Sarah Langley: Honouring a legacy of giving

By Em Worthington

What inspired your family to start the K&S Langley Fund?

My parents were always very giving, both with their time and money, especially to South Australians. They were passionate about giving back, not just financially, but through volunteering. Their giving had evolved naturally over time, but they envisioned creating a dedicated philanthropic fund when they retired. So, in 2018, my brother, his wife, and I decided to create a public ancillary fund to honour their legacy of generosity.

How did your upbringing shape your passion for helping others?

It actually goes back to my dad’s parents. They were always volunteering, and my grandmother was involved with the Asthma Foundation. I remember selling Asthma Foundation stickers at the market when I was about 13, while my mum did the shopping. It was my first taste of fundraising, and it really showed me that even small actions can make a big difference.

What kinds of projects do you support?

We support a range of organisations and projects, especially in the fine arts. While no one in our family is particularly artistic, we truly appreciate the value of art.

In 2022, we funded The Helpmann Academy’s Major Public Art Commission for the Goolwa Wharf Precinct, in partnership with Alexandrina Council. We’re passionate about supporting emerging South Australian artists and the positive impact art has on our community. We support Writer’s Week (the only free Writers Festival in Australia), and contribute to the Festival Centre, among others, to keep these cultural initiatives accessible.

We also support the Mary Potter Foundation, whose work we truly appreciate. We funded the refurbishment of their family kitchen to help provide meals and a place to take a break for families in palliative care. We funded nurse education to help staff gain additional skills in palliative care, too. Not many people talk about palliative care, and it’s such an important conversation to have.

How do you choose where to direct your funds?

There are so many incredible causes to support, but we focus on causes that help people improve their skills and give them a leg-up.

It’s important to us that the organisations we support have practical outcomes and create real impact. We want to ensure our giving stays aligned with our parents’ values by supporting initiatives that might not always get the recognition they deserve. This includes uncovering work being done behind the scenes, often by those without a public profile, such as researchers or field workers who are focused on making a difference without seeking the spotlight. Supporting these kinds of efforts is exactly the kind of giving our parents instilled in us, and we’re committed to continuing their legacy in a meaningful, direct way.

Was the fund difficult to set up?

We have it managed through Mutual Trust, who gave us the framework to set it up. They handle all the admin, compliance, and reporting for us. We made an initial lump sum payment, and then we’re required to grant at least 4% each year. They invest the funds, and the returns help it grow.

In the beginning, Mutual Trust guided us on granting, which felt a bit overwhelming, but now we’re in the groove of it and prefer giving multi-year grants to ensure long-term support for the charities. It’s not as time-consuming now, but we still need to agree on where to direct our support.

How do you see the fund evolving in the future?

We’re happy to have started it and plan to keep it going as long as possible, but in a few years, we’ll need to decide whether to wrap it up or if my brother’s kids, and my son will take it on. Of course, deep down we hope they will, but they might go in different directions.

What’s been the most rewarding part?

It's all been incredibly rewarding. Every time we connect with the organisations we support, our hearts just explode. Recently, we visited Mary Potter and saw the finished kitchen. It was such a simple thing, but seeing the impact it made on the staff and families was so fulfilling. They were really proud of it, and it’s a great service for the patients and their families.

Another rewarding project was our involvement with the Helpmann Academy’s public art sculpture. We wanted to support young creatives and saw this as an opportunity to create something for people to enjoy. It took eight years, but the unveiling last October was a truly emotional moment. There were a lot of hurdles along the way, but it finally happened, and the unveiling was such a great day. It was part of the Nature Festival, and it felt special to see it come to life, especially knowing my parents would have loved it.

Can you tell me about the South Australian Women’s Fund?

We set it up post-COVID, around 2022. The idea came from Alex Dimos, who’s very active in philanthropy. She wanted to create the South Australian Women's Fund, separate from her family fund, and was looking for others to get involved. I’m passionate about supporting women, and Fiona Dorman, the President of the National Council of Women Australia, is also heavily involved. The three of us came together, contributed some money, and launched the fund to support women’s issues in South Australia.

We’ve focused on helping women and girls with career development and self-growth, but it’s been challenging to find organisations that truly focus on women that can also receive philanthropic funding. Many charities say they support women, but we’re looking for those who demonstrate practical outcomes with clear impact.

Who have you supported through the South Australian Women’s Fund?

We’ve supported the Port Adelaide Football Club's Power Community Foundation, which focuses on developing and empowering young women and girls as leaders. This year, we also gave to Dramatic Women, a women’s playwriting group within the State Theatre Company. Both initiatives are about developing women and shining a spotlight on their achievements.

While we’ve kept our support behind the scenes, our goal is to raise awareness of these organisations and encourage more people to give to them. Moving forward, I plan to spend more time on this and help showcase what these organisations are doing for women in South Australia.

Why is it so important to you to support women and girls in particular?

Supporting women and girls is crucial because when they thrive, entire communities thrive, whether in developing countries or here at home. As a mother, I see the 'mother’s tax' — giving up work and superannuation, which no one talks about, and it’s a real burden on women’s careers. We like to think we’re equal, but there’s still work to be done.

I’m also keen to support financial literacy for women. Many women in my generation have limited financial literacy, and I believe there should be more education around this, for women and for everyone.

How do you balance your philanthropic work with the rest of your life?

At midnight ... just kidding! I do contract work, so I fit my philanthropic work around that. I love it, and it’s incredibly rewarding. Every time we connect with the organisations we support, it reminds us of exactly why we’re doing this.

What advice would you give to anyone thinking about getting involved in philanthropy?

I believe everyone should give something, and it doesn’t have to be money — it could be time. Find an organisation that has helped you or means something to you and just give a little. I get great joy from helping people in any way I can — I think it’s so important and leads to a full life.

Our heartfelt thanks to Sarah for generously sharing her journey. Stay tuned for more inspiring South Australians shaping the future through their generosity in our Stories of Impact series.