Philanthropic funders, foundations, and FGII guests are welcome to attend this event.
When
Thursday 30 May 2024
Online attendees (open to all):
10am - 12:00pm AEST (ACT, NSW, QLD)
9:30am - 11:30am ACST (NT, SA)
8am - 10am AWST (WA)
In-person attendance (open to all): 9:30am - 12.00pm AEST (VIC)
Location, hybrid event
In-person attendees: Melbourne CBD (venue will be shared in the event reminder email a few days before the event)
Online attendees: A Zoom link will be provided after registration.
Aims
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- To present an overview and investment considerations of investment-ready organisations (open session)
- To obtain feedback from FGII members to shape future market information days and FGII (closed session)
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 Thursday 30 May will be held hybrid in Melbourne.
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.
Structure (in AEST; ACT/ NSW/ VIC)
9:30am (in-person only): Morning tea, networking and socials open to all
10am (online and in-person): Open session, all welcome
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- Open and welcome
- Speaker presentations
11:30am: Closed session for FGII members only
Please note:
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- The open session will be recorded. A closed session will be available for FGII members only, to provide feedback to support the development of future Market Information Days and the group.
- 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 Manager Michelle Di Fabio at fgii@philanthropy.org.au. Find out how to become a FGII member here.
If you wish to sign up as a Philanthropy Australia member, please reach out to membership@philanthropy.org.au.
Speakers
Rachel Ball - Chief Executive Officer, Reichstein Foundation
Rachel Ball is CEO of the Reichstein Foundation, an Australian philanthropic pioneer that has supported outstanding changemakers and shaped the infrastructure of giving for the last 50 years. The Foundation backs the people, ideas and organisations that drive social, economic and environmental justice in Australia.
Rachel is also a Director of Australian Progress and sits on the advisory committee of the Sustainable Investment Exchange (SIX). She’s previously held senior leadership roles at the Human Rights Law Centre, Oxfam Australia and the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria, where she supported Assembly Members to negotiate the foundations for Treaty-making in Victoria.
She has expertise designing and delivering strategies that challenge unfair distributions of wealth and power, including through rights-based advocacy, public campaigns, strategic litigation and political engagement.
Rachel lives on Wadawurrung Country on Victoria’s Surf Coast and loves dashing into the ocean at every spare moment.
Jaison Hoernel - Chief Executive Officer, Good Cycles
Jaison has over 20 years of professional experience in the bicycle industry in Australia and internationally. With influential roles across the industry, Jaison’s depth of expertise is highly regarded. He has enjoyed success in establishing one of Australia’s most successful and highly regarded commuter and specialty bicycle retail shops, holds an MBA (Executive) from RMIT and has a highly developed financial acumen.
Jaison has held management positions in both Australia and Asia and been actively involved in developing sponsorship and funding models for public transport projects internationally. Jaison is committed to social equity.
Melanie Greblo - Chief Executive Officer, Scriibed and Banksia Academy
Mel's driving purpose has been to catalyse and lead positive impact. She is currently Founder & CEO at Banksia Impact and Academy, an impact venture driven by its Theory of Change to achieve full social and economic participation for women who face multiple barriers to employment.
She has honed the art of conversational leadership, is an ideas synthesist and strategist with a proven record of achievement in business, social ventures, community engagement, and culture transformation with a deep commitment to diversity, inclusion, innovation and systemic social change.
Since 2015, Melanie has been instrumental in convening the impact investing ecosystem in the Asia Pacific with the team at Impact Asia Pacific as Executive Director, Producer and Curator, and through The Coterie, has brought international thought leaders to Australia - building communities of practice together around the key themes of - impact, purpose, conversational leadership, beautiful business and innovation. In 2011, Mel founded The Coterie for Renewal (then Talking Sticks), a global human development and learning community pioneering the work of inner development and leadership.
In 2021 at Impact Asia Pacific, Mel curated and produced the first Gender Lens Investment Summit Asia Pacific in Sydney, Australia, bringing together global pioneers, thought and practice leaders, and an audience of private, family and institutional investors across philanthropy, impact and responsible investment.
Her strengths converge around systems change, connecting divergent points to create shared value, social innovation, driving engagement, building long term partnerships, strategic communication, community building, catalysing policy change and action.
Prior to her current work Mel has led social/not-for-profit organisations and teams as Chief Executive.
Monique Andrew - Strategic Advisor, Transition Accelerator
Monique Andrew is a Strategic Advisor to the Transition Accelerator, an organization focused on expanding the scope for profitable investment in climate solutions by developing catalytic capital structures.
With 15 years of experience in investment, strategy, and law, Monique has demonstrated skill in building and advising businesses across the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia. Previously, Monique has held various executive positions including Partner and Chief of Strategy & Innovation at Sayers, Chief Operating Officer at Linden Global Strategies, and Chief of Staff at JBWere. Additionally, she serves on the board of RMIT Activator.
Monique has a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Melbourne, and an MBA from the University of Cambridge.
Rita Prasad-Ildes - Founder and Managing Director, World Wellness Group (WWG)
With over 25 years not for profit and public sector experience in health, mental health and human services, Rita concluded that the tackling of entrenched and systemic issues relating to health inequity for the multicultural population required a different approach. She pursued a social enterprise approach and co-founded World Wellness Group (WWG) in 2011, which runs the World Wellness Health and Medical Clinic where she is the current Managing Director.
WWG is a front-line specialist multicultural primary health care service which simultaneously works on fixing the systems that create health inequity in the first place.
Rita and her team have been recognised for their pioneering work in working in the system as a health service and on the system to tackle the underlying causes of health inequity, with a Qld Government multicultural business excellence award, and a Telstra Business Award in the charity category. In 2021 Rita was awarded a Westfield Local Hero Award and last year Rita received an equity scholarship to the Global Wellness Summit in the US.
FGII chair
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. 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 Program manager
Michelle Di Fabio - Program Manager 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.
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.