On opening doors to possibility and the value of regular giving

I grew up in Western Sydney and my family didn't have a lot; we were poor, and I’d say that working class was aspirational. However, there was always this sense that whatever we had, was there to be shared. There was always someone worse off who could use a hand - whether it was a meal, a bed for the night, or just to be listened to. It was very much a part of our culture as an Aboriginal family, but my grandmother was staunchly Catholic, so I feel it was the melding of both traditions. Giving was part of our family’s DNA, and we were raised with this responsibility to give whatever we could to help those who were struggling. 

My grandparents moved from the country to Sydney, and they were the first of both families to leave their homelands. They were the pioneers. They moved to the city so their kids could have better opportunities. But they also afforded that generosity to other people in our family and their house became a bit of a stopover for any family members who moved to the city. So, I have these stories of different generations of family coming in, living here and then moving on. 

Education was also a really big thing. My mother only went to high school and her parents didn’t make it out of primary school, so there was always this belief that you could better yourself and then use those skills to give back to the community. From a very, very early age, that reciprocity and responsibility to help others was a part and parcel of who we were. And I think community is at the core of it - whether it was the Aboriginal community or the Catholic community, it was this idea that if you’re doing well, then everybody gets to do well. 

When I think of the people who have invested time in me, helped me build capacity and opened my world to possibilities; I know how much that has benefitted me. Knowing that I can offer that same benefit to others, is what drives my giving. 

Giving comes in lots of different forms - it can be financial, but it's also about time, listening and lending expertise and experience. I got to experience a whole bunch of things as a child, particularly through the arts, that opened up different worlds to me. As an Aboriginal kid from western Sydney, seeing Wind in the Willows or A Midsummer Night's Dream with fairy lights and people dressing up – it sparked my imagination and these possibilities outside my own world. Now, if there’s any way that I can open those doors and windows for young people so they can think and dream bigger, then that's what I bring to the table. 

I'm lucky that I'm now in a position where I can give financially and that's really important. I work in the not-for-profit sector, so I know the value of giving whatever amounts you can and doing it regularly. At Reconciliation Australia, there are people who have regularly given us a small amount of money – some of them started off as a $5 note literally clipped onto a piece of paper which they sent through the post! But over time, those small amounts have added up to support training within our team and then allowed them to have positions and salaries. The importance of regular giving cannot be underestimated because that’s how things build. 

I volunteer my time on a lot of boards, I mentor young Aboriginal women, and I also invest through financial giving, particularly into the arts. I like supporting the things that have opened up different opportunities for me. Wherever I can to give back as part of my reciprocity and create those opportunities for others, that's where I invest my time and my money. 

I've learned that it’s not just about money. Although money is important, what’s really important is investing in people and trusting relationships. Most times, people know what they need and if I'm willing to listen rather than swoop in with all the answers and solutions, it creates a more effective and impactful relationship. Whether it's investing my money, time or expertise, it's never about me telling people what they should do but rather sitting down to listen and collaborate around what we are both bringing to the table. How do we bring all that together to create something bigger and more impactful? 

That's probably the biggest thing that I've learned. When I was younger, I thought I knew all the answers but what I've learned with time and age is that sometimes I have to step back and be very clear about what I'm bringing to the table and allow others to bring what they have to the table as well. Listening is the basis of strong trusting relationships. 

My ambition is for anyone and everyone to know they can give - whether it’s time, expertise, or whatever amount of money they can afford. And I'd like to think that everyone wants to give. I think it's linked to this idea of community and seeing ourselves connected to things that are bigger than us, outside our immediate family, friendship group and immediate workplace. It’s about playing a role in creating things with our time, energy, money and ideas, and sometimes that simply starts from knowing that we can. 

And my ambition is for more Australians to understand this. With everything that's happening in the world, our reaction is to hunker down, become smaller and more insular. But what we need is to be bigger and more open and more generous in our thinking around capacity. 

When I reflect on the referendum campaign for The Voice, we saw that in abundance. People were generous, not just with their wallets, but with their time. The amount of people who volunteered to do the letterbox drop or gave small, regular amounts of money, and were willing to stand outside of shopping centres and talk about why this was important to them, showed us that Australia has this capacity to be bigger and more thoughtful beyond just ourselves as individuals. 

That’s an Australia and a community that I want to live in. It’s something that I want to be part of, and I want to help create more of it so more people can share in that bounty again. Because the more people who work on this and the more people who contribute, the better we get as a community and the better we will get as a nation.