about-frrr/insights/fy24-annual-review
Sector events
Telescope: What does 2025 hold for philanthropy?
Philanthropy Australia’s third annual Better Philanthropy Telescope report. This community-created report takes the pulse of the sector to help identify the trends, issues and opportunities that will shape the giving agenda.
The event will feature a panel discussion with sector leaders along with small group breakouts that will allow you to share your ideas with peers. Gain valuable insights into the key local, national and global issues that funders and not-for-profits will face in 2025.
This is a hybrid event. Find out more and register here.
Benefolk Hot Topic lunch
Benefolk’s next Hot Topic Lunch Series kicks off in March, with a focus on Impact Reporting Effectiveness. They’ll be looking at emerging trends and best practices including a Live Demo of how organisations are setting up real-time data dashboards.
Events are happening in-person across Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Find out more and book here.
Strategic Grants has the most comprehensive funding data and funding insights in Australia and NZ collated since 2009—a sustainable and ever-growing resource that can help inform and enable collaboration and decision making to improve community outcomes for all. Find out more about GEMS (Grants Expertise Management System) here.