28 May 2025
'People don鈥檛 give to organisations with needs. They give to organisations that meet needs.' At a recent presentation on giving, this was one of several sentiments that stuck out to Vincent Ciccarello, our Director of Development and Philanthropy. It reminded him how lucky he is to be working in an environment that aims to not just meet needs, but to consistently exceed them.
Vincent joined Pembroke in April last year, bringing with him close to a decade of experience as Managing Director at the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and a swathe of insight from his time as Head of Philanthropy and Enterprise at the Art Gallery of South Australia.
Both roles taught him a great deal about what motivates people to give and the importance of building relationships with those who might.
鈥�I think if you were to go to the dic颅tio颅nary def颅i颅n颅i颅tion of it, phil颅an颅thropy means for the love of human颅i颅ty. From a prac颅ti颅cal per颅spec颅tive, phil颅an颅thropy is the will颅ing颅ness or abil颅i颅ty to give with no expec颅ta颅tion of any颅thing in return. What moti颅vates peo颅ple to give varies and in the case of Pem颅broke, I鈥檓 so impressed by the num颅ber of peo颅ple with con颅nec颅tions past and present who are will颅ing to give to ensure that future gen颅er颅a颅tions can have the same expe颅ri颅ence. It speaks vol颅umes about the endur颅ing spir颅it and stan颅dards of the School.鈥�
Vince is a proud father of three including Mia who attended Pembroke, commuting all the way from Henley to tap into the environment and values that he believes still exist to this day. And while this makes promoting the School beyond the immediate community and to potential partners relatively straightforward, he is far from resting on this reputation.
'Working on the inside, I see how seriously Pembroke takes its responsibilities and the professionalism that supports it. There are so many aspirations and ambitions to create the very best environment for its students, teachers and professional services staff.
These are now my responsibilities too: looking at the immediate pressing issues like ensuring that the facilities are up to date but also looking ahead to make sure we鈥檙e consistently offering an environment that makes everyone鈥攕tudents, parents and staff鈥攆eel good about being here and able to be their very best. Then working out how to achieve that financially through both philanthropic and commercial means.
If we want members of the Pembroke community to give, they need to feel a connectedness to the School, have an interest and belief in what we鈥檙e doing and have the capacity to give. I have a five-year plan which I鈥檝e presented to the Board and Foundation Board and will continue to roll out to the community. It includes changes to our Indigenous Education Program, the creation of new scholarships, an expansion of our professional development for staff, ongoing campus renewal projects, an amplified focus on connecting with former staff and family members of students, the introduction of bequests and legacy gifts, and the single biggest capital project鈥攑ossibly in the history of the School鈥攐n Haslam Oval where the whole School can finally meet as one.'
Balancing these ambitions with a sensitive approach to building a culture of giving is something Vince takes very seriously.
'Another great quote I heard about giving spoke of the importance of not just recognising amounts but also recognising behaviour. It really resonated with me as I think that goes to the heart of generosity. We should never take for granted that the $10 that someone donates could be the last $10 in their wallet.'
And that, I think we would all agree, is perfectly Pembroke in spirit.
Kate Holland
Old Scholar