On learning what you don’t know and the magic of mentors

We lived in a small, rural town in Queensland and my earliest memory was going along with mum to help deliver Meals on Wheels. It really showed me how giving could make someone’s day and also that not everyone lived the same way we did.

Growing up, mum and dad did a lot of their own giving before they set up the foundation and it wasn’t until I finished university that I started taking a real interest in what the Vincent Fairfax Family Foundation was doing. I studied an arts degree and majored in sociology, so I was interested in why people decided to give and how they did it, and after university I toddled off to Melbourne. At the time my parents were working on a program with Bails and Sarah Myer, and they invited me to come into the Myer Foundation for a couple of months to see what it was all about.

It was great to see how a much bigger family operated with their giving, especially when they were a generation ahead of us. While I was there, someone suggested that if I wanted to understand the nitty gritty of philanthropy, I needed to work on the other side and learn what it’s like to ask for money. I went into Mission Australia, and it was definitely a learning experience! I take my hat off to anyone who can ask for money in that way because I found it really challenging.

However, that experience gifted me a real understanding of what nonprofits go through and the time they spend asking for money and writing up grant applications. And when dad set up our family foundation, we were very conscious of not creating more work for these organisations that are already doing so much.

I really enjoy finding out what I don’t know. It means that I'm still on the journey. It’s easy to jump on the bandwagon of the big issues or things that are geographically close but each year, I’m finding myself really questioning where to direct my giving, and where it is most needed. I’m not giving any great means, so I’m always looking for areas where I can make a small difference.

As a family we’re fortunate to give in lots of different ways and although I stepped back from working in the not for profit sector when I had children, I still give individually and sit on an advisory board for the Heywire grants under FRRR. I think the biggest thing you learn as your kids reach different ages is the value of giving your time. Even though the dollars are great and obviously a lot of big nonprofits need that to run their programs, everything in our community is run off volunteers and I think it needs to be celebrated more because it often gets missed. When people hear the word ‘philanthropy’, they usually think large amounts of money.

I’ve learned that little bit goes a long way. We mainly focus on rural and regional Queensland at TFFF, and for us and our team it's about listening to and staying in touch with what those communities need. I've had such a positive experience of giving and was lucky enough to have great mentors in Melbourne early on - generous people who were generous with their time.  I think when it comes to family giving, it’s really important to get exposure outside of your own family foundation.

My ambition is to make giving more accessible. I really want to change the message and let more people know that you don't have to give away huge amounts of money to contribute.

I also want to instil that generosity for the next generation of our family, because the needs will keep shifting. What was important to my grandfather wasn’t necessarily important for dad's foundation, and no doubt it will be different for us. It makes me wonder, what the next generation will be giving to in 80 year’s time?

I think a lot has to do with your environment growing up. For us, giving to rural and regional Queensland means more because that’s what we know, and I hope that continues as a focus. Dad realised that a lot of rural kids don't get access to the same level of arts, culture and even health and education services as urban kids. But everyone eats three meals a day and needs a farmer to grow and produce the food, so it's important that we keep supporting our rural communities for generations to come.