Rethinking The Ways We Give, Five Bucks At a time

After an array of early career experiences in the international development sector – Brianna Kerr co-founded Kua; a Climate Positive organisation dedicated to improving the livelihoods of smallholder coffee farmers in Uganda. Bri holds a Bachelor of Arts (Development Studies) at UNSW and a Master of Human Rights from the University of Sydney where she studied as a distinguished Westpac Future Leaders Scholar. Currently, Bri leads giving community Five Bucks and holds part-time positions at UNSW’s Centre for Social Impact, Monash Business School, Pale Blue and She Gives. When it comes to impact, Bri is known for her people-first approach and keen systems thinking. Read on for our interview with Bri!

Describe your career trajectory so far?

I think about work less as a ‘career’ and more as an orientation – always asking, does what I’m doing help shift the dial on what the world needs right now? From a young age, I’ve been driven by curiosity, a love of complexity and a strong sense of justice. At 15, an aid trip to Papua New Guinea cemented my desire to work in social change. I studied Development and Media at UNSW, then interned in Malawi, India and Indonesia. In 2018, I co-founded social enterprise Kua. Around the same time, I worked with the World Bank and UNSW’s Centre for Social Impact and completed a Master of Human Rights at The University of Sydney. When new leadership stepped in at Kua in 2023, I moved into consulting with Pale Blue, working with organisations like Global Citizen, Ripple and Fresh Hope. In mid-2024, I founded collective giving movement Five Bucks. There is no way I could have predicted any of it but purpose has always been the throughline.

Tell us about what keeps you going in this work?

For me, it’s the sense of duty that comes with the privilege of choice. My parents didn’t finish school or go to university and millions of people don’t get to work on social problems – they’re subject to them. I feel immensely grateful that I get to choose how I spend my time and want to use that choice well. That sense of duty keeps me anchored but so does active hope – the belief that things can get better if we walk the walk, not just talk the talk. The chance to work with and for extraordinary people is also a huge motivator and art and nature keep me going. If I’m feeling low or challenged, I’ll read, listen to music or simply walk outside. Those small practices bring me back to the bigger picture.

If you could go back in time, what piece of advice would you give yourself as you first embarked on your career?

Don’t be afraid to question the rules. So many norms – hierarchy, profit at all costs, ‘the way things are done’ – don’t serve the majority. You’re allowed to suggest other ways. And keep showing up as yourself, even when you feel pressure to be someone else. Authenticity will take you further than conformity ever will.

What do you think the ingredients are for strong social sector leadership?

The leaders I admire most share a few common traits: deep listening, self-awareness, the ability to hold softness even when the work is hard, moral ambition paired with humility and the courage to be question-askers rather than answer-givers. Just as important is joy. The best leaders I know laugh easily, bring playfulness into the work and remind us that social change, while serious, is also deeply human.

Do you have a motto, or any words you live by everyday?

One that stays with me is: ‘I don’t care what you know until I know that you care.’ In advocacy, we sometimes (ironically) forget care – as if change were only about right and wrong. But shifting attitudes takes more than facts; it takes love. I also return to the word ‘see.’ Not just looking, but noticing depth and complexity. My partner often points out small things – a bird, a flower, a detail in a building – that I’d otherwise miss. Choosing to really see slows me down, creates space for awe and reminds me that even when things feel urgent, depth matters as much as speed.