A night celebrating philanthropy 

The 2024 Australian Philanthropy Awards ceremony was held on Tuesday 16 April at the Art Gallery of NSW. More than 200 people packed Meers Hall to hear a showcase of the finalists across nine categories and a surprise 10 Award recipients. 

There was a tie in (aptly) the Collaboration Award category – going to both Voices for Impact and a social impact collaboration to help prevent mental health issues in young Australians. For a story about all of the Award recipients visit here and to read more about all of the finalists, download the Awards program booklet here.

The Australian Philanthropy Awards recognise and celebrate extraordinary achievements in contemporary philanthropy. The national awards honour those working to create lasting, positive change and contributing to a generous and inclusive Australia. The 2024 Awards received a record number of nominations – more than double previous records. 

For the first time, the event featured a description of all the category finalists, rather than simply the award recipients, with a profile read out by event MC Nas Campanella, the ABC’s disability affairs reporter. 

The Leadership Award was accepted by Ginette Snow on behalf of herself and husband Terry Snow AM, who was unable to attend the event due to illness. 

Kim Collard of the Bibbulmun Fund and Stu MacLeod from the Fremantle Foundation accepted the First Nations Award for the Bibbulmun Fund and WA Relief and Recovery Fund (held with the Fremantle Foundation). Kim later said on LinkedIn: “We are truly humbled to have been nominated for two awards at last night’s Australian Philanthropy Award Showcase, and to take home the First Nations Philanthropy Award for our contribution to the Western Australian Relief and Recovery Fund. It’s a great honour and privilege to have partnered with the Fremantle Foundation, along with the Paul Ramsay Foundation, where we were able to see over $380,000 dispersed across 11 grants. 

“As Chairman of the Bibbulmun Fund, I am proud to have received this national award, which is a testament to the growing ecosystem of Aboriginal philanthropy.” 

Future Generation CEO, Caroline Gurney, spoke on behalf of the syndicate that received the Collaboration Award for their work on preventing mental ill-health. “We are thrilled to receive the Collaboration Award for The Future Generation Global Impact Measurement Initiative, recognising the collective efforts of Future Generation Global (ASX: FGG), Social Outcomes, Seer Data and Analytics, and our 14 social impact partners,” Caroline said.  

“We hope this Initiative will set the gold standard in collective impact measurement, bringing attention to the need for greater investment in prevention of mental ill-health and core operational funding for non-profits. Measuring social impact is a challenging and emergent pursuit and we look forward to sharing the results of our team’s impact measurement framework later this year.” 

Climate 200 took away two honours – the Innovation Award, and the Environment and Climate Award. Climate 200 donor Rob Keldoulis accepted the Innovation Award on behalf of the organisation.  

“I’m one of many thousands of donors to Climate 200 and very proud of what they’ve achieved. Donors, of every level, to every cause, want their dollars to be used as effectively as possible,” Robert said earlier. 

“Advocacy has become increasingly accepted because it works. I’m delighted that Philanthropy Australia has recognised the impact of this movement too. I hope it encourages others to join me in supporting this increasingly needed and impactful work.” 

Sincere thanks to all of those people who prepared nominations and to the independent award judging panels (see here for a list), ably chaired by Philanthropy Australia Life Member and former Co-Chair Ann Johnson. 

Thank you to our award partners: 

• Leadership Award (presented in partnership with Macquarie Group) 
• First Nations Philanthropy Award (presented with Ninti One Ltd) 
• Community Philanthropy Award (presented with Community Foundations Australia, Australian Communities Foundation, Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal and Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation) 
• Environmental and Climate Philanthropy Award (presented with the Australian Environmental Grantmakers Network) 
• International Philanthropy Award (presented with the Australian International Development Network) 
• The Eve Mahlab AO Gender-wise Philanthropy Award (presented with Australians Investing in Women)