Australian Philanthropy in 2011 – A review

Welcome to 2012 philanthrocrats. On behalf of the Eggs, I hope you had a safe and wonderful festive season.

Apart from the occassional overindulgence in food and frivolity I often find my festive season filled with reflections on the year past. Dinner conversations quickly turn to the ‘best of’ lists; movies, albums, theatre and so on. 2011 is certainly a year worth reflection in terms of philanthropy in Australia. The year, in my mind at least, marked the beginning of what is going to be a period of tremendous change in the non-profit sector in this country.

Over the next few blogs we’re going to reflect on the 2011 year that was and look at what 2012 has in store for the philanthropic and grantmaking sector in Australia. We’ll be taking a look at Philanthropy and Social Investing: Blueprint 2012, the annual industry forecast released by Lucy Bernholz, philanthropy wonk and visiting scholar at Stanford University’s Centre on Philanthropy and Civil Society. The Blueprint presents some interesting Australian parallels with what is happening in the charitable and philanthropic sectors in the United States.

But before we kick off 2012, perhaps it’s time to undertake a ‘best of’ type list for philanthropy in 2011. Rather than focusing on the best of 2011 it might be more useful to look at the big movements, moments and changes of 2011. What happened that really influenced the way philanthropy was and is working in Australia? What were the important gifts? The most talked about projects? The most influential policies? Please feel free to share your comments, views or even your own list in the comments sector below, as it would be a terrific resource to revisit at the end of 2012.

So here it is, in no particular order, my Top 10 list of big movements, moments and changes in Australian philanthropy in 2011.

1. Disaster and Emergency relief: It’s hard to believe that a year has passed since the Queensland and Victorian Floods devastated both States. Unfortunately, those floods set the scene for what was a year of natural disasters in our backyard, with Japan and New Zealand both devastated by earthquakes. Giving at all scales was greatly influenced by these events and there is much to learn about how best to manage this outpouring of philanthropy in the future.

2. Statutory Definition of Charity Announcement: The 2011/2012 Federal Budget announcement on the implementation of a statutory definition of charity was met with mixed views from within the non-profit sector. Many in philanthropy have applauded the commitment as it will assist in providing greater clarity around what and who can be funded in the wake of the AID/Watch and Word Investment High Court decisions.

3. Research into Philanthropy: Two significant inaugural annual pieces of philanthropic sector research were launched in 2011 and initial results from both proved hot talking points. Research into Australian philanthropic funding for women and girls was conducted by the Australian Centre for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies at Queensland University of Technology for the Australian Women Donors Network while the Leading Learning in Education and Philanthropy (LLEAP) research project was launches by the Australian Council for Education Research and The Ian Potter Foundation. It’s great to see greater attention going into how we give and where the money goes and to what end.

4. Public Ancillary Fund Guidelines: One of the big legislative changes for the philanthropic sector in 2011 was undoubtedly the drafting and passing of new Public Ancillary Fund Guidelines that, according to Treasury, aim to improve the regulatory framework and ultimately the integrity of these public philanthropic funds. The Guidelines also provide direction on minimum distribution rates, brining Public Funds into line with their Private Fund counterparts (albeit with a slightly lower distribution rate).

5. The establishment of the Australian Charity and Non-for-profit Commission (ACNC): While the impact will be felt more keenly in the years to come, the establishment of the ACNC must be seen as one of the most significant moments for the non-profit sector in this country. The ACNC will be responsible for determining the legal status of groups seeking charitable, PBI and other NFP benefits. It will also serve to greatly reduce and streamline the current exhaustive red tape process faced by many non-profits. The ACNC has potential to do much good but there are important lessons to be learnt from its counterparts in Europe in North America.

6. A decline in giving: The 2008-2009 tax statistics released in 2011 showed a decline in giving by Australians for the first time in a decade. These results come on the back of a year where some of Australia’s most prominent wealth advisors and philanthropists courted controversy by dismissing as a myth, the common perception of Australian generosity. Time will tell whether this decline in giving is merely an apparition or a new reality.

7. The Sidney Myer Creative Fellowships: The Myer Foundation and Sidney Myer Fund have a long and prestigious history in supporting the Arts in Australia. So when it was announced that the Myer would no longer be supporting arts organisations and instead would focus its support on individual artists, a few eyebrows were raised. In short, it was a gutsy move by a Foundation that has a history of driving innovation with its grantmaking. In December the Foundation announced its first 12 winners of The Sidney Myer Creative Fellowships, providing artists with $80,000 a year for two years to pursue their artistic endeavours. For me, it was a one of big grantmaking innovations of the year that created a healthy level of debate around how best to build the capacity of the arts in Australia.

8. Global Fundraiser of the Year: Melissa Smith, currently Director of Development at RMIT in Melbourne, was named both Australian Fundraiser of the year and Global Fundraiser of the year in 2011. Melissa received the awards for her role in securing a $25 million gift from Dr Chau Chak Wing’s to the University of Technology Sydney in 2010, where she was a development manager at the time. The gift ranks in the top ten of largest ever single donations in Australia philanthropy. It’s great to see Melissa professionalism and passion rewarded, but equally it’s wonderful to see Australian gifts of this magnitude recognised globally.

9. The closure of Rio Tinto Aboriginal Fund: After nearly 16 years of innovation in support for aboriginal projects in Australia, Rio Tinto’s decision to close its Aboriginal Fund was a shock to many in philanthropy and the boarder community. The fund was particularly supportive of urban aboriginal projects that do not benefit from mining royalties. While Rio Tinto has defended the decision arguing the over $100 million annually will continue to flow to remote and rural aboriginal communities via mining royalties annually, the loss of the fund is blow to Indigenous philanthropic giving in Australia.

10. The launch of 3eggPhilanthropy.com: It’s ok to be a bit self-indulgent isn’t it? Ok, the launch of this blog isn’t one for the top ten 2011 moments but it is reflective of a significant philanthropy communications boom that is taking place at the moment. Australian philanthropy is being discussed on blogs, Twitter and in the media like never before. Long may it continue.

So that’s my list, what did I miss that you think should be there? What does your list look like?

I hope 2012 is a big one for Australian philanthropy. All the best to you in this year ahead.

You can follow the musings of Caitriona Fay on Twitter via @cat_fay or the Blog via @3eggphil