In health and medical research, and in purpose-driven organisations more broadly, the distinction between campaign urgency and campaign readiness is one that boards and executive teams rarely get right, and rarely get a second chance to correct.

Getting it wrong is not merely a fundraising setback. It can damage institutional credibility, exhaust leadership, and erode donor trust in ways that take years to repair.

The retraction of American foreign aid, the dismantling of USAID, and the United States' withdrawal from the World Health Organization have not merely created funding gaps, they have fractured the institutional scaffolding that the world built, over decades, to protect human health. For Australia, this global crisis arrives at a moment when our own domestic research funding is under quiet but serious pressure. The confluence of these forces makes one thing clear: philanthropy in health and medical research is no longer a generous supplement to government investment. It is an urgent necessity.

Whilst Australia is a world leader in medical research, it still has challenges in moving new ideas through the research pipeline to become new medicines, therapies and services that improve health. In this article discover more about the symbiotic relationship between government, business and philanthropy and how extraordinarily generous donations by some of the nation’s wealthiest residents and donors is helping to bring long-term societal change and eradicate diseases.

The Canberra Hospital Foundation sought Global Philanthropic’s expertise in research and fundraising strategy to inform the case for moving to an independent entity. The Foundation needed evidence that the move would be viable and, if it was, how it could be implemented for the best efficiency and effectiveness.