Global Philanthropic

24/09/2026

What a wonderful day we shared at Talking Philanthropy Sydney last Friday!

Thank you to our exceptional speakers for their honesty, generosity and depth; to our venue host Garvan Institute of Medical Research, and sponsors Ronald McDonald House Australia and Advfinity, for making the day possible; and to the 100+ guests who brought such energy and enthusiasm.

One message came through clearly: philanthropy is most
powerful when grounded in trust, genuine partnership and a long-term view.

📌 Transformational giving begins with listening: understanding a donor’s values and designing an ambition together, not simply presenting a funding need.

📌 We explored philanthropy’s role as a catalyst for innovation, not a substitute for government, and how patient, flexible capital creates space to test, learn, adapt and back outstanding people over decades.

📌 The day challenged organisations to be worthy partners: lead with strategy, be transparent in difficult conversations, involve affected communities and remain accountable for meaningful impact.

💯 Most of all, Talking Philanthropy Sydney showed what’s possible when philanthropists, fundraisers, researchers and community leaders unite with curiosity and a shared commitment to lasting change.

👏 Our deepest thanks to:

Our speakers, Professor Sharon Lewin AO, Geoff Cu***ng, Anna Ainsworth, Michael Drapac, Dr Saraid Billiards, Professor Catherine Chamberlain, Professor Benjamin Kile, Jayde Ward, for sharing your experience and insights so generously.

Allison Howell Quinton, GAICD, CFRE and Mara-Jean Tilley for your excellent facilitation of the conversations.

Michelle Levitt, Michele H., Monica Gonzalez, Dr Rebecca Brown, Kate Forwell, Jacqueline George, Margaret Greeks, Tiffany Roxburgh, GAICD, CA, B.Comm, Kristen Kiriakos, Liz Niggley, Deborah Carr, Sandra Robertson, Natalie Gilbertson, Felicity C., Michelle Strawbridge, Anmol Pratap Singh, Emma Lloyd, Nick Jaffer, FFIA, F.EdPlus, Heather Hamilton, Lincoln Size GAICD and Chanel Hughes, for helping to bring this event to life.

And to our fabulous suppliers:
🎤🎥 CTS - Corporate Technology Services
📸 Peter Secheny Photography
🍽️ Flavours Catering + Events, Michael Rantissi
💐 Flowers by Julia G

We left inspired, energised and excited about what comes next!

23/09/2026

23/09/2026

02/09/2026

From London to Sydney to Geneva, our tenth year of Talking Philanthropy is proving why this forum matters. This month’s newsletter has interviews from the London conversations, plus the confirmed speakers for Sydney’s focus on health and medical research. http://eepurl.com/OG6AXq5Zif

01/09/2026

AI is about to change almost every job we do. But we know the tough question is who comes along for the ride, and who gets left behind?

We put that to Maja Vukicevic, Deputy Director of philanthropy at the University of London, when we sat down with her at Talking Philanthropy London.

Her answer? Don't just fund AI, and don't just fund education. Fund them together. Back the institutions that will teach the next generation to be creative and adaptable, because that is exactly what the new world of work will ask of them.

AI only becomes a force for good, she argues, if philanthropists and governments choose to widen access to it rather than pull the ladder up behind them. And she wants giving to feel normal at every level, not something reserved for the very wealthy.

It is a clear, practical case for where philanthropy could make the biggest difference right now. Watch Maja make it here:

In this video from Talking Philanthropy London 2026, the University...

24/08/2026

The change that lasts is rarely the change that makes the headlines. It takes decades, and people willing to think that far ahead. That is 'The Long View', and it runs through our latest Talking Philanthropy film with Jay Longworth of Barts Charity.

In an interview we recorded at Talking Philanthropy London 2026, Jay made the case for patient philanthropy, giving that embeds impact and values across generations of family wealth, and its role in transforming health in East London.

Where healthy life expectancy is among the lowest in the country, Jay sees giving stepping in when governments are slow and points to the £900m Barts Life Sciences investment as an opportunity for philanthropy to shape an ecosystem from the start.

Drawing on her Cambridge Judge Business School research into how families invest for impact, she argues that those who succeed build clear governance structures and a shared charter, carrying values from one generation to the next.

Watch Jay show how philanthropy can plan in decades, not news cycles, here:

In this video from Talking Philanthropy London 2026, Barts Charity’...

12/08/2026

"You cannot change the prison system." Lady Edwina Grosvenor was told this for years. So she set out to build a better one alongside it.

At Talking Philanthropy London 2026 earlier this year, she shared how she turned inherited wealth into systemic change.

Lady Edwina treats wealth as a responsibility, one that, wrongly used, becomes a weapon of mass destruction. And she had watched too many foundations spread themselves thin without ever moving the dial. Her response was the opposite: focus relentlessly on a single broken system, and redesign it.

The result is One Small Thing Hope Street. A replicable, scalable alternative to prison for women and their children. Roughly 80% funded by philanthropy and built to prove what works, in a world that keeps paying for what does not.

It is one of the clearest examples you will see of philanthropy driving real systemic change. Watch how she turned conviction into a model the world can copy here: https://youtu.be/IaFqh6d4t6M?si=Z5WUqpuOZREAc_aR

10/07/2026

Without Relationships, Nothing Works

What should philanthropy actually pay for? Speaking at Talking Philanthropy London 2026, Achim Wennmann of the Geneva Graduate Institute offers an answer that cuts against the grain.

In this short film, Achim argues that the sector’s fixation on impact is quietly undermining the very change it seeks. The problems that matter most, from climate to migration, do not move through transactions. They move through relationships that last: through trust, the patience to truly know one another, and the courage to reach across institutional and sectoral lines long before a crisis forces it.

His challenge is direct. A field that shies away from risk-taking will never fund what counts.

Watch Achim make the case for a braver, more patient philanthropy here:
https://youtu.be/Z5TdQJcu318?si=9s6FhzuuBZeBRqZm

27/06/2026

Global by name. Global by nature.
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This week, our Australia 🇦🇺 team – including a Canadian 🇨🇦 and a New Zealander 🇳🇿 – is in the USA 🇺🇸 for the FIFA World Cup.
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Different nationalities. Different time zones. One team! It’s a fitting reminder that the challenges philanthropy seeks to solve don’t stop at borders, and neither do we!