The Funding for Impact project aims to start a national conversation on the ability of charities and not-for-profits to reach their impact potential. On the 10th May, the Social Impact Hub and strategic partner Philanthropy Australia launched the Funding for Impact project at Atlassian.
Starting the day, renowned charity disruptor Dan Pallotta shared his inspirational message to over a 100 attendees comprising of not-for-profits and funders. Following Dan’s keynote address, the masterclass featured an expert panel led by Sarah Davies from Philanthropy Australia and panelists; Squirrel Main (The Ian Potter Foundation), Gemma Salteri (CAGES Foundation), Jocelyn King (The First Australians Capital) and Reece Proudfoot (WWF). Each of these panelists provided valuable insight on their good practice funding experience, touching on their experiences with high trust funding relationships that had built capacity for greater impact and innovative risk-taking approaches to solve long-standing issues.
The audience engaged with both Dan Pallotta and the panelists through a Q&A. This followed with energising discussion on areas such as fundraising, capacity-building and investing to create greater impact.
The atmosphere in the room was overwhelmingly positive and the launch of the Funding for Impact website gave not-for-profits and philanthropists resources, tools and support to help achieve their maximum impact potential.
Reporting back with their newfound inspiration, attendees left with reinforced ideals of ‘dreaming big’ and having a ‘new perspective on overheads’, with one organisation reporting their new goal is ‘testing a targeted approach for fundraising’. Over 70% of attendees felt their specific challenges were addressed at the event.
The Funding for Impact launch event started a necessary conversation required to break through the barriers that restrain not-for-profits from achieving their maximum impact, that are created by just focusing on their administration spending. The discussion provoked audiences to identify the challenges of transferring Dan Pallotta’s message into the Australian not-for-profit context. With emphasis on ‘telling the story of overheads’, the event empowered the sector to strive for a stronger and more impactful not-for-profit sector.
The team behind the project was thrilled to see such great engagement from all attendees. A huge thank you goes out to all our speakers and project supporters for enabling this event.
For more information about the project launch, see our press release.
Photo credit: Jonathan H Lee/ Subtledream.com