Philanthropy: Giving with Purpose
Creating a lasting impact
Experience has demonstrated that a simple intention to give is not sufficient. When confronted with the enormous array of problems to address and charities seeking support, alongside potentially differing family perspectives, it is easy to lose direction and momentum. To create a genuinely meaningful, intergenerational impact, a strategic approach is essential.
Sage Stone guides families in uncovering their purpose for giving by exploring personal passions, motivations and shared values, and then connecting these with their desired community impact.
With a clear strategy established, we draw on our extensive networks and understanding of the philanthropic sector to identify, develop and steward charitable partnerships with organisations that embody the family's purpose and passions.
Strong governance is the foundation of lasting impact. When families elect to donate through structured giving vehicles, their wealth is held in trust for charitable purposes. We help them invest their corpus in a manner that balances long-term granting needs with regulatory obligations, while ensuring compliance with complex legal and reporting requirements.
Purposeful Family Giving – A strategic approach for lasting impact
“The most rewarding part of my work is supporting family members across generations to come together around shared values and making a positive community impact.”
Rachel English – Director, Philanthropy
Support across every stage
At Sage Stone, our specialist philanthropic Advisors partner closely with families, individuals and foundations at every stage of their giving journeys. This encompasses deep consultation to help define their purpose, engage family members or trusted Advisors across generations and build a lasting legacy of impact.
The Sage Stone Foundation: a community of givers
The Sage Stone Foundation mirrors the broader Australian community and a growing desire to assist others and create positive social and environmental outcomes. While each donor to the Foundation has unique goals, passions and areas of expertise, together they share a common purpose: to make the world a better place.
As Trustee, Sage Stone manages governance, investments and distributions on behalf of donors, providing a cost-effective, high-impact platform for their philanthropy. Our expert philanthropy Advisors enjoy a privileged role – they have the great pleasure of helping donors fulfil their philanthropic purpose, while building a community where members share learnings, identify opportunities and celebrate positive impact.
Sage Stone Foundation 2025 Impact Report
Sage Stone Foundation 2024 Impact Report
“The Sage Stone Foundation allows families to join a community of donors who are passionate about making a difference, without the cost and complexity of doing it alone.”
Melissa Hilton – Director, Structured Giving
CASE STUDY
Maximising the positive impact of family wealth through a defined approach
For many generations the Dixon* family had given generously. They had contributed to national arts and culture projects, funded new buildings and initiatives at schools and universities, established sporting scholarships and made a significant contribution to the renovation of a local children's playground. The Dixons had also financially supported three younger family members on a year abroad to participate in a clean water project. On top of all of this, they were heavily invested in a medical research start-up.
Jodie Dixon, 4th generation of the Dixon family, was astonished to discover the volume of financial contributions and the vast amount of administration and paperwork associated with her family's philanthropic efforts. Jodie was immensely proud of her family's dedication to giving, yet she questioned whether the fragmented approach of giving to so many areas was the most effective way to generate a positive impact.
Uncovering a unified approach
With Sage Stone's support, Jodie used a Family Council meeting to initiate discussions about the family's giving. This prompted the family to consider how they could engage in philanthropy more efficiently. Then, through a subsequent series of workshops and interviews, the family members collaborated to identify common areas of philanthropic interest. This revealed an opportunity to streamline their approach and amplify their impact.
The Dixons were then able to define a purpose for their giving and an overarching philanthropic strategy. They subsequently agreed on priority areas. This was captured in a comprehensive plan, detailing how they would support long-term legacy initiatives (school buildings and scholarships to honour previous generations and foster a sense of pride for younger family members), along with medium-term commitments (supporting five investment interests linked to positive community impact) and short-term projects (supporting initiatives where their time and talent could complement financial commitments).
Giving with purpose as a family
Through this approach, the Dixon family are now giving with purpose. Individual family members are deeply engaged and working together through a clearly defined approach to maximise the positive socio-economic impact of their wealth.
*Family name changed to protect privacy
Memberships
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Our Experts
Helen Proctor
Partner, Philanthropy
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