On adventure fundraising and giving side by side

Lucy Steggles:
We grew up donating as a family and I recall there were always discussions about giving. When we were around six years old, our family started supporting child education initiatives in Africa so there was always an awareness that there were people in Australia and in other parts of the world who were less fortunate than us. 

Kristie Steggles:
Yes, giving was something that we just grew up with and from an early age we understood the importance of having empathy for other people. As we’ve moved into our thirties, we’ve become more engaged with giving as individuals, and I think that’s because it’s always been something that the family talked about around the dinner table.

Kristie Steggles:
I think we both have an empathetic nature. We’ve always been aware that we've grown up with privilege and we're very conscious about using that to help others. I think it’s a natural desire to try and make the world a better place.

Lucy Steggles:
I’ve always had a longing for a just and moral world. About ten years ago I started reading the work of Peter Singer and his book, ‘The Life You Can Save’ and I really related to the idea that privilege comes with a sense of duty to make a difference.

In my teenage years, I went through some mental health challenges that really developed my empathy and compassion because it gave me insight into what it feels like to live with despair. I managed to get through that period because I was supported to overcome those challenges. But not everyone has that privilege. That experience left me with a real desire to help other people who are struggling but who don’t have that same support.

Lucy Steggles:
At this stage of our lives, we are not as heavily involved in the family giving. Kristie and I do our giving through personally funding different initiatives and we’ve both moved into the for-purpose sector full time professionally. I'm on two not-for-profit boards and I work for an incredible youth mental health charity called Batyr along with an organisation called NEXUS, which is a capacity building group for next gen philanthropists. So, I give through my skills professionally as well as my personal funding.

Kristie Steggles:
Moving our careers into the not-for-profit space has definitely made a difference. Lucy started working for Batyr about six years ago and I noticed how much joy it gave her doing that work. I started working at the Cerebral Palsy Alliance not long after.

We've also become involved in raising funds through adventure challenges for causes we're interested in. We both walked the Kokoda track to fundraise for women in Papua New Guinea. Individually, Lucy's also climbed Mount Kilimanjaro to raise money for School for Life in Uganda and I did a recent trip to Tasmania where we raised $50,000 for people living with cerebral palsy. We really enjoy running this kind of group giving through adventure.

Lucy Steggles:
Business entrepreneurship is in our family, so I think leadership is in our genes. Both Kristie and I are businesswomen. When I started working in the not-for-profit space, I was delighted to realise that I could be ambitious and innovative and bring that business leadership into the work.

I’m so excited to work with innovative and intelligent young people in the not-for-profit sector. It's hard not to be passionate when you’re surrounded by that kind of energy. I actually have trouble turning it off at the end of the day because I love it so much. I really believe that this kind of work makes you happier, healthier, and more humble. 

Kristie Steggles:
I’d add that we’re both also engaging actively in education about how to make the greatest impact. Through our involvement with NEXUS and Philanthropy Australia’s New Gen Program there's been a lot of learning about how to give well.

There are a lot of conversations around things like systems change philanthropy, advocacy and concepts like untied giving and pay-what-it takes which give charities the freedom to use your funds in the way they know will have the greatest impact. It’s really changing the dynamic to be less about coming up with things to suit the funder but empowering charities to do what they need to do, and not spend too much time on things like reporting, which takes them away from doing the good work.

Kristie Steggles:
Lucy has really encouraged me in my giving journey, and she’s always seen her giving as a duty. She has a really strong moral compass and has carried me along the journey with her. I feel lucky to have someone to go to events and conferences with and although we've got different interests, we also have a lot of cross over and it's great to have someone to talk things through. Hopefully this means we'll be on the same page in terms of giving when we inherit wealth in the future, because we've been educated together on how we want to do it.

Lucy Steggles:
We're very lucky that we are both interested in these areas and that we can do it together. But as twins, we also want our independence, which is important. Early on, there were moments when Kristie said, “just because you want to do X, Y, Z doesn't necessarily mean that that's going to be my passion.” It’s great to have Kristie on the journey, but there was never any pressure for her to do what I was doing. I believe that people enter philanthropy and giving at different stages along their personal journey.

Kristie Steggles:
That there’s no right or wrong way to give. There’s no one ‘giving’ formula. If people want to just dabble and have a go, there are so many different ways to start giving.

I think there’s also a lot of value in coming together with peers to find out what's working. This is why we are involved in Philanthropy Australia because there are always networking events where you can chat informally to peers within this space.

And when you get to that bigger scale of giving, remember that there are resources and organisations out there to help with due diligence and to make sure that you are actually doing things properly.

Lucy Steggles:
When you step into the world of philanthropy, I’d say that giving well is strategic. Some people think that it’s just about giving your money to a charity, and that you don't have to think too much about it. But there are so many ways to have impact.

You can fund advocacy, or you can fund innovation. Just as people approach their investments or business ventures in different ways, we can all think differently about our risk profile with giving. For example, the term venture philanthropy is a relatively new idea where, just like with venture capital, the NFP project might be early stage and needing seed funding, and there’s a chance that it may not come off. But if it does, it'll be huge and hugely impactful. It’s exciting that there are so many ways to give, outside the traditional models.

My final lesson has been around the joy of giving. Some people worry that they're going to lose something by giving away their hard-earned money. But giving adds so much meaning and purpose to your life. I don’t think you can lose when you actively engage in giving.

Lucy Steggles:
There is going to be this huge intergenerational transfer of wealth, and I saw a report over the weekend from John McLeod that it’s likely to be around five and a half billion that changes hands over the next 20 years.

My ambition is that we can inspire more people to step into the world of giving and unlock that passion in more people. We need to shift the culture of philanthropy in Australia and to understand that we have a duty to give what we can, and to help others who are less fortunate.

Kristie Steggles:
I would also extend that invitation beyond individual philanthropy. Working in corporate philanthropy, I think a lot of organisations have more opportunity to give through initiatives like the 1% pledge. I'm hoping that this shift will influence individuals who work in those corporates to think in the same way that the businesses are.

For us, in terms of intergenerational philanthropy, it's about navigating those conversations when the time is right. It’s a balance between honouring the legacy and causes that our family has supported, while bringing in new areas to support.

We also need to remember that there are also a lot of young people working in industries like tech who are also coming into wealth early in life. In some instances, there are people in their twenties and thirties who are becoming significantly wealthy, so supporting and encouraging these first-time philanthropists is going to be important. Dan Petrie and Antonia Ruffell are doing some great work in this area with StartGiving.

Lucy Steggles:
I agree. And if people are new on their giving journey, we need to create more engaging spaces where they can connect with peers and have informal conversations about the challenges that they might be navigating. We want to create peer networks that involve having fun along the giving journey! 
I worry that we can get very caught up on technical education and best practice, which of course are Important. But for young next gen people who are new to this space, most have busy professionals and aren’t working in this full time, and so it is in their valuable personal time. Networks need to be energising and fun, while also being educational. At least that’s what we’re working to create with NEXUS Australia.