On making giving part of your family’s DNA

I’ve come to realise that philanthropy and giving and community-mindedness has always been a part of who I am. I've always played netball and I think my giving probably started from being part of a netball club, a community rallying together to make everything happen. When I was a teenager, I developed this kind of overwhelming passion to do more. That resulted in me offering netball coaching, but also undertaking various other activities like visiting homeless shelters to give out food. And I found myself going, ‘Oh, I don’t need to wait for somebody else to instigate that. I can do it myself.’ Even at 17, I would spend my time visiting a local centre here in Adelaide where I would serve meals, then I would go out and be a normal teenager afterwards and catch up with my friends. That need to serve and do things for others was always something I valued. It's funny now that I’m a ‘netball mother’, I’ve gone full circle and I'm on those committees and I'm amazed by how much time and effort it takes. And it’s completely run by volunteers. I appreciate it a lot more now.

Giving has always been something I’ve been interested in on a personal level. It’s something my family is interested in doing, too. Having established a career in philanthropy as well as maintaining it as an all-consuming passion in my life, giving is something that I'm ultimately driving with those around me. The role I play within my family is that I'm that person pushing the envelope, reminding them, finding opportunities where we can give, finding opportunities to encourage giving, to share the impact. As a family, we’re in a unique position where we've been quite fortunate in life. We’re now thinking about what that looks like for the next generation. How can we make philanthropy a part of our DNA as a family? That’s something I influence with my siblings, but it's also something I try to influence with my own children. How can I encourage them to give back? Again, it's those simple opportunities around role-modelling behaviour with friends and finding opportunities where they can either give their time or give gifts or raise money themselves. I don't think somebody just wakes up and says, ‘Oh yes, I'm going to be philanthropic from now on.’ It might be the case that they have a moment of inspiration which is life changing, but I suspect, for most people, it's quite gradual.

Passion, equality, a bleeding heart and an overwhelming desire to give back. I’m also in a position where I can give, and I think it’s really important to acknowledge that but not necessarily define what giving looks like because it really can take any shape or form. I have particular passions I'm interested in. A lot of my giving back revolves around identifying gaps that need to be filled. I try to look at areas where I can add value, where potentially there isn't enough support. For me, that comes down to equality. When I look back on the past 12 months, I can see that the way I give back has changed. I've started to support and work with some Indigenous-based organisations and there's huge injustice in that space.

Philanthropy isn't just a hobby, it's my passion and my career. I give my time and talent, too. I've dedicated most of my professional life to giving back, to working with not-for-profits, to shaking up the ways that we can grow philanthropy and shape our community to offer solutions to address some of society’s needs.

I know it sounds like a bit of a cliché, but you receive a lot more than what you put in. I'm in a privileged situation where I get to see a lot of the impact of what I'm able to do. Working with young people and seeing them take those opportunities, it’s quite humbling. Having said that, I still think there's so much more we can do. I think about how much capacity as a nation we have, and whilst I'm inspired and humbled by what we already do, I see opportunities to do more. 

More giving, more collaboration, more systems thinking. It's hard to know what it's going to look like, but I’m seeing trends of people being more open and talking about giving. The She Gives campaign is a great example of this. I would like to see the industry grow more. For me personally, I’m at that time in my life where I can give financially, but really the greatest gift I can give right now is time. I hope that future me has more capacity to give and I know it will always be a part of what I do.