Philanthropy combined with smart activism can make a huge difference to our environment. On 3 May, new laws were passed to control tree clearing in Queensland. Congratulations and thank you to the AEGN members who backed the campaign with the resources needed to win!

The stakes for this campaign were high, with tens of millions of native animals, birds and reptiles dying every year due to tree clearing. Sediment and pesticide run off from the cleared catchments were polluting the Great Barrier Reef, already under immense pressure due to climate change. And at the same time as the Commonwealth Government was investing $1.4 million in emission reductions, Queensland’s greenhouse gas emissions were skyrocketing.

At the 2017 AEGN conference, Rob Purves spoke passionately about the need to support the campaign to see tree clearing controls reintroduced in Queensland. Philanthropic backing had ensured that earlier land clearing campaigning was successful, resulting in the introduction of tighter clearing controls by the Beatty Government in 2004. But the Newman Government had rolled back the controls and the rates of tree clearing had escalated dramatically since.

We all want wins for the environment more often, so this is a good opportunity to think about the key ingredients that led to success.

The campaign was led by an alliance of key environmental organisations; WWF, The Wilderness Society and Queensland Conservation Council. The Queensland RSPCA also played an important role in highlighting the extraordinary death and suffering of countless animals from tree clearing. Arguably no single organisation working on their own could have achieved the new laws.

The campaign objective was obvious and achievable. Clearing controls reduce the amount of tree clearing. The Queensland Government had tried to reintroduce controls but lacked the numbers to get the legislation through. The numbers changed following the 2017 state election and an opportunity was created.

The alliance planned and executed a professional campaign and they had the resources they needed to pull out all stops. This included big public communications initiatives, citizen science, and direct engagement with government. And this is where the support of AEGN members came in, with a crucial role played by Rob Purves and the Purves Environmental Fund.

When Rob Purves announced that he would commit up to $1 million for the tree clearing campaign, to be matched by AEGN members, the AEGN staff team were very excited– and a little nervous. This was the biggest challenge grant in the AEGN’s history and members only had a few months to raise the funds. But members dug deep, raising $774,500, which was then matched by Rob.

The AEGN is committed to increasing philanthropic support for the environment and this is an excellent test case of what can be achieved when a good plan and competent people are backed by adequate resources.

The tree clearing campaign isn’t over yet, with the clearing controls in NSW the next target. In the meantime, the Queensland victory is worthy of celebration and a good reason to open a bottle of champagne!

Another major focus of the Trust is the use of communications and media to better inform the wider public about environmental issues. Sandy joined the AEGN to seek opportunities to make stronger impact through co-funding key projects with other members.

Sarah replaces Sylvia Admans who retired this January.

Rebecca Chew has been appointed as Program Manager for the R E Ross Trust’s environment program. AEGN members may have met Rebecca last year when she filled the Program Manager role in a maternity leave capacity.

Louise Kuramoto has been appointed Head of Philanthropy and Impact at the Australian Communities Foundation. Louise was previously Program Manager for the environment program with the R E Ross Trust.

Congratulations to Sylvia Admans for a stellar career in philanthropy

We congratulate Sylvia Admans for her strategic, collaborative and thoughtful 19 year career in philanthropy. Sylvia was most recently CEO of the R E Ross Trust for 7 years and prior to that spent a decade as CEO of the Foundation for Regional and Rural Renewal. Both organisations are long standing AEGN members. This January Sylvia retired from paid work but continues to be involved in the world of philanthropy as a Director of the inner North Community Foundation and a Committee Member of the Give Where You Live Foundation, Innovation Grants Committee.

Sylvia is particularly proud of two projects that resulted from her time at the helm of the R E Ross Trust. In 2013 the Hilliview Bushland Reserve was created when a 47 hectare parcel of pristine bushland was transferred from the R E Ross Trust to Cardinia Shire Council with a Trust for Nature conservation covenant. At the time this was the largest gift of bushland by a philanthropic Trust to a Melbourne Council for more than 50 years. More recently the R E Ross Trust made a $0.5M impact investment in new social enterprise ecotourism venture ‘Wildlife Wonders‘ located in Victoria’s Otway ranges.

In parting Sylvia says, “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my career in philanthropy and look forward to staying on the periphery of the sector.”

The AEGN and many of our members have signed onto an open letter seeking a major overhaul of the Electoral Funding and Disclosure Reform Bill 2017. Coordinated by Philanthropy Australia, the letter raises the profile of philanthropic funders in the debate over the bill.

Flagged as a bill to prevent foreign interference in our democracy, the Electoral Funding Bill instead bans foreign philanthropy from funding charitable advocacy and creates new classes of entities which would be subject to the electoral laws. Australian trusts and foundations could be impacted by this reform in a number of ways, including:

• Being classified as a Political Campaigner or Third Party Campaigner, which would then require registration with the Electoral Commission and being subject to tough and onerous compliance provisions.
• Having your personal details shared with the Electoral Commission by charities which are registered with the Electoral Commission.

This interview between Philanthropy Australia CEO Sarah Davies and Hugh de Kretser, CEO of the Human Rights Law Centre, gives a good overview of the concerns about the Bill.

Earlier this month, the AEGN made a submission to the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters which was charged with reviewing the Bill. We are continuing to track the progress of the advocacy in Canberra, where sector representatives have been targeting the Opposition and the cross bench. You may be interested to see some of the resources developed by the coordinated charitable campaign:

Hands off our Charities website online petition

Hands off our Charities video

This is a very active and dynamic space and the AEGN will keep you informed about key developments and activities you might like to be involved with.

Power of Advocacy – new publication

Philanthropy Australia has launched a new publication which makes the case for philanthropic support for advocacy. Funded by the Reichstein Foundation and The Myer Foundation the publication promotes advocacy on the basis that:

• It’s more effective to tackle root causes than symptoms
• Advocacy supports the public interest, balancing out private interests around public policy
• It enhances the impact of ‘on the ground’ activities.

There are some terrific case studies of impactful advocacy which has been supported by philanthropy, including some environmental examples. Check here for a video presentation and to download the report.

As the battle escalates between our voices and those of vested interests, our NGOs are increasingly under attack. While AEGN members quite rightly celebrated the federal government’s decision not to proceed with the proposal to oblige environmental DGRs to allocate 25-50% of their donations to environmental remediation, other things were afoot. The day after this decision the new ACNC Commissioner was announced. A number of AEGN members expressed concern about Gary Johns’ appointment to the role, in light of his outspoken criticism of philanthropy and the non- government sector. Philanthropy Australia made a statement responding to this which the AEGN supports. There is also new draft legislation on the table which targets charitable advocacy and bans foreign philanthropic donations for advocacy (see Esther Abram’s article in this newsletter).

So what can you do to keep our NGO sector strong and effective?

The first thing you can do is to use your giving so it supports organisations through this challenging time. A recent paper called What the Green Groups Said: Insights from the UK Environment Sector put out by our sister organisation in the UK, the Environmental Funders Network, has some excellent tips for funders and very closely matches recommendations from surveys of Australian NGOs undertaken by the AEGN.

So, if you are wondering how you can make sure the NGO sector stays strong and effective in 2018 think about these funding options:

• To support a more strategic, responsive, innovative and collaborative sector, funders need to provide more core support with more unrestricted grants and full-cost recovery awarded to organisations over longer-term periods.
• Policy and advocacy work are key to the sector’s effectiveness; they are hard to raise money for and need more grant funding.
• The sector needs investment in communications expertise – in terms of messaging, behaviour change and connecting with people’s values.

The second thing you can do, beyond your giving, is commit to continuing to use your influence to change public policy for the better. Let your family, friends, colleagues and peers know your opinions. The AEGN will be working with all of our members to give you a chance to voice your concerns and articulate your vision and the solutions you know will bring about environmental sustainability. And why not ask your favorite NGO how else you might help them beyond your giving. You never know where this might lead you!

Earlier this year the AEGN visited the Latrobe and Hunter Valleys to learn what is needed to support these communities to achieve a just transition to a new economic future. Justin Maxson, Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation and Lisa Abbott, Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, came on the journey with us and shared their deep knowledge of just transitions in the Appalachian region of the US.

We now have two videos available of interviews with Justin, Lisa and Mark Randazzo from the EDGE Funders Alliance. Listen to Sue Matthews of the Mullum Trust in conversation with these leading transitions practitioners, talking about the role for philanthropy and what communities do to drive a just transition.

Robin has a background in finance and investment and is Chairman of Vintage Capital. He is a director and co-founder of Blackwall Property Group, a subsidiary of WOTSO, one of Australia’s largest operators of co-working spaces. Robin mentors at Incubate and manages a small portfolio of investments in technology companies. He qualified as Australia’s 7^th Master of Wine in 1997 and Glenguin is consistently rated in the top 5% of Australia’s wineries by quality. He paddles in the harbour and ocean, is a keen sailor, follows geopolitical events closely, and has been the Australian Ambassador for Singularity University of Mountain View, California, co-founded by Google and NASA.

Robin’s approach to environmental giving is similar to business investment – try to back the right people, nurture the talent and be patient.

How did you become interested in funding marine projects?

I spend a lot of time on the water and Rita has been picking up plastic at Clifton Gardens daily for 35 years. Also there are established areas of Sydney Harbour National Park all around the harbour and Sydney’s coastline, and yet between Port Stephens and Jervis Bay there is almost zero “no take” protection for our marine habitat. I connected with the Australian Marine Conservation Society in 2014 and looked at what they were doing and advocating for and decided to support their campaign for a Sydney Marine Park.

What is it about this issue that you would like others to better understand?

People say to me, “Robin, what are you on about, the harbour is much healthier than it was 30 years ago!” That highlights for me that people haven’t thought through this issue properly. 30 years ago there were open sewage outfalls off North Head, toxic industrial waste going into the Parramatta River, lead-based antifoul on boats, commercial fishing, little control over big industrial vessels, voiding tanks, ‘through the hull’ toilets on boats were also legal. All those things are gone now, so our harbour is no longer nearly as toxic as it was, but the authorities still tell us not to eat any fish caught west of the Harbour Bridge and to eat no more than 100 grams per week maximum of fish caught anywhere else in our harbour. So right here in our “Emerald City” we have the opportunity to set an example to all Australians and the world, and preserve and protect in perpetuity, by establishing some fully protected zones in and around Sydney’s waters. It seems obvious yet the only fully protected areas are 20 hectares in Cabbage Tree Bay (which has no enforcement) and a single hectare at Ship Rock in Port Hacking. This is less than 0.00001% of the close coastal waters stretching from Port Stephens all the way to Jervis Bay.

Are there any lessons learnt from funding this project?

It’s too early to tell but if business experience is a guide, ‘don’t quit’ seems appropriate at this stage. Oceans produce most of the oxygen in our atmosphere. A dead ocean would result in the end of life on earth as we know it. To me, protecting our oceans and marine life is the standout, pressing environmental issue of our time, but it’s also one of the most difficult. You can buy land and put a fence around it and if we could do that in the ocean, that’s what I’d do, because it’s more effective than advocacy, certainly in the short/medium time. And yes, I am worried that in a world focused on short term outcomes, this issue won’t be adequately addressed. But we should not give up.

Was there a lightbulb moment that changed your perspective about marine conservation?

In 2014 we were visiting Silicon Valley and had the fortune to spend a day with Tod Bensen who was the Chair of WildAid – the highly successful NGO devoted to stopping the illegal wildlife trade. Their motto is: “When the buying stops, the killing can too”. WildAid was catapulted onto the global stage when Tod and his team decided to target shark finning. I learnt a lot that day by listening to Tod.

When my grandson Alex was born nearly four years ago, it was a seminal moment. You think about your grandchildren in a different way than your children. With your own children, you are just getting on with getting through the day. But by the time your grandchild is born, you think, “How do I explain that on our watch, we the boomer generation, we had it all, had a 50 year incoming economic tide, took maximum advantage and didn’t even have to serve our country in war; so how come we left the planet in such a mess?”

What keeps you awake at night?

To me, the big issue of our time is getting through this bottleneck of maximum population and at the same time bringing an additional 2 to 2.5 billion people from poverty through to the middle class – people who want stuff in addition to water, food and shelter. We will probably reach a plateau of about 9.5 billion people and then it will fall away. You can’t stop that, it’s going to happen.

We think we’ve got demands on the environment now – wait till this happens. The issue is what kind of environment will be left in the 21^st century? The great biologist E.O Wilson who is arguably the father of evolutionary biology said, “How many species will make it through this bottleneck?” We will make it most likely. How many will make it through with us? How many totemic species? How many rhino and elephants, whales and fish? What kind of world will it be in 2100?

Robert May (an Australian scientist who has been President of the Royal Society and Chief Scientific Adviser to the UK Govt) says we are destroying the book of life before we’re even reading it – we are losing species before we even discover them, often at a microbial level.

Superficially it is the most wonderful time for a child to be born (longest life expectancy, highest standard of living, lowest level of violence etc), and we have been the most fortunate generation on earth. All of these wonderful things, but it’s come at a price. What are we going to do as we go through this period? I want to be able to explain what we did on our watch. For me, this is the most important issue facing our generation.

Tell me about your property in the Hunter Valley?

When we bought the property 24 years ago it had been used for cattle grazing. Nothing denudes landscape like cattle and sheep who eat the emerging trees and bushes, spreading noxious fireweed and saltbush everywhere they go. Most of the property, including nearly 2km of riverfront, is now given over to the regeneration of native bush and we have thousands of trees where previously there were only 30 or so old ironbarks! We have resident kangaroos, wallabies, geese, native ducks, wombats and lizards not to mention the goannas, snakes and abundant birdlife. The area under vine represents less than 15% of the land, and vines are only planted on the gravel and ironstone slopes, plus a patch of sandy loam over red basalt at the bottom of the hill.

What is your favourite plant?
I have two – the baobab and the Spear Lily.

What is your favourite animal?
Again, I have two! The humpback whale and the leopard.

What is your favourite place?
Home.

Who has inspired you lately?
The team at Australian Marine Conservation Society and the team who managed Cassini which revealed never-before seen events which are changing our understanding of how planetary systems form and what conditions might lead to habitats for life.

What are the regulatory issues?

Treasury consultation on deductible gift recipient (DGR) reform

A number of AEGN members have made submissions to this very important consultation, which is expected to result in legislative changes. In these submissions, there is strong unity across the charitable sector that reform is needed to reduce system complexity and administrative burdens.

While there is potential for positive outcomes, concern is high across the sector about potential reforms singling out or restricting advocacy. The most explicit restriction is the recommendation that environmental DGRs allocate 25% – 50% of their expenditures to environmental remediation. This would remove the right of organisations to choose how they achieve their charitable purpose. Many would be compelled to direct significant levels of funding towards activities which contravene their charitable purpose. Less resources would be available for crucial advocacy work. The whole movement would be weakened by this reform.

How would this affect AEGN members?

AEGN members would also be touched by the remediation obligation, especially those members who can only make grants to DGR organisations. As a funder, would you be able to continue using your own processes to determine the most effective use of your foundation’s funds – or would you be obliged to direct funding towards remediation, even though it may not be part of your strategy? Bizarrely, providing funds to an environmental DGR for work that isn’t remediation could actually make it harder for them to meet the remediation obligation as it is calculated as a percentage of overall donations. The more donations overall, the more funding which needs to be directed to remediation. How would due diligence be undertaken in such a situation?

The AEGN will continue to monitor this situation and keep members informed of developments. Read our submission.

Foreign donation restrictions could be extended to NGOs

After months of news stories decrying foreign donations to political parties for elections, legislation is expected to be in front of Parliament very soon, introducing greater restrictions. On the face of it this should have no implications for the not-for-profit sector or philanthropy. However, the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters has recommended the ban on overseas donations be extended to charities (with dissent from the ALP and Greens members). It is unclear how wide or narrow such a ban would be applied and charities are understandably concerned.

What would this mean for Australian NGOs?

Restrictions on donations from international foundations would have significant implications for all Australian NGOs which rely upon overseas funding for their work. There will be environmental implications; research shows that of all giving areas, ‘environment and animals’ is the second most funded issue in Australia by US foundations, which granted over $11 million to this area in 2011-2013. Australia has a small population and a large land mass, with globally significant lands and waters. We need to look beyond our shores for philanthropic support and should be welcoming such help. Contact Esther Abram if you would like more information.

The 2016 State of the Environment report documents the decline of Australia’s natural environment and the growing challenge presented by climate change. More resources are needed and it’s understandable that governments are seeking greater philanthropic investment into government-led programs. What doesn’t make sense is stemming the flow of philanthropic funding and cutting access to funds for environmental organisations and advocacy work.

Join us in Canberra to delve deeper

On 12 September 2017, Environmental Philanthropy Meets Parliament will explore the relationship between environmental grantmakers and the Australian Government with a special breakfast event in Canberra. For more information or to register your interest in attending, please contact Esther Abram.

At the 2017 Philanthropy Australia awards in April, the Inagural Environment Award (sponsored by the AEGN) went to The Ian Potter Foundation for the Reef Life Survey in Tasmania. The Myer Foundation won the Award for Best Large Grant to ClimateWorks while Ian Darling was named Australia’s leading philanthropist.

The Environmental Grantmakers Association 2017 Annual Fall Retreat will take place in Seattle from September 24 – 27. The retreat will explore the relationships linking urban and rural areas and consider the role of cities in nurturing connections, fostering equity and sustainability. Read the retreat’s vision statement.

Sarah Buckley is the new Executive Officer at the Trawalla Foundation taking over from Thea Snow who was holding the Interim Executive Officer role while the Foundation was recruiting.

Rebecca Chew fills Louise Kuramoto’s role as Program Manager at the R E Ross Trust while Louise is on maternity leave.

Environmental groups will be among those who benefit from Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest’s $400 million philanthropic donation announced in May, the biggest in Australia’s history.

Read on for a short profile of one of our newest members, Katherine Barraclough.

Katherine is an individual donor living in Melbourne. She has young children, works as a doctor and is very aware of the dependence of human wellbeing on a healthy environment. She also has a strong love of the natural world and wants to play her part in protecting it. Katherine has become increasingly distressed over recent years about the breadth and scale of environmental problems that exist and has joined the AEGN to meet other donors and learn how to most effectively contribute to solutions. She is particularly interested in learning more about projects involving preservation of biodiversity and Indigenous land management.