A brilliant example of a corporate that’s bringing its full resources to bear for a cause, is that of rebel. Partnering with Lifeline since 2021, they’ve made a significant financial commitment, initiated campaigns, and leveraged their digital channels, retail outlets, suppliers, and sporting ambassadors to champion mental health and raise funds.

rebel – Australia’s leading sports retailer – believes in the transformative power of sport. To rebel, it’s more than just fitness - it’s about holistic well-being. Sport can build confidence, swim off a bad day and slam dunk stress. They express this belief in three simple words: ‘Sport is Calling’.

As a torchbearer for well-being, it made sense to partner with a leader in mental health – Lifeline. It was a perfect match – both iconic brands, with national reach, serving a young adult audience. Not to mention that ‘Sport is Calling’ neatly aligns to a helpline that answers over 3,000 calls a day from Australians in crisis.

Like any good...

In part 1 (read here) I explained the difference between the words Philanthropy and Capitalism, Collaboration and Partnership, all Greek words popularised by the Romans. Philanthropy means ‘love of mankind’, capitalism means ‘an economic system controlled by private owners for profit’. Quite different. Collaboration and Partnership – which is what we at BePartnerReady.com® specialise in – is about working together, sharing resources and responsibilities with mutual benefit.

Practical differences

There are theoretical differences but also practical and legal differences. When a company partners with a charity and derives a commercial difference (eg there is mutual benefit), it cannot be called a ‘philanthropic donation’ because according to the ATO, it’s not. If a company’s ‘philanthropic foundation’ invests money into a charity and claims a philanthropic tax deduction, they cannot ask or demand logo recognition or PR. Again, it would be contrary to the ATO rules.

I’ve worked with co...

Some phrases just become part of everyday language. Many come from Shakespeare but occasionally a comedian says something so funny it’s embraced by the world over.

John Cleese is a comedian best known for (TV show) Fawlty Towers but before that he was in a group called Monty Python, with 4 other comic geniuses. In the cult film The Life of Brian he asks “what did the Romans ever do for us?”[1] And the group respond “the sanitation, the medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, the fresh water system…”.  It’s funnier when you watch it – trust me.

Philanthropy

As well as wine, irrigation etc, the Romans also popularised[2] a word I hear at least 10 times a day – Philanthropy. It comes from ‘philanthropia’ which means ‘love of humanity’. Its roots are Latin: ‘philos’ (loving) and ‘anthropos’ (human being) combined.

Today, modern philanthropy embodies the act of promoting the welfare of others through financial contributions, volunteerism, or advocacy. It transcends...

It’s no secret that recruitment and retention of talented people within the non-profit sector is challenging. Staff turnover in 2023 was at 9%[1] (working with non-profits for almost 30 years, I reckon it’s much higher). I believe it has much to do with three things: 1) insufficient support 2) little opportunity for advancement and 3) overwork.

Working in a non-profit is hard. Physically, intellectually and emotionally. People who choose to work for non-profits are deeply invested. They’re about impact, and when they can’t see it, or are being held back from achieving goals, it wounds them, profoundly. I know this as I hear it all too often from students.

So, if they feel unsupported, not nurtured and overworked, it’ll result in burnout, mental health issues and ultimately, yet another resignation.

Professional development - investing in people - is a relatively easy way to address all three issues. 

Support

If you’re working within a big, functioning fundraising team, you may f...

It was 2018. I was burned out and on the verge of walking away from the business I’d built up over 23 years. I’d moved from Melbourne to a small country town in Victoria (for love and a balanced lifestyle). Let the team go, working alone for the first time in years, struggling with technology & loneliness. I hated every minute of it. The worst-case scenario – lose the business, sell the house that my husband had built with his own hands, buy a caravan and travel around Australia – was looking very appealing.

But fate had other ideas. As a last ditched attempt to try and ‘get with the technology’ program, I put a post on the local Warburton facebook page to see if there was anyone that had the skill set to create videos.

First message and enjoying Hailey’s gin cocktail

Kate Perkins AKA Perko, responded. Kate had spent 4 years as a senior relationship manager at LinkedIn and did brilliant music videos in her spare time, for fun. I suggested we have a chat – it went for 90 minutes. N...

It’s the 1950’s. The era of pointy boobs, Good Housekeeping, tv dinners, Marlon Brando and Elizabeth Taylor.  Ford is one of the most successful car companies in the world, due to Henry Ford’s invention of the moving assembly line. In the fifties, Ford was riding the wave of the industrial revolution.

But then Ford decided to create a new car model that would fit between the Ford and Mercury brands, targeting the mid-priced automobile market. This ambitious project was named the Edsel, after Edsel Ford, the son of the company's founder.

Ford invested heavily in the development and marketing of the Edsel, allocating a substantial budget for design, production and promotion. The company aimed to make the Edsel a symbol of innovation and style, incorporating unique features and a distinctive design.

However, despite careful planning and substantial investment (US$250 million), the Edsel faced numerous challenges upon its launch in 1957. The car's unique design, including a distinctiv...

When the Barbie movie first came out, I was hesitant to go see it. Then my friends – from ages 14 – 70 - kept saying “Have you seen Barbie? It’s fantastic! It’s not what you expect!”

The Barbie movie broke 17 box office records. The biggest opening by a female director, highest grossing film by a female a director and the highest grossing movie of 2023, to name just three. Aside from the hundreds of millions of dollars invested in pink-saturated marketing and 100+ brand collaborations to create hype, why did this movie, starring a 64-year-old doll, create such a buzz?

I believe it’s got a lot to do with the brand’s willingness to listen to its customers, adapt its product to reflect consumer attitudes and evolve to remain contemporary, in demand and relevant.

Barbie launched in 1959, the brainchild of Mattel co-founder Ruth Handler, named after her daughter, Barbara. ‘Ponytail Barbie’ was influenced by 1950s movie stars, with red lips and eyeliner. Her hair came in just two colour...

Our new Conscious Consumer research (download free here) reveals that Australians are most inclined to switch brands to support a cause in the ‘everyday food items’ category. 

An excellent example of an everyday food item that’s changing the lives of sick kids, is Mum’s Sause, sold through more than 800 Coles supermarkets across Australia.

Every time customers purchase a bottle of the pasta or pizza sauce, 50c goes to the charity, Hospitals United for Sick Kids (formerly Curing Homesickness), an alliance of hospitals, foundations & paediatric services, that’s all about getting kids home from hospital and back to the things they miss. The money generated goes towards purchasing state of the art equipment, investing in ground-breaking research and funding support programs for children in hospitals across Australia. Money generated in each state through sales of Mum’s Sause, goes directly back to fund areas of greatest need prioritised by the state-based hospital.

The Mum’s Sause pro...

I have to confess, coming back to work last week after a month off, was tough. Getting going has been akin to winding up an old car! What the hell is that noise (oh, it’s the alarm). How on earth do I log onto Zoom? What’s the password for that (and that?). Not to mention, the cat isn’t happy that I’m no longer able to attend to his every whim. He keeps walking across my laptop to get my attention and……….SDSRFSGUDSYU NFIBUHJBPOMBH[PGLJJ][DTHT;J/YKHKDFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

Yep, that was him!

Easing back to work after a glorious time off isn’t easy, even if you do love your work, as I do. Which is amazing given I’m 29 years in business this year. I sought advice from some amazing leaders that I follow and here are a few of their tips for getting back into the groove that I’ve embraced.

1. Motivation mix: Create a playlist of tunes that get you hyped. Spotify have a good mix. Blast in the car or with your morning cuppa to get those positive vibes flowing and shake off those
...

It’s not that I don’t like Christmas. It just doesn’t like me.

When I was little, about 8 years old, I awoke early on Christmas Day to discover the wreckage of our tree and presents (what was left of them) strewn around the lounge. At first we blamed the cats, but then realised, to our growing horror, that we’d been burgled. After the initial shock, we all got angry and my older sister pronounced that Santa wasn’t real and that reindeers didn’t eat the cookies I’d put out; she did.

This cast a dark shadow over the festive season, for sure.

Later, as my parents’ relationship crumbled, Christmas became fraught with arguments and long silences –  excruciating for a teenager searching for her identity and positive role models.

At 15 ½ , I left home and moved to central London for my first job in a PR firm. London certainly puts on a great show at Christmas, and for a few years I was swept up in the magic of it once again. The Oxford Street lights, the Selfridges window displays wit...