Chairperson’s Report – November 2019
Kath House
The weeks since our Grant Launch night at the Jam Factory have been busy as we continue to plan for our next round of grants.
Thank you to the grants assessment committee who have been hard at work, looking through the 23 amazing expressions of interest we received following the launch. Thank you to chair Ailsa Young, and the dedicated members on the committee, Dave Stock, David McGlennon, David Walker, Marilyn Chambers, Noel Grieve, Philip Huestis, Julia Pitman, Clare Randall and Simon Tiddy.
Also working busily behind the scenes are our hardworking volunteer membership committee comprising Phil Rundle, Geoff Day, Natalie Fuller and Rachael McEvoy who are responsible for sending out your membership renewal letters and keeping our records up-to-date.
On that note, I would especially like to thank Phil Rundle for his generous support and contribution, particularly as a Board member for the past four years. Phil has recently stepped down from our management committee, but will continue to assist on the membership committee for now.
Allison Kane, who has worked tirelessly over the last year to update our website and to manage our events and communications, is also stepping away from the management committee, due to an exciting new work opportunity. We are very grateful to Alli for her time and talent and all that she has contributed to strengthen and grow Impact100 SA.
Voluntary organisations like Impact100 SA could not exist and continue to operate at no cost to members without the effort of generous people like Phil and Alli.
Additionally, we are indebted to member and events committee volunteer Jacki Newton who will take over from Alli as chair of our Events committee. We would also like to welcome back our founding member Justine Crawford who will resume responsibility for communications and PR, including updating our website and keeping you updated with these newsletters, with the help of Haley Tamblyn at Hughes PR.
Reflecting on all that is done by the team at Impact 100 SA, like all volunteer organisations, I am reminded of the adage, “Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.”
I have had the honour of representing Impact100 SA at numerous functions over the last few months, including at various graduation ceremonies or celebrations for the organisations for which we have provided grants as well as for The Funding Network to select finalists for their recent Adelaide grants night. I am looking forward to attending graduation ceremonies in the coming weeks for both Youth Opportunity and Operation Flinders programs. It is so wonderful to see the difference our grants are making in our community.
Representatives of Impact 100 SA, members Julia Steele Scott, Nikki Harmer and myself recently attended the Inaugural Collective Giving Summit in November in Sydney. It was wonderful to meet with likeminded people, and to share ideas of how we can foster philanthropy in our community.
I was also fortunate to be able to combine a visit to Perth recently with attending the Impact100 WA grant awards night on 22 October. It was a fantastic night held at a sit-down dinner at the State Reception Centre in Kings Park, with five well-deserving organisations all vying for two $100,000 grants. A special highlight was their Young Impact WA members (8-16-year old) presenting their $4,900 grant to Green World Revolution. It is wonderful to see the passion these young people have for philanthropy and doing good work. I look forward to seeing our own Young Impact Group being established in the future.
On a final note, congratulations to our former Impact100 SA founding management committee member Stacey Thomas on her appointment as CEO of the Wyatt Trust, one of Australia’s oldest enduring philanthropic foundations. Impact100 SA is grateful for the support of Wyatt Trust for their provision of a nominal base for us and a meeting room when necessary. The Wyatt Trust’s support of Impact100 SA enables us to help vulnerable people and to strengthen our communities.
