U.S. Foundation Funding for Australia Prepared by Foundation Center in partnership with the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney and Philanthropy Australia Authors Executive Summary FOUNDATION CENTER U.S. Foundation Funding for Australia, the first report of its kind, is Seema Shah Director of Research for Special Projects part of a larger project involving the United States Studies Centre Grace Sato Research Associate at the University of Sydney, Philanthropy Australia, and Foundation Center. A primary goal of this partnership is to improve awareness and understanding in Australia of the U.S. philanthropic sector, while also strengthening philanthropic ties between the two countries and Contributors demonstrating the value of transparency within the not-for-profit sector. FOUNDATION CENTER In the current report, we examine the priorities of U.S. foundation Anthony DiRosa Program Assistant funding to organizations located in Australia, as well as funding Angie Koo Research Assistant for organizations supporting causes in Australia. The quantitative Steven Lawrence Director of Research analysis is based on grantmaking data from among the largest Bradford K. Smith President U.S. foundations. The report also presents perspectives of U.S. and Davis Winslow Research Assistant Australian funders on the current role of philanthropy in Australia, David Wolcheck Research Associate specific challenges and opportunities, and what is needed to achieve greater impact. UNITED STATES STUDIES CENTRE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY Bates Gill Visiting Professor PHILANTHROPY AUSTRALIA Sarah Davies Chief Executive Officer Krystian Seibert Policy and Research Manager Acknowledgements The United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney wishes to thank its Board for support of this project, and in particular Board member Mr. Joe Skrzynski AO for his many contributions to the project’s success. Philanthropy Australia wishes to thank the Skrzynski Sky Foundation, the Trawalla Foundation, and the Snow Foundation for their generous support for this project. For more information about this report, contact Seema Shah, Director of Research for Special Projects, at [email protected] or +1 (212) 620-4230. Copyright © 2016 Foundation Center. This work is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 Unported License, creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/. ISBN 978-1-59542-515-7 Design by On Design. 2 United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney, Philanthropy Australia, and Foundation Center Key Findings U.S. FOUNDATION FUNDING FOR AUSTRALIA • The top recipient of U.S. foundation funding was the Murdoch • Between 2011 and 2013, 71 U.S. foundations awarded 393 total Childrens Research Institute ($9 million). The majority of the top grants to 208 recipients totaling US$95.1 million to/for Australia. recipients (55 percent) were universities. • Health drew the largest proportion of grants awarded to/for Australia, accounting for $40.5 million in giving and 43 percent FUNDER PERSPECTIVES ON PHILANTHROPY IN AUSTRALIA of total grant dollars. This was driven largely by funding by the Bill • U.S. foundations awarding grants to Australia have a variety & Melinda Gates Foundation, which was responsible for 73 percent of motivations for funding in Australia. Some have personal ($29 million) of health-related grantmaking. connections to the country, while corporate foundations are likely • More than half of all grant dollars (52 percent) were explicitly to invest in areas where they have offices. designated for economically disadvantaged groups. • Both U.S. and Australian funders focus on a broad spectrum • Almost all grant dollars in the sample (86 percent) were made of key social issues, among them income inequality, climate directly to organizations located in Australia. Of the top 20 recipients, change, education, and the challenges facing rural and 16 are located in Australia and the remaining four are in the U.S. with indigenous populations. programs focused on Australia. • Similar to NGOs in the U.S., key challenges faced by Australian • Among grant dollars awarded to recipients in Australia, organizations NGOs include building greater capacity to measure outcomes and located in Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland received ensuring long-term fiscal sustainability. roughly equal amounts of funding (around $22 million each). • There is a dearth of information about philanthropy in Australia that • The largest funder to/for Australia was the Bill & Melinda Gates limits collaboration and coordination. As funders strive to become Foundation, followed by Atlantic Philanthropies and the Gordon more effective and increase their impact, many agree that greater and Betty Moore Foundation. transparency and sharing of information are important. Sydney Opera House. Credit: Alex Wong. U.S. FOUNDATION FUNDING FOR AUSTRALIA 3 Introduction Dr. Bates Gill, Visiting Professor, United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney The United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney (USSC) aims to increase understanding of the United States in Australia through teaching, research, public outreach, and facilitating informative exchanges between the United States and Australia. This report promotes that mission by raising awareness and understanding in Australia of the U.S. philanthropy sector while strengthening philanthropic ties between our two countries. The USSC is proud to have conceived and helped broker and support this collaboration with Philanthropy Australia and Foundation Center. The present report delivers a new level of understanding about the U.S. philanthropic sector by detailing past and present U.S. foundation giving in Australia, identifying important trends in U.S. philanthropy, and demonstrating the value of transparency, accountability, and information sharing within the social sector. Building on this platform, the USSC looks forward to continuing its work with Philanthropy Australia and Foundation Center to promote stronger Australia-U.S. exchanges across our philanthropic communities. Melbourne Skyline. Credit: Linda Xu. 4 United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney, Philanthropy Australia, and Foundation Center Sarah Davies, CEO, Philanthropy Australia Our objective at Philanthropy Australia is to grow philanthropy and collaboration, increase impact, and educate the community about the increase its impact. Part of this involves promoting philanthropy’s role and contribution of philanthropy. contribution to the Australian community, which is why we are delighted to partner with the United States Studies Centre at the Philanthropy Australia agrees and in the coming months and years, University of Sydney and Foundation Center to publish this report, we will be seeking to work with our Members and partners, such which highlights the role of U.S. philanthropy in Australia. as Foundation Center, to develop the tools needed to better share data on Australian philanthropy so we can all take advantage The report does much more than provide some interesting of the benefits that Smith describes. Providing new insights into information—it also exposes the “data deficit” we have when it comes where Australian philanthropic investment is directed will help to Australian philanthropy. We have nothing like Foundation Center’s us all increase our effectiveness. In this regard, this report is just database, which maps grants by U.S. foundations. the beginning of an exciting and important journey. The fact is we know more about the granting practices of U.S. foundations and their Australian grant recipients than we do about Australian foundations. Philanthropy Australia believes that this needs to change. Bradford Smith’s foreword to this report highlights the benefits of transparency and openness—they support U.S. FOUNDATION FUNDING FOR AUSTRALIA 5 FOREWORD live in a twilight world in which their desire to have impact while keeping a low profile increasingly collides with growing public Transparency and Impact expectations for transparency. How this tension is negotiated will Bradford K. Smith, President, Foundation Center be crucial to the future of how private wealth contributes to the public good around the world. Philanthropy is one of the most important, but least understood, features of our global market economy. America has more than The reasons why a foundation may choose to remain under 87,000 private foundations that collectively control $798 billion the radar are understandable—including a culture of modesty in assets and make close to $55 billion in grants each year. Europe and a lack of staff capacity. Still, greater transparency in today’s world has over 140,000 “public benefit foundations” with equally impressive is inevitable. What used to be a bilateral relationship between private assets and spending. In Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle foundations and government has now become a triangle with the East, philanthropy is on the rise. digitally literate public. People expect to be able to get information on virtually everything—government, corporations, stores, products, Foundations are the result of a grand public policy bargain that makes celebrities, friends, enemies, and themselves—instantly through their institutionalized philanthropy possible: Wealthy donors are given some smartphones, tablets, or watches. The modern version of the old form of tax incentives to create and maintain private foundations in motto “trust but verify”