Funding plays an important role in addressing complex social and environmental challenges, but creating meaningful, lasting change requires looking beyond capital alone.

In our recent collaboration with Social Impact Hub, keynote speaker Jim Bildner, CEO of the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation (DRK), joined panellists Jon Stretch, APS Client and Co-Founder of Blueshore Charitable Trust, and Lauren Hicks, Head of QBE Foundation, to explore how funders, advisers and impact organisations can work together to maximise and scale their impact.

Facilitated by Social Impact Hub Founder and CEO Jessica Mendoza-Roth, the event brought together funders in Sydney, and across Australia via livestream to hear how lasting social impact can depend not only on financial capital, but also on nurturing strong leadership, deepening organisational capability and strengthening long-term partnerships.

Why is organisational capability as important as funding?

Many impact organisations achieve greater results when they have the leadership, governance and operational capacity to support their mission. Capability can often multiply the value of financial contributions by helping organisations become more effective, resilient and scalable.

For funders, this means looking beyond grants alone and considering how they can support the people, systems and strategies that enable long-term success.

This organisational capability support can come in many forms, including mentoring, leadership development, skilled volunteering, communications support and sometimes, simply connecting the right people who share the same goal.

For Jon Stretch, it was to uplift people when they need it most. “What did we do apart from giving them money? We supported their communications and their business plans, and helped assess their models. But one of the most important things was helping maintain belief amongst everyone; cheering them on through the dark times when they’re not sure they are going to break through.”

What type of funding best supports long-term growth?

While one-off grants remain valuable, multi-year and unrestricted funding can provide organisations with the stability and flexibility needed to plan for the future, invest in capability and pursue long-term outcomes.

The panel also discussed the benefits of trust-based philanthropy, where funders provide organisations with greater autonomy to respond to opportunities and challenges as they arise, helping strengthen relationships and improve impact over time.

Jim Bildner outlined DRK’s approach: combining multi-year unrestricted funding with expert strategic support, enabling organisations to build the capability, confidence and capacity needed to sustain and scale their impact.

How can different forms of capital accelerate impact?

Funders can drive greater social impact by using a broader range of financial tools, including impact investments, loans and other financing models. This approach can strengthen capacity and support their growth when these tools are aligned to the organisation’s goals and stage of development.

Why should funders invest in leaders, not just organisations?

At the heart of every successful impact organisation are the people driving change. Jim talked about the importance of backing visionary leaders. For him, visionary leaders see inequity and take on the challenge of solving it. They don’t walk away, and instead they are able to imagine something different and turn that imagination into reality.

What is the key takeaway for philanthropists and impact investors?

The discussion emphasised that achieving lasting social impact requires a combination of funding, strategic support, organisational capability and trusted partnerships.

As philanthropy and impact investing continue to evolve, funders have an opportunity to broaden how they support change, helping impact organisations build the foundations needed to thrive and scale their impact.

We thank Jim Bildner, Jon Stretch, Social Impact Hub and QBE Foundation for sharing their insights and perspectives on how philanthropy, capability building and long-term partnerships can help organisations maximise their impact and drive lasting change.

If you’d like to catch up on the discussion, a recording of the webinar is available below.