Philanthropic funders, foundations, and FGII guests are welcome to attend this event.
When
Wednesday 3 December 2025
Online attendance:
12.00pm – 1.30pm AEDT (ACT, NSW, TAS, VIC)
11.30am – 1.00pm ACDT (SA)
10.30am – 12.00pm ACST (SA)
9.00am – 10.30am AWST (WA)
In-person attendance: 11:00am - 1:30pm AEST (QLD)
In-person agenda
- 11.00am – 12.30pm | FPO Presentations
- 12.30pm – 1.00pm | State of the Impact Investing Market in QLD
- 1.00pm – 1.30pm | Lunch & Networking
Location, hybrid event
Online: Meeting link will be provided after registration.
In-person: Brisbane. Level 13, Macquarie office, Fortitude Valley, Queensland 4006
Aim
To present an overview and investment considerations of investment-ready organisations
Overview
The Foundations Group for Impact Investing (FGII), launched in 2023, is designed to support market-building initiatives for foundations and charitable funders interested in starting or currently undertaking impact investing.
The FGII plans to support market building through education and origination. The origination activities will primarily be delivered via the Market Information Days.
Do you know a Foundation or Charitable funder who would benefit from joining? Please help spread the word. Find out more about becoming a FGII member.
About Market Information Day
The Market Information Day on Wednesday 3 December will be held hybrid. This event is an opportunity to share impact investments in the market and invite discussion.
The Market Information Days are designed to educate attendees about the social impact investment landscape and opportunities from social impact funds, charities and social ventures. The event will focus on learning in a mutually supportive environment; newer investors learn from the questions posed by their more experienced peers, and those presenting can benefit from feedback on their ideas.
Please note:
- Presenters will share their thoughts and views in conversation but will not offer any financial advice.
- A brief survey will be provided for completion at the end of each presentation.
Audience
Philanthropic funders, foundations and FGII guests are welcome to attend this event.
For questions about this event or FGII, please contact the FGII Program Director Michelle Di Fabio at fgii@philanthropy.org.au. Find out how to become a FGII member here.
Philanthropy Australia (PA) membership is not required to join FGII.
Speakers | FPO presentations
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Lisa Fedorenko - Head of Impact Investing, Save the Children Global Ventures
Lisa Fedorenko is Head of Impact Investing at Save the Children Global Ventures, leading the strategy and execution of the $30 million Asia Healthcare Impact Fund, a pioneering initiative designed to advance equitable healthcare access for women and children across the Asia-Pacific.
With over a decade of experience in ESG, impact investing, and venture capital, Lisa brings deep expertise in capital raising, stakeholder engagement, and fund management.
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Her prior experience includes managing the $16 million Alberts Impact Venture fund and leading investments for Reinventure (Westpac’s CVC). Lisa is a frequent speaker at leading industry forums, including the Impact Investing Summit and SXSW, and has co-founded sector initiatives like Equity Clear pushing the needle on Gender Lens Investing and recognised by Fortune’s Change the World list. She holds a double degree in Commerce and Mathematics from the University of Sydney and has been repeatedly acknowledged for her leadership in impact investment.
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Zara Fulton - Head of Investment, Remarkable
Zara Fulton is Head of Investment at Remarkable, Cerebral Palsy Alliance, where she leads investments in scalable technologies delivering impact for people with cerebral palsy and other complex disability. Zara has led close to $3 million in off balance sheet investments into seven early-stage ventures whose technologies are already impacting more than 100,000 people with disability.
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She brings a cross-sector perspective, with strategy and corporate development leadership roles at Genomatica, advancing sustainable materials innovation, and at Norstella, advising global pharmaceutical companies. Earlier in her career, she contributed to vaccine development at Johnson & Johnson and The Scripps Research Institute, and shaped national innovation policy at the Department of Industry, Science and Resources. Zara holds a PhD in Structural Biology and a Master of Public Policy, and is committed to backing ventures grounded in lived experience, driving both deep individual impact and broad systemic change.
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James Russell, Coolabah Capital
James joined Coolabah Capital as an ESG Analyst in 2024, focusing on ESG-related investment activities, including investee due diligence and macro and regulatory analysis. James has been instrumental in the development of Coolabah’s environmentally-focused strategies – in particular, defining the strategies' investment universe of environmentally-labelled bonds and rigorous screening process to classify “Coolabah Carbon Leaders”.
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Prior to Coolabah, James was a Climate Risk Analyst with the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), responsible for analysing and providing prudential supervision on the financial risks associated with climate change. James led projects identifying and supervising Australian banks’ exposure to physical weather risks, designing APRA’s Insurance Climate Vulnerability Assessment, and forecasting macroeconomic variables to align with low-carbon economic transition scenarios as part of APRA’s integration of climate risk into its Supervision Risk and Intensity models. James began his career as a graduate in Macquarie Group’s Risk Management Group, focusing on the credit risk of financial institution counterparties. James has a Bachelor of Commerce with First Class Honours from the University of Melbourne, majoring in Finance and Economics.
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Melissa Reader, Violet
Melissa is a dedicated social entrepreneur with a wealth of personal and professional expertise, driving impactful change in her leadership role at Violet. Drawing from her unique insights into end-of-life matters, Melissa’s consulting background in adaptive leadership, purpose-led strategy, and human-centred design has cultivated a culture of innovation and resilience within the organisation.
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With a commitment to reimagining traditional approaches, Melissa spearheads creative problem-solving, leverages technology, and fosters new collaborative models to drive meaningful transformation. Her adeptness in navigating complex business landscapes and nurturing stakeholder relationships underscores her leadership style, which is marked by innovation, sustainability, and a steadfast dedication to delivering exceptional value.
At Violet, Melissa has transformed a community-based charitable organisation into a tech-enabled, purpose-driven social enterprise, reshaping how we approach and manage end-of-life planning.
With Co-founder Tom Hull, Violet adopts a strategic and commercial perspective to address critical challenges and generate value for individuals and diverse businesses across the system.
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Market Update: 2025 Impact Investing Market Sizing Study
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David Hetherington - CEO, Impact Investing Australia
David Hetherington is the CEO of Impact Investing Australia. He was previously the CEO of the Public Education Foundation and the founding Executive Director of the progressive think tank Per Capita. He has also worked at the UK’s Institute for Public Policy Research and with LEK Consulting in Sydney, Munich and Auckland.
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David has authored over 100 reports, book chapters and opinion pieces on a wide range of economic and social policy issues. His work has appeared in The Guardian, The Economist, The Sydney Morning Herald, AFR and The Australian, and was a regular commentator on ABC TV’s The Drum. David holds an MPA with Distinction from the London School of Economics and a BA with First Class Honours from UNSW. In 2022, he was named in Pro Bono’s Impact 25 list as one of Australia’s 25 most influential non-profit leaders.
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State of the Impact Investing Market in QLD
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Karen Wiik - Assistant Under Treasurer, Office of Social Impact, Queensland Treasury
Allan English AM - Founder and Chair, The English Family Foundation | Chair, Queensland Government Social Impact Advisory Roundtable
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FGII Chair
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Ben Smith - Head, Impact Investing, Paul Ramsay Foundation
Ben is Head of Impact Investing at Paul Ramsay Foundation. Alongside his role at PRF, Ben is the Vice Chair, and Chair of the Investment Committee, for NatWest Social and Community Capital. Furthermore, he holds the position of Impact Investor in Residence at Centre for Social Impact Flinders University.
Prior to joining PRF, Ben was Head of Impact Investment at Esmée Fairbairn Foundation – the UK’s largest impact investing foundation.
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Ben previously established UnLtd’s – the UK’s largest early-stage social enterprise supporter – social investment department and first funds. Other notable activities in the space include co-authoring the CFA UK’s Impact and Investing Certificate, co-Chairing the UK’s Social Impact Investors Group and holding Impact Finance lecturing positions at Cranfield University and University of Westminster.
Originally a management and strategy consultant, Ben is also a former Board Member of Birmingham Symphony Hall and Aston University. |
FGII Deputy Chair
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Bhanvi Kapoor Anand - Portfolio and Partnerships Manager, Snow Foundation
Bhanvi Kapoor Anand is an impact investment professional with 18+ years of experience across banking, philanthropy, and the non-profit sector. She manages the Snow Foundation’s impact investment portfolio, directing capital toward initiatives that advance social equity and inclusive growth. She serves on the FGII steering committee, shaping collaborative impact strategies across philanthropy.
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In 2024, she completed the Observership Program, gaining board governance training through the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) and The Ethics Centre. She holds an MBA from UTS and a Bachelor of Applied Finance from Macquarie University.
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FGII Program Director
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Michelle Di Fabio - Program Director for the Foundations Group for Impact Investing (FGII), Philanthropy Australia
Michelle leads the Foundations Group for Impact Investing (FGII) at Philanthropy Australia. The FGII launched in 2023, is designed to support market-building initiatives for foundations and charitable funders interested in starting or currently undertaking impact investing.
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Michelle is experienced in strategy, program delivery, education and impact investing. Michelle has held roles including Head of Strategy for Hostplus Superannuation, Relationship Manager for the UN-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and is the Founder and Director of Strategic Global Advisory (SGA).
Michelle is passionate about education and collaboration, and a lecturer in Impact Investing (Sustainable Investment) at The University of Melbourne.
Michelle qualified as a Chartered Accountant at PwC and is an alumnus of The University of Melbourne, University of Manchester and Oxford University, where she was awarded a leadership scholarship to study the Social Impact Investing Programme at the SAID Business School. Michelle is a board member of Dodgeball Australia, National student body Financial Management Association of Australia (FMAA) and former Alumni Deputy Chair at The University of Melbourne. |
Find out how to become a FGII member here.
Learn more about Philanthropy Australia membership.
