Over 110 years ago, Lady Helen Munro Ferguson established Australian Red Cross by engaging women to join her lifesaving mission. Since 2014, her legacy continues through the Society of Women Leaders to unite and engage a group of generous and highly involved women to ensure that the Red Cross can help people prevent, prepare for and respond to life's emergencies.
Australian Red Cross Society of Women Leaders (SWL), is a volunteer group of the Australian Red Cross Society (ARC), modelled upon a circle of giving. SWL is part of a growing international movement of women philanthropists. It is based on a model of philanthropy that originated from American Red Cross called the Tiffany Circle.
“There are six Tiffany Circles around the world,” says SWL National Chair, Row McGilvray. “We work closely with the Red Cross to understand what their challenges are and to be a sustainable source of revenue for their planning and funding allocation for essential programs.”
“During my 11 years with our giving circle, we have often asked: how do we keep the legacy of what we have created alive? The answer lies in engaging the next generation, by introducing them to collective giving and showing how powerful it can be to create impact together."
Row McGilvray:
Several key individuals laid significant groundwork in the development and launch of SWL in Australia. In 2013, Kate O’Callaghan, a Red Cross Ambassador, and Nigel Marsden, then the Donor Relationship Manager for Australian Red Cross, travelled to Canada for the launch of the Tiffany Circle. Not long after, the concept was presented to supporters of the organisation and Kimberly Gire volunteered to become the first Chair of this philanthropic initiative.
Row McGilvray:
SWL is a donor led collective of committed philanthropists who embrace and engage women in their communities. Each year members have the opportunity to vote on where their donation of $10,000 will be directed after we have Australian Red Cross pitch several programs at our Annual Members Meeting. Since inception we have raised approx. $8,000,000, including influenced giving.
With 50% of the funds being allocated domestically and 50% internationally, one of the most supported programs by our members is the Young Parents Program in Randwick. This program is designed to meet the needs of a highly vulnerable group in the community, namely pregnant and parenting young women and men who are unable to access the safety, security and support required to parent their child effectively. In total SWL have contributed $1,255,470 towards this vital program.
Internationally, women haven chosen to fund the International Humanitarian Law program to continue their important work to protect the distinctive emblems of the Red Cross and develop a digital emblem to signal protected digital infrastructure. This funding has come at a crucial time for local and international humanitarian diplomacy on these issues.
We recently launched our younger generation giving circle - Rising Women Leaders (RWL). These women individually donated $500 and voted to support the Baby Hub Program in Galiwin’ku, the largest community on Elcho Island, 550 km northeast of Darwin. Their pooled funding of $31,000 supports the community to improve nutritional outcomes for infants, parents and carers. The program focuses on the first 1000 days from conception to the age of two. This funding will provide resources to enable Red Cross to empower the community to deliver the Baby Hub program in the future and transition out of the community.
Row McGilvray:
I’ve learned that giving is more enjoyable when you can do it together. The collective giving element is one of the first reasons why most women join the group. It strengthens our impact and creates a strong sense of community.
What we have learned as a group about collective giving is that having a shared passion for a common cause builds a strong connection amongst members and brings diverse perspectives, which makes us more effective with our giving.
Row McGilvray:
Each Tiffany Circle has their own unique way of directing their pooled funds. Australia was the first country to ask that Red Cross to share with us the programs that have funding gaps within the organisation. These are pitched to us at the Annual Members Meeting and members vote in order of preference, with our terms of reference stating that 50% is allocated domestically and 50% allocated internationally. This is a strategic way of giving, it helps the Red Cross with forecasting, it engages our members by empowering them in the decision-making process and brings us closer to our giving.
Row McGilvray:
Nurturing generational and collective giving will be a big focus for us, that's why we created the Rising Women Leaders (RWL) initiative, to support women at the start of their philanthropic journey. We know there's a generation in between RWL and SWL, but right now the most strategic path is to find and nurture this younger group of givers.
SWL’s primary ambition is to continue to grow our giving circle, however it is essential that we plan for the future, so we remain a reliable donor for the Red Cross.
There was a recent study that surveyed 1,000 Gen Z and Millennial donors with the purpose of understanding their attitudes and perceptions, there were some key take aways which support our new initiative. Some of the outcomes were that they are influenced by family, with 63% citing family as a primary motivator, the age they started giving was between 14 and 18, with 43% interested in learning more about giving circles.
We see our future as a larger giving circle with multiple generations at different funding levels bringing mothers and daughters, sisters, grandmothers, nieces and friends together through giving. We are currently trialling the introduction of a $5000 tier over a 24-month period that will give us greater insight into our donors to ensure we remain an aware and connected giving circle whilst also continuing to highlight our foundational level of $10,000.
