Philanthropy, Our Way: in Practice
Philanthropy, Our Way is a co-authored paper that offers practical guidance for donors and institutions who want to do better, moving beyond transactional funding and towards genuine partnership.
📷 Philanthropy, Our Way Collaborative Artwork (2025–2026). The Philanthropy, Our Way artwork was co-created through a collaborative workshop, bringing together University of Newcastle staff, Noble Ambition staff, researchers, project partners, and community.
It explores how we can work to support long-term partnerships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to prioritise equity, justice and self-determination.
Lindsay Hardy, a proud Bidjara Gunggari Mhurdi and Stakeholder Manager at the Wollotuka Institute at the University of Newcastle, explains how these principles guide our philanthropic partnerships, including conversations that helped facilitate the new CSIRO Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Energy Transition Scholarships.
We ask partners to sit down with us and explore our shared goals and what meaningful impact for communities really looks like,” Lindsay says. “That process takes time. It requires trust. It’s not one conversation but many.
These scholarships target fields including engineering and the sciences where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representation remains low. They’re also designed to reach students in their critical early years of university, which can be particularly challenging for students from regional and remote communities.
This donation will change the course of so many lives and create the conditions where the next generation can see themselves leading and shaping the future of these industries.”
Lindsay Hardy
Stakeholder Manager at the Wollotuka Institute.
For Lindsay, success is the student who writes to tell him how the opportunity changed their life, what it means for their family and their community.
That’s a view shared by the University of Newcastle’s Interim Pro Vice-Chancellor (Indigenous Strategy and Leadership) and Head of the Wollotuka Institute, Loren Collyer.
“When you invest in Indigenous-led initiatives, you are supporting more than access to learning – you are enabling Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to lead their own futures, define success on their own terms, and generate solutions with far-reaching social and economic impact.”
Loren Collyer
Interim Pro Vice-Chancellor (Indigenous Strategy and Leadership) and Head of the Wollotuka Institute
To learn more about Philanthropy, Our Way, please visit newcastle.edu.au/philanthropy-our-way
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Contact
- Office of Philanthropy
- Phone: 02 4921 8612
- Email: donor-relations@newcastle.edu.au
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