---
title: The GoodWolf October Newsletter
---

Welcome to our quarterly newsletter ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­    ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­  

| View in browser Hi , Welcome to the October edition of our newsletter, The GoodWolf.   Reflecting on the world around us, and on how our work at GoodWolf is shifting as we support clients navigating uncertain times and grappling with bigger questions of systems change, I kept returning to an old story…   Damocles, a courtier to King Dionysius, never tired of telling the king how fortunate he was to be surrounded by such wealth and power. Weary of the flattery, Dionysius invited him to a lavish banquet and seated him on a golden couch, beneath a sword suspended from the ceiling by a single horsehair. Once Damocles looked up, the feast lost all its flavour. He begged to leave, finally understanding that great fortune and great peril often share the same room.   The story feels uncomfortably timely. The horsehair, the social contract between the haves and the have-nots, seems ready to snap at any moment: riots in France, housing strikes in Spain, and US midterm elections fraught with Trumpian angst.   The wealthiest nations, Australia among them, may be most at risk as these pressures build. So what might cause our equilibrium to snap? Is it the rising cost of money, with interest and bond rates reshaping what governments, households and organisations can afford? Is it the cost of inequality, quietly eroding the trust that holds communities together? Is it the cost of housing, which has put security out of reach for so many? Or is it the cost of a generation of institutional and political inaction on all of these at once?   Perhaps the honest answer is all of them, held up by a thread we’ve stopped noticing. So to those sitting comfortably on Australia’s golden couch: we invite you to look up and take action...   Enjoy the read. And reach out.    Simon Lewis, Partner -- Feature Article -- Something's shifting in philanthropy There's a shift we're hearing more and more from clients.  The core problem people bring to us is becoming less, "How do we make our program better?" and more, "What's happening in the system around us, and what role can we play in changing it?"    The questions sound like: Who else is working on this issue? Are we pulling in the same direction? What are the real barriers to progress? Which levers are most likely to create lasting change? Where can our effort, influence and resources make the biggest difference?    Across the sector, funders and for-purpose organisations are increasingly lifting their eyes from their own patch and connecting with others in the ecosystem they are seeking to influence. And they're getting comfortable with a freeing idea: you don't have to own the whole shift to make a real contribution to it.  Read the full article here We're looking for the next GoodWolf Director! This month we said goodbye to Nina Yousefpour after four incredible years on the GoodWolf team. Nina, we thank you for your professionalism, wisdom and friendship over that time. Clients and colleagues alike have noted your knack for cutting through complexity and balancing strategic rigour with genuine care for the people and communities at the heart of the work.   Nina steps up to lead the Office of Social Impact in Queensland Treasury, an exciting next chapter and a testament to the impact she has made throughout her career. We wish her every success. And we're now looking for the next GoodWolf Director to help shape the next chapter for GoodWolf. We're seeking an experienced leader to grow our impact measurement and evaluation practice while bringing a systems-thinking lens to the complex challenges facing the social sector.   Working across philanthropy, social enterprise and the for-purpose sector, they'll help organisations understand, strengthen and scale their impact, contribute to thought leadership, and play a key role in GoodWolf's continued growth. Applications are now open and close at 3.00pm on Friday 6 November. Apply here Creative Intelligence A reflection from Hannah Durack.   Many of you will remember Huda the Goddess, the poet who opened day two of the Philanthropy Australia conference with a blistering improvisation on community and power.   This month Huda closed the Social Traders Convene by taking half a dozen words from the audience and weaving them, on the spot, into a poem that captured the day almost eerily well, then took it somewhere deeper. She blew the roof off. Again. It’s got us thinking about what artists do so well: they watch, they reflect us back to ourselves, and they make something beautiful out of the things we’re wrestling with. More and more, this kind of creative intelligence feels less like a nice-to-have and more like one of the best things we’ve got going for us. Imagine if all our big conferences and important heady events had a poet in residence to elevate our thinking, a choreographer making work about movement building to bring an embodied perspective, and a live musician getting our community to hum together.    So here’s our challenge: next time you’re planning a conference, a board retreat or a strategy day, put an artist on the program from the start, not as entertainment but as a contributor. Client Shoutouts With over $6 trillion set to change hands in Australia over the next two decades, there’s a once-in-a-generation opportunity to grow charitable giving. Building on the Unlocking Generosity report, GoodWolf has partnered with Minderoo Foundation on a systems-focused project exploring how to better equip wealth advisers to engage clients in conversations about generosity, legacy and giving.   Our team is thoroughly enjoying mapping the ecosystem, connecting the dots and exploring what it would take to unlock a virtuous cycle of giving in service of communities and the for-purpose sector. This month we wrap up a project with the wonderful team at Dolly's Dream, supporting the development of a theory of change and impact measurement framework. Working nationally, with a particular focus on regional and remote communities, Dolly's Dream is helping to prevent bullying and promote kindness in a world where technology and online environments seriously amplify the challenges young people face. Through the project, we had the privilege of speaking with teachers, parents, young people and community members whose lived experience helped shape a shared understanding of the change the movement is working to create.   Dolly’s Dream is unique in its whole of community approach to bullying prevention. Rather than expecting young people to navigate challenges alone, the organisation focuses on building the capability and confidence of the trusted adults around them. This means impact is seen not only in outcomes for young people, but also in the shifts that occur across families, schools and communities that help create safer, more supportive environments. We've greatly valued the opportunity to work alongside the Dolly's Dream team and look forward to seeing the impact they continue to create across communities in Australia. GoodWolf had the privilege of working alongside the Indigenous Desert Alliance (IDA), a First Nations-led organisation that, together with its member organisations and ranger teams, cares for Country and community knowledge across one third of the Australian continent. Through its members, IDA supports the largest Indigenous-led, culturally connected conservation network on Earth. It coordinates the world’s largest Indigenous-led fire management program, supports culturally informed science to protect threatened species such as the bilby, night parrot and great desert skink, and helps make desert ranger programs one of the main drivers of employment in remote communities.   No surprise they are a finalist in the Earthshot Prize this year, Indigenous Desert Alliance - The Earthshot Prize 2026 Finalist. And this has all been achieved in 7 short years since IDA registered as a charity in 2019. IDA has grown remarkably, built on authentic leadership - wait till you meet CEO Sam Murray! - the social license of its members and strong relationships with values-led philanthropy.   Our engagement focused on supporting IDA plan its next chapter of growth, making sure philanthropic support can keep pace with the scale of its ambition and impact, and helping them recruit the skills and capacity to take its plan forward. IDA is well placed to become one of Australia’s most prominent First Nations-led organisations at the intersection of Country, Culture & Gender. Feeding Our GoodWolf Outward Bound Australia – 70 years on GoodWolf supported Outward Bound Australia’s (OBA) Strategy Day pro-bono in August, following the 70 year celebration at the Governor General’s residence, Admiralty House, in Kirribilli – which was quite the celebration we might add! As a previous Director of OBA for 8 years, Simon was delighted to take up this opportunity to reconnect with his tribe at OBA, helping Directors and guests shape the next exciting chapter of the organisation that brought outdoor education to Australia 70 years ago. We drew on expertise in the room from pedagogy with one of Australia’s leading researchers in physical education (Prof John Quay), to mental health and nature based therapies with one of Australia’s leading psychologists (Dr Simon Crisp), to First Nations perspectives with Jess Bulger (Co-Chair), to risk and readiness in terms of operating businesses in the bush with Dr. Loren Miller (Co-Chair, Director of NatCORR), to workforce training and capability development (Sandy Allen-Craig, a well-known educationalist and leader in this sector). Young people are clamouring for opportunities to build connection, skills, and a deeper sense of self and the Australian bush presents a unique ‘classroom’ setting for this to happen. And OBA is gearing up to deliver on its next strategy. Simon and the OBA Team at Strategy Day in August  Kilfinan GoodWolf was approached by Kilfinan to support them explore the broader question of NFP and charity sector consolidation. As a mentor network that has matched over 800 NFP and charity leaders with a for-profit mentor across a range of skills, disciplines and industries, the Kilfinan network has started to notice patterns of ‘distress’ and particular challenges around sustainability that often have a structural basis – think NDIS funding and disability service providers, for example, or food security providers looking down the barrel of imminent funding cuts by the Victorian Government.  GoodWolf continues to support Kilfinan in exploring these patterns and their implications for the boards and leaders steering organisations through challenging times, while also helping the community take a more proactive approach to supporting leadership resilience and identifying opportunities for consolidation. Due to the particularities of our sector, making a case for consolidation often requires a catalyst and some specialist independent support; please get in touch with us HERE  if you’d like to feed into our enquiry or request specific support.   Southside Community Foundation (SCF) We continue to support SCF as one of our important community partners with donations, time and expertise. SCF was the first Victorian-based Foundation in 7 years when it was set up a couple of years ago to galvanise more support into local community partners in St Kilda. They made their second grant recently, and there is a very active giving circle now attached to SCF led by the indomitable Sarah Davies, a local resident. We love the concept of community foundations for all the reasons we set out in this article here.  To find out more, or to get involved with your local community foundations, click here.   Wherever this edition finds you, we hope it has sparked a thought worth sitting with. As always, reach out, share it on and tell us what you're working on. Until next quarter!  Not yet subscribed? Follow link below to sign up.  Subscribe GoodWolf Partners acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and recognises their continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures; and to Elders both past, present and emerging. GoodWolf Partners, Level 6, 126 Wellington Parade, Melbourne, VIC 3002, Australia Unsubscribe Manage preferences |
| --- |