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Corporate philanthropy

This Month

Justine Rowe says Telstra employees take pride in working for a company that prioritises social investment.

Canva, Cotton On and Atlassian among the top 20 corporate givers

The amount of funds donated by the top 50 corporate philanthropists has jumped to $1.7 billion.

  • Sally Patten

October

How to have a job you love, save the world and earn up to $800k

This week BOSS speaks to four executives who are helping to save the planet. All have a high level of job satisfaction, and all earn decent money. It appears it is possible to have it all. 

  • Sally Patten

May

Jennifer Westacott, Geoff Wilson and Philip Lowe in Sydney this month.

How Geoff Wilson assembled his investment dream team

Philip Lowe, Jennifer Westacott, Mike Baird, David Paradice, Andrew Forrest and Solomon Lew are among the heavy-hitters who have joined Geoff Wilson’s charitable mission to raise money for kids.

  • Patrick Durkin

April

Philanthropy 50: Which Australians gave away the most in 2023? 

Donations from Australia’s biggest private givers have jumped to a record $1.25 billion.

  • Lisa Murray
Minderoo Foundation chief executive John Hartman has swung the axe.

Forrests’ $10b philanthropic foundation to cut 100 jobs

Andrew and Nicola Forrest’s Minderoo Foundation will shed about a third of its workforce in an overhaul aimed at making better use of its iron ore endowment.

  • Brad Thompson
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The Australian Electoral Commission released data on the major donations on Tuesday.

The corporate cost of the Yes campaign

In some circles, there is now a perception that corporate alignment with a cause can alienate more voters than it persuades.

  • Samantha Hutchinson

February

Alex Vynokur, CEO of BetaShares and founder/director of United Ukraine Appeal, with Kateryna Argyrou, co-chair of the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations and portfolio manager at Maple-Brown Abbott.

Australia’s fund managers use new tactics to support Ukraine

The public are still supportive, but as the war enters a third year, new tactics are needed to ward off the risk of donor fatigue or political distraction.

  • Updated
  • Hans van Leeuwen
ING chief executive Melanie Evans, left, and Powerhouse Museum chief executive Lisa Havilah.

New-look Powerhouse gets a timely funding boost

Sydney’s newest museum with a rooftop garden on top of a skyscraper will now function as a hub for education on biodiversity, sustainability and conservation.

  • Samantha Hutchinson
Penny Dakin, Nicola Forrest and Louise Olney of the Minderoo Foundation.

Forrests give $150m to gender equality fund

Billionaires Andrew and Nicola Forrest have put the largest grant from their Minderoo Foundation towards work to create a fairer world for women and girls.

  • Brad Thompson

November 2023

Roslyn Toms says the one-off donation of $5 million to the NIB Foundation was distributed to a variety of charities, including the Cancer Council and the Black Dog Institute.

Australia’s top corporate givers revealed

Woolworths, Bendigo and Adelaide Bank and health insurer NIB were among the companies to record a surge in philanthropy in 2023.

  • Sally Patten

October 2023

Philanthropist and regenerative farmer Alasdair MacLeod inside the Australian Museum’s new Pasifika Gallery which he supported with a $3 million donation

Murdoch-MacLeod museum gift sends lifeline to sinking island crafts

Former media executive Alasdair MacLeod said the initiative was already helping to revive traditional crafts of the region.

  • Samantha Hutchinson

June 2023

Andrew and Nicola Forrest with Minderoo boss John Hartman on the banks of the Swan River in Perth on Tuesday.

The Forrests reset after trying to save the world proves too much

Australia’s richest man Andrew Forrest and wife Nicola will spend more on philanthropy, but narrow the focus of their $7.6 billion foundation.

  • Brad Thompson
Arrivals at the Midwinter Ball

MPs (and a Voice dress) sparkle at the Midwinter Ball

The annual Canberra Press Gallery event raised $362,500 for charity organisations including the Butterfly Foundation and the Daniel Morcombe Foundation. 

  • Tom McIlroy
Nicola and Andrew Forrest are setting an example for other wealthy Australians to follow.

The Forrests have flipped from personal riches to philanthropy

The Forrests are setting an example for other wealthy Australians to follow and further deepening the contribution of business-led prosperity to tackling social challenges.

  • The AFR View

April 2023

NAB CEO Ross McEwan at the Salvos’ Red Shield Appeal launch in Sydney on Friday.

NAB CEO says homelessness a national ‘disgrace’

The bank pledged $300,000 to the Salvation Army’s Red Shield Appeal to alleviate cost of living pressures on the most vulnerable, including from higher interest rates.

  • James Eyers
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‘The risk-takers’ leading Australia’s activist philanthropy revolution

Australia’s biggest donors don’t just want to soften the world’s hard edges – they’re challenging the status quo.

  • Jemima Whyte
Canva’s Cliff Obrecht and Melanie Perkins.

Australia’s 50 biggest givers top $1b in donations for the first time

Australia’s top philanthropists are in a hurry to spend their money – and sizeable, eye-catching donations are back in vogue.

  • Lisa Murray
Bernie Shakeshaft with his dogs on the Armidale farm.

Why this former jackeroo’s farm project is bringing in big backers

Bernie Shakeshaft’s BackTrack program is making a difference – and critical to its success has been teaching at-risk kids how to train working dogs.

  • Jemima Whyte

February 2023

Australian Museum Foundation chair David Feetham

This banker expects philanthropy will survive cost of living crisis

Gresham deputy chairman David Feetham is upbeat about the prospect for philanthropy in a year in which donors are predicted to tighten their belts. 

  • Samantha Hutchinson
If the treasurer is fair dinkum about belting us all with tax hikes, he’ll need all tools at his disposal.

The only thing new about Jim Chalmers’ economic model is the name

The treasurer has been busy explaining his new economic model. But one man’s “values-based capitalism” is another man’s corporate philanthropy model - just ask John Howard.

  • Phillip Coorey

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/corporate-philanthropy-1nag