The team at Alberts extends its heartfelt thanks and gratitude for your support and collaborative spirit throughout the past year. It has been a journey marked by meaningful partnerships, inspiring connections and shared successes despite the challenging environment.
It’s also been an extremely productive and positive year for the team at Alberts, underscored by the inspiration and optimism we’ve drawn from the innovative and dedicated ventures, non-profits and pioneering individuals we’ve had the privilege to work with, who share our vision to create positive impact.
A significant area of focus for our team was the completion of a review into the first four years of our strategic plan, which provided the perfect opportunity to refine and consolidate our business purpose, values and impact themes as we move into phase 2 of the strategy, which will take the business through to 2028.
We revised our business purpose, ‘to pioneer a vibrant and sustainable future for all,’ and outlined new focus areas – highlighting our heightened ambitions to drive deeper impact, including through increased commitment to philanthropy and venture investing, alongside maintaining a healthy, growing business.
Reflecting on some of our other highlights of 2023:
- We proudly took a public and vocal stand in solidarity with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as part of the Voice referendum, including making a financial commitment to the Yes campaign and adding our support to relevant industry alliances including Philanthropy for the Voice and Music for the Voice. Alberts will continue to seek ways to provide long-term support to First Nations people, in addition to our current philanthropy that focuses on supporting First Nations youth.
- We approved our 21st investment for Alberts Impact Ventures, welcoming five exceptional startups: Harvest B, Mindset Health, Circle In, and Samphire Neuroscience.
- We hosted our inaugural founder retreat, bringing together 24 founders and co-founders from our portfolio companies to share knowledge, ideas and experience, learn from industry experts, and unwind in the beautiful Sydney harbourside surrounds of Q Station Manly.
- We made front page news in the SMH and the Age for Music Education: Right from the Start’s Fading Notes research report; and our advocacy work, including a trip to federal parliament in November, gained traction at a state and federal level.
- We brought together stakeholders who have been part of The Tony Foundation’s 10-year journey for an evening of celebration and reflection on what we have collaboratively achieved with our grantees since 2012, including the support provided to over 20 pioneering organisations who share our mission to improve the lives of young Australians through music.
- We began a three-year philanthropic commitment through The Tony Foundation supporting First Nations not-for-profit Children’s Ground, which embeds First Nations systems, cultural learning and practices at the heart of the communities that they invest in, with the aim of achieving long-term generational change.
- We began reporting our gender equality statistics across all stages of our investment process, and co-hosted a panel discussion with Melior Investment Management to explore the financial benefit of a gender-diverse workforce and the ways to achieve this.
- We brought our values to life in the way we work, with our 2023 initiatives including the integration of Culture Amp to track and improve our workplace culture, and a new parental leave policy that gives 16 weeks paid parental leave to either parent, payment of superannuation for any periods of parental leave up to 12 months, and adoption, miscarriage and IVF leave.
- We embedded our impact framework across Alberts through four key focus areas of equality, vibrant culture, healthy minds and sustainable environment, so that every part of the business takes people and the planet into consideration. This includes piloting a new ESG survey with our Impact Ventures portfolio companies to look at how they consider their environmental impact.
- We surpassed our $10,000 fundraising goal on AusMusic T-Shirt Day, raising over $12,000 towards Support Act’s mental health and wellbeing assistance program across the music industry.
- We have been talking together about what the Alberts business might look like for generations to come, how we can honour the Alberts story and act as stewards of the business and create the next chapter.
As the holiday season approaches, we want to take a moment to wish you, your families and loved ones a joy-filled and restorative break. We eagerly anticipate the opportunities the new year will bring and look forward to rekindling our connections in 2024.
Happy holidays!
