Partnering with Australian Charities to Create Change
On the ground in Australia with CAF America President and CEO Ted Hart
May 2, 2023
Last month, CAF America President and CEO Ted Hart, in conjunction with Good2Give, hosted a signature Together Gathering event in Sydney. The event brought together over thirty representatives from local foundations, humanitarian organizations, international charities, and corporate partners from the greater Sydney area. Participants heard from local experts on the topic of cross-border philanthropy in Australia, including Good2Give CEO David Mann and Board Chair Michael Graf, as well as Liz Wheatley, Associate Partner of Perpetual Limited. In addition to convening a group of key stakeholders that influence the philanthropic sector within Australia, this event equipped charities with the knowledge they need to expand their potential partnerships with US donors.
While in Sydney, Ted visited with several of CAF America’s local grantees, many of whom have long-standing partnerships with CAF America and have received grants through our Expedited Grantmaking program. This program allows donors to quickly and easily support international charities while minimizing the administrative burden on recipient organizations.
Conducting site visits like these is a great chance to see the impact of the work that CAF America funds, while also building relationships and identifying opportunities for the future. This is a critical mechanism in ensuring accountability, managing risk, and maintaining the oversight necessary for successful cross-border grantmaking.
Our partners in Australia work across a wide array of issue areas and encompass several different philanthropic sectors. Ted met with many grantee partners on this trip, and we’d like to highlight a few of them here to showcase the great impact they’re creating across Australia:
Art Gallery of New South Wales
The Art Gallery has been a grantee of CAF America for over a decade with Ted having visited them previously in 2013, ten years ago! The Art Gallery is one of Australia’s flagship art museums and the state’s leading visual arts institution. Over one million visitors a year enjoy the Gallery’s collection of Australian, Aboriginal, European, Asian, and contemporary art. CAF America donors and their support have helped the Art Gallery to sustain their enrichment programs and funded the acquisition of notable paintings, as seen below.
The Smith Family is an independent, Australian charity whose goal is to create opportunities for disadvantaged Australian children and their families and encourage them to participate more fully in society, using education as a key tool. They are a long-standing partner of CAF America and CAF America donors have given $250,000 USD over the past five years. Through those funds, they have been able to help 58,000 disadvantaged Australian students. They have a goal of reaching 100,000 children within the next five years.
Cerebral Palsy Alliance of Australia
They are an organization focused on cerebral palsy research, advocacy, intervention, and assistive technology innovation. The Alliance has attracted more than $67m AUS in total investments since the institute’s inception in 2005, awarding 714 total research grants to 361 researchers in 43 countries.
About the author:
Andrew Kopca is the Director of External Affairs at CAF America. His responsibilities in this role include managing CAF America’s various educational partnerships and sponsorships as well as assisting product strategy development.
