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When you meet Daizy Maan, her energy and passion for social impact are unmistakable.

From her teenage years in Griffith, NSW, through to her leadership today as founder of the Austral South Asian Centre and performer with Brown Women Comedy, Daizy has been drawn to service, community, and creative ways to bring about change. Growing up, volunteering became both a refuge and a purpose:

“I didn’t have the best home life, so I stayed out and volunteered as much as I could. Those experiences became some of the most meaningful of my life—they shaped my desire to serve and ultimately led me to a career in the impact space.”

Today, Daizy works across multiple platforms where art, culture, and community intersect. Her day jobs, she says, are “impact embedded,” whether through nonprofit leadership or supporting multicultural arts. But her commitment to giving runs even deeper—grounded in a philosophy she inherited from her family.

Seva: A Guiding Value

Raised in a Sikh household, Daizy grew up with the concept of Seva—meaning selfless service. While she describes herself as “not particularly religious,” Seva became a principle that resonated:

“I started to pick and choose the parts of my tradition that aligned with how I wanted to live. Seva was one of them. I often saw people give back to the Sikh temple, but I asked myself — why restrict it to temples? Why not give beyond? Why separate our work life from our philanthropy?”

This way of thinking has influenced every choice she’s made—from international volunteering in Tanzania and Thailand, to her “quarter-life crisis” in the Himalayas, to being inspired by writers and entrepreneurs like Jacqueline Novogratz (author of The Blue Sweater, which tells of the author’s serendipitous discovery of a child wearing her donated sweater).

Daizy believes that every action, however small, creates ripples in the world:

“That story of the blue sweater never left me—it showed me how our action and inaction affects someone, somewhere. Our actions are powerful.”

Why Melbourne Women’s Foundation?

For Daizy, joining Melbourne Women’s Foundation felt like a natural extension of these values:

“When we come together, we maximise what we can do as a collective. Organisations are often seeking small grants of one, two or five thousand dollars—but when we pool our resources, we can create bigger, more meaningful change. That’s what MWF exists to do.”

Beyond impact, she also sees her membership as an opportunity to widen the circle:

“On a personal note, I also joined because I hope to bring more women of colour into this network, and to encourage others from my community to join too…giving is about generosity and using our privilege to create meaningful change. That’s what I feel everyone at MWF is here to do.”

And with members like Daizy, and the individuality and perspectives of all our members, our shared commitment to a more just, inclusive an connected Melbourne is that much better.

Photo: Daizy generously sharing her story and passion for MWF at our recent Impact Update event. Thank you, Daizy!