Caitriona Fay

Leading research program to understand how private resources can be used for public benefit

In an Australian first, Perpetual Private has announced a new global partnership with the Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society (Stanford PACS) to raise awareness of the risks, challenges and opportunities associated with operating in the digital age.

The three-year partnership will give Not-for-Profits (NFPs), philanthropists and leaders in Australia access to Stanford’s Digital Civil Society Lab, the world’s first research and policy program dedicated to understanding the way private resources can be used for public benefit in the digital age.

Perpetual Private National Manager Philanthropy & Non Profit Services, Caitriona Fay, said: “NFPs and philanthropists are still coming to terms with what operating in a digital world means for how they work with communities. This includes how we raise – and donate – funds for public benefit, how we capture, hold and use data, and what that means for privacy, through to the role of markets and social businesses in our economy.

“It’s important to ensure the individuals and organisations in this sector are responding to what the digital age means for society.”

Work with Stanford’s lab will help build awareness of digital data governance and management, provide ready-to-use resources for organisations, build distribution and implementation partnerships, create scholarly collaborations, and engage organisations and associations in developing and supporting digital policies.

“We are committed to ensuring NFPs and philanthropists have the resources, knowledge and skills to utilise digital tools ethically, safely, and effectively,” Ms Fay said.

Perpetual will be working with the Australian Scholarships Foundation and Stanford Foundation Australia to provide Australian leaders with an opportunity to feed into this globally significant piece of research and build their capability both in Australia and through Stanford’s Institute of Non-Profit Management in Palo Alto.

The partnership will also include practical workshops for philanthropists, social innovators and NFP Boards and leaders focusing on issues from digital philanthropy through to non-profit-leadership in the digital age. The program will also see ten non-profit leaders from across Australia spending time in Palo Alto at Stanford’s Non-Profit Management Institute.

Stanford PACS Executive Director, Kim Meredith, said: “We are proud to partner with Australia’s largest independent distributor of funds to Australia’s Not‑for-Profit sector.

“Having worked with major organisations in the philanthropic and not-for-profit sectors across the globe, we’ve seen the importance and value that a sound understanding of the digital landscape can provide. The leading edge scholarship and insights that the Stanford PACS research team of Rob Reich, Faculty Co-Director, and Lucy Bernholz, Digital Civil Society Lab Director bring to this work is landmark.

“We look forward to working with Perpetual, and their partners in Australia to help raise the bar in this field, and connect with Australia’s non-profit leaders. Additionally, Digital Civil Society is inherently global. This important partnership will build knowledge and resources that will benefit us all.”

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