Nature Impact Collective members came together in September for some deep thinking about the direction for our next funding strategy. Just six months on from our formal establishment and first collective gifts, we were ready to reflect, discuss and plan our nature focus for 2025.
Around the table in Sydney, discussion returned to Australia’s precarious relationship with our water resources and the impact on nature.The AEGN Nature Funding Framework identifies inland waters as a key funding gap, which motivated our members to focus on this issue in our first funding strategy. We were delighted to have Margie Jenkin, AEGN Environmental Program Manager – Nature, join us to provide an update and insights.
Margie confirmed that water remains a significant issue nationally, which is increasing in prominence due to climate change. Reduced rainfall and streamflows is bad for water-dependent ecosystems as well as communities that rely upon water for their lives and businesses. First Nations culture and health is especially at risk.
Retaining a freshwater focus enables us to build upon what we have learned to date. We also agreed to look ‘downstream’ at the connected saltwater ecosystems of estuaries and coasts.
Trust based philanthropy and flexible funding continues to be central to Nature Impact Collective’s philanthropic approach. Feedback from organisations funded in 2024 confirmed that flexible funding empowered them to strengthen their organisational capacity and allowed for new avenues to be explored or deepened.
With our 2025 funding strategy Resilient Waterways and Thriving Coastlines approved by the members, we are now in the phase of identifying potential organisations for support.
We would like to invite other philanthropists and members of the AEGN to recommend organisations doing great work in this area via this form.
The Sydney meeting was also an opportunity for the representatives of the three founding members – Rendere Environmental Trust, Upotipotpon Foundation and Gum Tree Foundation – to welcome our fourth member, Pademelon Fund. Welcome to the founders of this fund – Rachel Honnery and Michael Cahill.