Working with advisors to align capital with purpose: Lessons from the Endowments for Impact Challenge

Hosted by the Foundations Group for Impact Investing (FGII) and the Endowments for Impact Challenge, in partnership with the Reichstein Foundation and Impact Investing Australia.

Audience

FGII members only. Foundations and charitable funders with investible assets can apply for membership here.

Overview

Join the Endowments for Impact Challenge (EFIC) and the Foundations Group for Impact Investing (FGII) for a conversation on how Foundation & Trusts can work with advisors to align capital with purpose.

The Endowments for Impact Challenge has crowned its winners, but the real work of transforming how Australian trusts and foundations invest is just beginning.

In this session, we will host an interactive discussion exploring challenges and opportunities for Foundations & Trusts to work with advisors including:

• • The realities of working with advisors
  • Advisors and power dynamics
  • The relationship between advisors and Investment committees
  • Challenges faced and how challenges have been overcome

We’ll unpack key findings from the newly released Mission Meets Capital: findings from the Endowments for Impact Challenge report and share practical insights to help Foundations and Trusts work with professional investment advisors to take the next steps toward responsible, mission-aligned investment, covering how Foundations & Trusts can:

• • Consider responsible investment capability and expertise in the selection and engagement of investment advisors
  • Work more effectively with advisors to align investments with mission
  • Use EFIC’s Request for Proposal, selection criteria and State of the Sector report to guide advisor engagement
  • Opportunities to leverage EFIC resources

When

Thursday 28 August 2025

12:00pm - 1:00pm AEST (ACT, NSW, QLD, VIC)

11:30am - 12:30pm ACST (NT)

10:00am - 11:00am AWST (WA)

Virtual attendance only

Meeting link will be provided after confirming FGII membership.

Please note:

• • Presenters will share their thoughts and views in conversation but will not offer any financial advice.
  • For questions about this event or FGII, please contact the FGII Program Director Michelle Di Fabio at fgii@philanthropy.org.au.
  • If you wish to sign up as a Philanthropy Australia member, please reach out to membership@philanthropy.org.au.

Speakers

			Bruce Campbell, Chief Operating Officer Impact Investing Australia Bruce has an extensive career in business and operations management.  His former roles include CEO of the Alternative Technology Association (ATA); Executive Manager Business Services, Australian Volunteers International (AVI); and General Manager Corporate Services, Good Shepherd Australia and New Zealand and 18 years with Shell.  Bruce has a Bachelor of Engineering from the University of Queensland and an MBA from the Australian Graduate School of Management.
			Cathy Scalzo - Trustee, Grace and Emilio Foundation; CEO, Scalzo Family Office In her capacity as CEO of the Scalzo Family Office, and Trustee of the Grace and Emilio Foundation, Cathy has worked with her family to align their investments with their values and has guided the development of the family’s impact investment portfolio. Cathy is Chair of Australians Investing in Women, Co-Deputy Chair of the Mornington Peninsula Foundation, and a board member of ygap and The Social Impact Hub. She is a member of Criterion Institute’s Shift Narratives in Innovative Finance Advisory Board and a SEDI grant panel member. Cathy was previously General Counsel of Scalzo Foods, one of Australia’s largest privately owned food businesses, and has worked as a senior associate at Allens and diplomat for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
			Daniel Brugaletta - Chief Financial and Operations Officer, Australian Communities Foundation  Daniel is the Chief Financial & Operations Officer at Australian Communities Foundation, having joined the organisation in 2018. His role is to oversee all aspects of the organisation’s finances, including the management of its responsibly invested corpus. Prior to ACF, Daniel worked for nine years at the Myer Family Company, where he served as a director in the Family Office team, advising high-net-worth individuals and their families on accounting/tax, investments, superannuation, succession, and philanthropy.
			Rachel Ball - CEO, 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.

FGII chair

FGII Program Director 

Find out how to become a FGII member here.

Learn more about Philanthropy Australia membership.