40under40: Alicia Curtis credits her years of community involvement as providing the foundations of her passion for philanthropy.
Alicia Curtis credits her years of community involvement as providing the foundations of her passion for philanthropy.
From a young age Ms Curtis was closely involved with charitable projects, and this commitment to community, sharing her story, and finding out how her strengths could contribute to others’ wellbeing all formed part of her decision to initiate giving circle 100 Women.
“A catalyst was attending the first United Nations conference for kids; that was a standout moment for me, and really did change the course of my life,” Ms Curtis told Business News.
“I think it was more about confidence than anything else.
“This is what I love, realising that, like Dorothy with the red shoes, we had the power in us all the time.
“It’s really about that ability to be brave and try something different when people think you’re a bit crazy.
“100 Women was one of those projects.
“Younger people in particular hadn’t heard about giving circles, and I hadn’t either at the early stage, so it was a huge learning curve for me.”
After working for some time with women’s leadership programs through her business, Alyceum, Ms Curtis realised the need to secure funding sources for a greater range of projects.
“I was seeing the benefits of investing money, time and mentorship in women, but I couldn’t get further funding for these programs in Australia,” she said.
Reading the book Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide connected the dots, Ms Curtis said, providing the motivation to secure sustainable support for projects that benefited women on a global scale.
“We choose to invest or not, we choose to support these projects or not, and we’ve got to make better decisions,” Ms Curtis said.
“I’m never one to wait for government or business or someone else to do the leading.
“If I want it done, I have to be the voice and try something different.”
After hitting many funding dead ends, Ms Curtis decided to adopt a collective giving model, one that had been successful in the US but had not been adopted as widely in Western Australia.
100 Women’s inaugural committee set up the giving circle in six months, and had raised and distributed $100,000 eight months later.
“That first year gave me confidence that people understood the concept and wanted to be involved,” Ms Curtis said.
“It was the right time, the right idea, and the right people behind it.”
Now in its sixth year of operation, 100 Women invites female and male members to donate towards a $100,000 pool each year, which is then distributed to select not-for-profit groups.
Members can donate $300, $600 or $1,200 a year and vote on shortlisted grant applicants.
Ms Curtis believes the organisation has survived a difficult economic climate because of the flexibility given to members.
“In the organisation’s second or third year, the labour market really tightened, people were worried about whether they’d keep their jobs,” Ms Curtis said.
“But people can dip in and out (of 100 Women giving), that’s what they want.
“This is a broader community than just the funding; it’s a tight-knit community of a diverse range of people, coming together for this collective interest.”
On a personal level, Ms Curtis said she was always certain that her own yearly donation has been spent in the best possible way, noting that the contribution was not a significant blow to her own budget.
“You have power, either through your voice or your dollars,” she said.
“I think most people who’ve had the chance to build up their career have that opportunity.
“Philanthropy is about saying ‘I have this privilege in my life, how do I want to give back to others?’
“We’re realising that movements that have a collective behind them are much stronger than when we just stand by ourselves.
“That opportunity for collaboration, for bringing a collective knowledge and experience to the decision making can be really strong.”
