History of Philanthropy Australia

The organisation now known as Philanthropy Australia was established in December of 1977 as The Australian Association of Philanthropy, with the principal objectives of establishing closer communications between organisations distributing charitable funds, and increasing the value of philanthropy to the community.

The genesis of the Association goes back to two seminars in 1971 and 1975 sponsored by The Myer Foundation and The Ian Potter Foundation, at which the view was put forward that trustees of foundations had much to learn from others experienced in "the difficult art of giving". It was also recognised that the community would benefit from cooperation between philanthropic trusts. By 1980 membership had grown to 47 organisations. A part-time secretariat was set up in 1988, which moved to full-time in 1996. The name of the organisation was streamlined to Philanthropy Australia in 1997.

Over the next decade the Philanthropy Australia staff has grown to 10, with a permanent presence in Sydney, and memberships numbering over 250. While the mission and values of the organisation essentially remain the same, the implementation of information and communications technologies and the increasing profile of philanthopy have resulted in a dynamic, responsive, influential and growing association.

For more information on the history of philanthropy in Australia, see the Timeline of Australian Philanthropy.

In 2007 we celebrated Philanthropy Australia's 30th Anniversary, finishing the year with an Australian Philanthropy journal edition called Looking Back, Looking Forward: Celebrating 30 Years of Philanthropy Australia.