Artist Rachel Honnery and tech leader and entrepreneur Michael Cahill are fairly recent to the world of philanthropy, and while it was an unexpected path it is one they have embraced enthusiastically with thoughtfulness and intention. After setting up the Pademelon Fund in 2022 they joined Nature Impact Collective last year. Having recently completed their first funding round with the Collective, they shared some insights into their philanthropic journey, and what collective giving means to them.
“We had always supported a variety of causes, at a small scale, so when a business success suddenly left us in a position to be able to give larger amounts we knew that’s what we wanted to do,” said Michael. “But we quickly learned that doing a good job at scale would involve significant work.” The couple leaned-in on philanthropic services, setting up Pademelon Fund as a sub-fund with Australian Communities Fund and engaging Ethinvest, which led them to finding ways to better support nature.
“Before we created the sub-fund our giving was ad hoc and we would sit around the dining table with the family to make decisions,” said Rachel. “It was great to share this, but it wasn’t particularly strategic or focused. We knew we wanted to support social, educational and first nations NGOs, but nature and climate sit at the bottom of the giving pyramid for us, underpinning everything else. At the end of the day without nature you don’t have anything.”
Joining the Australian Environmental Grantmakers Network offered them a rich opportunity for learning about environmental philanthropy, with members sharing their diverse strategies and approaches to giving at different levels. During this time our chair Jim Phillipson became somewhat of a mentor and introduced them to Nature Impact Collective, which resonated strongly for them.
“We liked the idea of collective giving as well as the idea of untied gifts. The NGOs are the experts, not us, and there needs to be an amount of trust. Furthermore, we didn’t want to be asking organisations that are already stretched to spend lots of time justifying funding. For us Nature Impact Collective was just a really good philosophical fit,” said Rachel.
Since joining the Collective in September last year, Rachel and Michael have participated in a full funding round. This involved reaching consensus with the other members for each significant step along the way: from discussing the funding strategy in September 2024, when it was agreed to focus on inland waters and coastlines, to narrowing down a long list of potential recipients to a final list in April this year.
“The process has been guided by a clear set of goals, with the groundwork done for us so
that the list of possible organisations to be funded was very close to the sorts of things we were interested in,” explained Michael. “From there we were able to deepen our understanding of the organisations if we wanted to, by joining meetings with their leaders, and this allowed us to really develop a sense of confidence.”
Michael and Rachel appreciate the space given for personal questions and passions to be raised. While not requiring them to do the lengthy work, member input and preferences are strongly represented and there is an opportunity for them to embrace ideas that wouldn’t be feasible as individual funders – financially or strategically, or both.
“Personally I am very excited that we are funding collaboration in Tasmania, as well as the top end of Australia,” said Rachel. “I am really looking forward to hearing about what the Northern Australia Conservation Alliance do, and what Environment Tasmania and Landcare Tasmania embark on together. Particularly with Tasmania, if we are part of something that could actually bring change to improving inland water health – that is very exciting.”
For Michael and Rachel, joining Nature Impact Collective has meant a big step up in their nature giving. And one of the things they really appreciate is how their contribution is leveraged further by the collective, allowing organisations to receive substantial amounts in untied giving that can have a significant impact.
“It has opened our eyes to what we can do collectively to make a big difference,” said Michael. “There is also something great about being part of Nature Impact Collective now, when we are just a handful of members who can sit around a table and make great decisions.”
“I think the collective process has been really collegial, it’s been enjoyable actually,” reflected Rachel. “There has been fun, laughter, serious talk, gut wrenching talk, but everything has been done with trust and kindness at the centre and I think that’s really important.”
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Rachel Honnery has a Master of Fine Arts at the University of NSW. Her art practice is multi-disciplinary and engages dialogues about the future of landscapes, eco-systems and her relationship to her autoimmune disease.
Michael Cahill is a tech leader and entrepreneur, best known for co-founding WiredTiger. He’s also active in the startup world as a founder, angel investor, and advisor, mentoring early stage entrepreneurs. Michael is committed to supporting NGOs that work to protect the environment.
If you are interested in exploring membership or opportunities for co-funding alongside Nature Impact Collective, please reach out to our CEO Esther Abram at [email protected]