Michael Gill
Chair
Message from the Chair
Dear Friends,
Kilfinan Australia reached a milestone in 2024, its tenth year of operations. As our latest impact report demonstrates, this was not a mere point of passage – we have now some years of excellent results, extremely strong engagement and tangible evidence of benefit.
We had opportunities in Sydney and Melbourne to gather with mentors, mentees and supporters to mark the decade of progress and, as is always the case, we were reminded that the Kilfinan experience is remarkably wholesome. Mentees find unique benefit in having a constructive, experienced and trusted mentor. Mentors invariably highlight how valuable it is for them to see our community through the eyes of people working in social purpose roles.
A strategic focus for us now is to transition from our start up to a sustainable model that will develop naturally across Australian society and maintain a reliable, high quality resource through which Australians can do a constantly improving job of helping one other.
Our CEO, Lesley Podesta and the small – but perfect – team driving our efforts are the key to our progress and demonstrate every day their great abilities – and their very real commitment. The board is very proud of them and I hope you will find the pleasure we do in reviewing this latest assessment of their impact.
Sincerely
Michael Gill
Chair
Our Impact
Year after year, Kilfinan delivers critical support to social purpose leaders so that they can be at their best.
When social purpose leaders thrive, their organisations and communities thrive, toodonated mentor hours in FY24
in free services contributed in FY24
in free services contributed over 10 years
Through my Kilfinan mentor, I was able to take a step back and develop our organisation’s capability and capacity.
By the end of my first year with Kilfinan, I was able to double the funding and number of staff of the organisation, which of course meant we were able to support double the amount of people who reached out to our service. This would not have been possible without the help and support of my mentor and the outstanding Kilfinan team.
Elisa Buggy
CEO, WestCASA
long-term mentorships created over ten years
charities supported across Australia
new leaders supported in FY24
new leaders supported in FY24
Mentorships supported
Our Impact
Over the past ten years, Kilfinan has created and supported more than 600 executive level mentorships, valued at over $14.45m in pro bono services
Through my Kilfinan mentor, I was able to take a step back and develop our organisation’s capability and capacity.
By the end of my first year with Kilfinan, I was able to double the funding and number of staff of the organisation, which of course meant we were able to support double the amount of people who reached out to our service. This would not have been possible without the help and support of my mentor and the outstanding Kilfinan team.
Elisa Buggy
CEO, WestCASA
long-term mentorships created over ten years
charities supported across Australia
new leaders supported in FY24
trusted volunteer mentors in FY24
Mentorships supported
Lesley Podesta
Chief Executive Officer
Message from the CEO
Dear Kilfinan Australia Community,
As I step into the role of CEO at Kilfinan Australia, I am struck by the extraordinary impact our organisation continues to have across the social impact and not-for-profit sectors. While this year has presented funding challenges, the power of our work speaks for itself.
Over the past decade, we’ve created more than 600 executive-level mentorships, delivering over $14.45 million in pro bono services. This year alone, 238 volunteer mentors contributed 5,358 hours, worth $2.95 million. Yet numbers tell only part of the story.
The real impact lies in the transformation we see: 97% of mentees report increased confidence in decision-making, and every single organisation reports benefiting from their leader’s mentorship. The ripple effect reaches far beyond individual leaders – 86% report improved outcomes for the communities they serve.
We’ve responded to sector needs by launching two strategic initiatives: Leaders for Purpose, creating new pathways for corporate leaders to contribute their expertise, and our Emerging Leaders program, nurturing the next generation of not-for-profit leadership talent.
This year, we mourned the loss of one of Kilfinan’s founders, the wonderful Marion Webster. Together with Rosemary Grieve, Marion’s vision was to bring the best minds in corporate Australia to work alongside social impact leaders. In an era of increasing polarisation, we’re proud to create connection and respect across these diverse sectors. We have much to learn from each other.
Our fee-for-service work, while essential for stability, enables us to deliver on our core promise: connecting exceptional mentors with not-for-profit leaders who can benefit from their experience and wisdom.
To our dedicated mentors: your generosity forms the bedrock of our success. To the organisations and leaders who trust us with their growth: your commitment to positive change drives us forward.
Despite this year’s challenges, we are energised by the results and feedback we receive daily. Our work is highly valued and more vital than ever. Together, we are building stronger, more resilient leadership in the social impact sector, and I am excited to lead Kilfinan Australia into its next chapter.
Lesley Podesta
Chief Executive Officer
The Ripple Effect
Our annual evaluation demonstrates how the benefits of mentoring ripples out to charities and communities. Read more to see how it works.
The connection
Accelerated learning and increased proficiency
The Ripple Effect
Our annual evaluation demonstrates how the benefits of mentoring ripples out to charities and communities. Read more to see how it works.
The connection
Accelerated learning and increased proficiency
1. The Ripple Begins
Transforming a ripple into a swell begins with the right connection.
My mentor is clear and kind. She doesn’t shy away from giving feedback in an honest but respectful way. She challenged me to be uncomfortable and step into challenge. She helped me become a more structured leader, navigate a lot of very tricky situations, become more assertive, and have better boundaries than I did in the past. She helped me find my voice and believe in myself and my intuition.
It’s an amazing program and I am so privileged to have been a part of it. My mentor was an excellent and considered match for me. She went over and above to make herself available and I learnt so much from her experience and expertise.
Annabelle Chauncy
CEO, School for Life Foundation
Insight:
Great matches matter
Central to a great connection is trust. Mentees overwhelmingly report that their mentors are available, trusted, understanding, insightful, and challenge them.
Building on trust is expertise. Nearly all mentees state that their mentor not only understands their issues and goals but critically engages with them.
90% of mentees tell us their mentor prioritises their mentorship.
94% of mentees report having developed rapport and trust with their mentor.
94% of mentees and mentors communicate with each other well.
93% of mentees say their mentor understands and critically engages with their issues, challenges and goals.
1. The Ripple Begins
Transforming a ripple into a swell begins with the right connection.
My mentor is clear and kind. She doesn’t shy away from giving feedback in an honest but respectful way. She challenged me to be uncomfortable and step into challenge. She helped me become a more structured leader, navigate a lot of very tricky situations, become more assertive, and have better boundaries than I did in the past. She helped me find my voice and believe in myself and my intuition.
It’s an amazing program and I am so privileged to have been a part of it. My mentor was an excellent and considered match for me. She went over and above to make herself available and I learnt so much from her experience and expertise.
Annabelle Chauncy
CEO, School for Life Foundation
Insight:
Great matches matter
Central to a great connection is trust. Mentees overwhelmingly report that their mentors are available, trusted, understanding, insightful, and challenge them.
Building on trust is expertise. Nearly all mentees state that their mentor not only understands their issues and goals but critically engages with them.
90% of mentees tell us their mentor prioritises their mentorship.
94% of mentees report having developed rapport and trust with their mentor.
94% of mentees and mentors communicate with each other well.
93% of mentees say their mentor understands and critically engages with their issues, challenges and goals.
2. Gaining Momentum
With the help of a trusted advisor, leaders are shaping their future by focusing on what matters most.
My mentor didn’t come from my world. He had completely fresh eyes and ears to what I was thinking and saying, and he was invested in my success. It gave me a whole other lens I could put across my thinking and challenge a whole range of assumptions that I held. This ultimately gave me more confidence that I had actually interrogated my way of thinking.
It’s a huge privilege having somebody outside your world who is interested in helping you. You always need to learn. It doesn’t matter how experienced you are, you always need someone who can bring a sharpness and freshness to your thinking
Sarah Davies
CEO, Alannah and Madeline Foundation
Insight:
Each leader is unique and working on what matters
Proficiency levels across nominated focus areas prior to commencing mentoring.
No Data Found
Proficiency levels across nominated focus areas after at least one year of mentoring.
No Data Found
2. Gaining Momentum
With the help of a trusted advisor, leaders are shaping their future by focusing on what matters most.
Insight:
Each leader is unique and working on what matters
My mentor didn’t come from my world. He had completely fresh eyes and ears to what I was thinking and saying, and he was invested in my success. It gave me a whole other lens I could put across my thinking and challenge a whole range of assumptions that I held. This ultimately gave me more confidence that I had actually interrogated my way of thinking.
It’s a huge privilege having somebody outside your world who is interested in helping you. You always need to learn. It doesn’t matter how experienced you are, you always need someone who can bring a sharpness and freshness to your thinking
Sarah Davies
CEO, Alannah and Madeline Foundation
Proficiency levels across nominated focus areas prior to commencing mentoring.
No Data Found
Proficiency levels across nominated focus areas after at least one year of mentoring.
No Data Found
3. Furthering Success
With their mentor’s encouragement, mentees’ belief in themselves is changing. They are confident, displaying the openness, humility, and capability to guide their organisations through waves of change.
I worked closely with my mentor to unpack leadership challenges that I was facing as our organisation went through a very fast growth period. The opportunity to turn to my mentor with complex problems was essential to getting through that period.
I have worked more recently with my mentor on establishing a Board of directors that has greatly strengthened the governance structure of our organisation. This has led me being able to get the most out of the skills and experience of our Board members, and ensure that we are all guiding For Change Co to being its most effective in addressing our mission.
Tenille Gilbert
CEO, For Change Co
Insight:
Each leader is growing
The outcomes were undeniable when mentees were asked to rate their leadership capacity across our unique indicators. Accelerated learning and skill development ripple out to enhance capacity and confidence.
97% of mentees feel more confident making decisions, trusting their intuition, and backing themselves.
85% of mentees report having increased capacity for strategic thinking and vision.
97% of mentees are more capable of managing stakeholder and Board relationships.
92% of mentees feel more confident and capable leading their team and influencing culture.
90% of mentees have improved the structure of their organisation
89% of mentees have increased knowledge of their direction and values as a leader.
Role confidence
Prior to commencing their mentorship, only three out of ten mentees rate their role confidence as “considerable” or higher. After at least one year of mentoring, that number grows to eight out of ten.
No Data Found
* values displayed as percentages
3. Furthering Success
With their mentor’s encouragement, mentees’ belief in themselves is changing. They are confident, displaying the openness, humility, and capability to guide their organisations through waves of change.
I worked closely with my mentor to unpack leadership challenges that I was facing as our organisation went through a very fast growth period. The opportunity to turn to my mentor with complex problems was essential to getting through that period.
I have worked more recently with my mentor on establishing a Board of directors that has greatly strengthened the governance structure of our organisation. This has led me being able to get the most out of the skills and experience of our Board members, and ensure that we are all guiding For Change Co to being its most effective in addressing our mission.
Tenille Gilbert
CEO, For Change Co
Insight:
Each leader is growing
The outcomes were undeniable when mentees were asked to rate their leadership capacity across our unique indicators. Accelerated learning and skill development ripple out to enhance capacity and confidence.
97% of mentees feel more confident making decisions, trusting their intuition, and backing themselves.
85% of mentees report having increased capacity for strategic thinking and vision.
97% of mentees are more capable of managing stakeholder and Board relationships.
92% of mentees feel more confident and capable leading their team and influencing culture.
90% of mentees have improved the structure of their organisation
89% of mentees have increased knowledge of their direction and values as a leader.
Role confidence
Prior to commencing their mentorship, only three out of ten mentees rate their role confidence as “considerable” or higher. After at least one year of mentoring, that number grows to eight out of ten.
No Data Found
* values displayed as percentages
4. Sustained Energy
Building leaders’ capacity and capability through mentoring improves productivity and outcomes. Their organisations better navigate risk, are more financially sustainable, and operate to a higher standard.
My mentor is providing me with knowledge and coaching in an area I know little about – Australian politics. His advice has been instrumental in aiding me to lead twenty charities to advocate and lobby the NSW government to extend state care from 18 years old to 21 years for youth in foster and residential care. When we secure this reform, it will have a profound impact with 300 fewer youth becoming homeless each year in NSW and a further 300 avoiding teenage pregnancies, unemployment and incarcerations.
Jason Juretic
CEO, Stepping Stone House
Insight:
Mentoring works
As the head of their organisations, leaders are learning quickly, growing their capacity, and deepening their confidence.
By engaging with trusted advisors, they tap into seasoned counsel and have their thinking usefully challenged for the good of their organisations.
Their collective efforts amplify and ripple outward.
100% of mentees are more proficient in leading their organisation.
100% of mentees have a deepened confidence in their abilities and skills.
93% of mentees believe they are better positioned to achieve their professional goals.
100% of mentees report that their organisation has benefited as a result of their mentorship.
86% of mentees report that their organisation's community has benefited as a result of their mentorship.
She’s worked on the things that matter, that make her successful. She has created change in the organisation without creating disruption, and her strategic thinking is coming to the fore now. I think the organisation has changed and is in a better place because she’s in a better place and she’s the leader.
Watching people do fabulous things and knowing you were some small part of it. This is all why I’m doing this. It’s been incredibly rewarding for me – far more than I anticipated.
Dr. Vanessa Guthrie AO
Kilfinan Mentor
Insight:
Mentors are judicious and inquiring advisors
Mentors delve deep, understand the interplay of challenges, and become a sounding board that gives perspective.
Tapping into years of experience, the issues discussed in mentorships are substantive. Mentors add unique value to the thinking and practice of their mentees while appreciating their talent, skill, and resourcefulness.
What's more, almost all mentors grow and learn from mentoring. And, they tell us that they genuinely enjoy it. Perhaps it is for these reasons that 91% of mentors continue to volunteer with Kilfinan, year after year.
97% of mentors have supported their mentee to solve problems and address challenges.
94% of mentors tell us they enjoy mentoring and a further 78% say it improves their quality of life.
94% of mentors report having grown and learned from the experience of mentoring.
84% of mentors have increased their knowledge and appreciation of not-for-profit strengths and challenges.
98% of mentors believe they are adding value to their mentee’s thinking and practice.
4. Sustained Energy
Building leaders’ capacity and capability through mentoring improves productivity and outcomes. Their organisations better navigate risk, are more financially sustainable, and operate to a higher standard.
Insight:
Mentoring works
As the head of their organisations, leaders are learning quickly, growing their capacity, and deepening their confidence.
By engaging with trusted advisors, they tap into seasoned counsel and have their thinking usefully challenged for the good of their organisations.
Their collective efforts amplify and ripple outward.
My mentor is providing me with knowledge and coaching in an area I know little about – Australian politics. His advice has been instrumental in aiding me to lead twenty charities to advocate and lobby the NSW government to extend state care from 18 years old to 21 years for youth in foster and residential care. When we secure this reform, it will have a profound impact with 300 fewer youth becoming homeless each year in NSW and a further 300 avoiding teenage pregnancies, unemployment and incarcerations.
Jason Juretic
CEO, Stepping Stone House
100% of mentees are more proficient in leading their organisation.
100% of mentees have a deepened confidence in their abilities and skills.
93% of mentees believe they are better positioned to achieve their professional goals.
100% of mentees report that their organisation has benefited as a result of their mentorship.
86% of mentees report that their organisation's community has benefited as a result of their mentorship.
5. The Swell
The ripple effect of each mentorship works as one to create a swell.
My mentorship helped me to enhance my skills in Board engagement, governance, leadership, and change management during a time of monumental change and existential risk for our organisation.
Through support from my mentor, my team and I were able to develop a strategic plan that doubled the size and income of our organisation to help more than 450 people with disability live their good life.
Justin O’Meara Smith
CEO, Interchange WA
Insight:
As leaders grow, so do their organisations
Each mentorship is unique and valuable. Mentees and mentors create their own energy, and the ripple effect of each connection works as one to create a swell. Swells are often slower to develop, but they have the energy to travel vast distances when they do.
The collective, self-sustaining energy of this force creates positive change for the sector. We are proud to play a role in driving this change.
5. The Swell
The ripple effect of each mentorship works as one to create a swell.
My mentorship helped me to enhance my skills in Board engagement, governance, leadership, and change management during a time of monumental change and existential risk for our organisation.
Through support from my mentor, my team and I were able to develop a strategic plan that doubled the size and income of our organisation to help more than 450 people with disability live their good life.
Justin O’Meara Smith
CEO, Interchange WA
Insight:
As leaders grow, so do their organisations
Each mentorship is unique and valuable. Mentees and mentors create their own energy, and the ripple effect of each connection works as one to create a swell. Swells are often slower to develop, but they have the energy to travel vast distances when they do.
The collective, self-sustaining energy of this force creates positive change for the sector. We are proud to play a role in driving this change.
Reports
All of our annual reports are available for download below.
- All
- Impact Reports
- Strategic Direction
- Annual Reviews
- Financial Statements
Impact report 2022
Impact report 2021
Strategic direction 2022-25
Annual review 2022
Annual review 2021
