Philanthropy: Giving with Purpose
Creating a lasting impact
Experience has taught us that an intention to give is not enough. When faced with the vast array of problems to solve and charities that need support, alongside potentially divergent family opinions, it is easy to lose focus and momentum.
At Mutual Trust, we help families find their purpose by uncovering their personal passions and motivations for giving. We then activate our deep networks and understanding of the philanthropic sector to curate, develop and steward charitable partnerships with organisations that share their passions and align with their purpose.
“ The most rewarding part of my work is supporting family members across generations to come together around shared values and making a positive community impact.”
Rachel English – Director, Philanthropy
Support across every stage
At Mutual Trust, our specialist philanthropic Advisors work closely with families, individuals and foundations at every stage of their giving journeys. This includes deep consultation to help define their purpose, engage family members or trusted Advisors across generations and build a legacy of impact.
The Mutual Trust Foundation: a community of givers
The Mutual Trust Foundation reflects the broader Australian community and an ever-growing interest in helping others and having a positive social and environmental impact. While each donor to the Foundation has unique goals, passions and areas of expertise, together they have a common purpose: to make the world a better place.
As Trustee, Mutual Trust manages governance, investments and distributions on behalf of donors, providing a cost-effective, high-impact platform for their philanthropy. Our expert philanthropy Advisors are in a privileged position – they have the great pleasure of being able to help donors achieve their philanthropic purpose, whilst building the community to share learnings, identify opportunities and celebrate positive impact.
“ The Mutual Trust Foundation allows families to join a community of donors who are passionate about making a difference, without the cost and complexity of doing it alone.”
Melissa Hilton – Director, Structured Giving
CASE STUDY
Maximising the positive impact of family wealth through a defined approach
For many generations the Dixon* family had given generously. They had donated to national arts and culture projects, funded new buildings and initiatives at schools and universities, established sporting scholarships and made a significant contribution to the refurbishment of a local children’s playground. The Dixons had also financially supported three younger family members on a year abroad to undertake a clean water project. On top of all of this, they were heavily invested in a medical research start-up.
Jodie Dixon, 4th generation of the Dixon family, was astonished to learn about the volume of financial contributions and the vast amount of administration and paperwork relating to her family’s philanthropic efforts. Jodie was immensely proud of her family’s commitment to giving, however she questioned whether the splattered approach of giving to so many areas was the most effective way to make a positive impact.
Uncovering a unified approach
With the help of Mutual Trust, Jodie leveraged a Family Council meeting to open discussions about the family’s giving. This got the family thinking about how they could more efficiently engage in philanthropy. Then, through a subsequent program of workshops and interviews, the family members worked together to uncover common areas of philanthropic interest. This presented an opportunity to streamline their approach and maximise their impact.
The Dixons were then able to establish a purpose for their giving and an overarching philanthropic strategy. Then, they agreed on areas of focus. This was detailed in a comprehensive plan, where they defined how they would support long-term legacy initiatives (school buildings and scholarships to recognise previous generations and build a sense of pride for younger family members), along with medium-term (supporting five investment interests linked to positive community impact) and short-term projects (supporting initiatives where their time and talent could equally contribute to financial commitments).
Giving with purpose as a family
Through this approach, the Dixon family are now giving with purpose. Individual family members are highly engaged and working together through a clearly defined approach to maximise the positive socio-economic impact of their wealth.
*Family name changed to protect privacy
Memberships
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Our Experts
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Alice Walter
Partner, Philanthropy
