philanthropyOz Blog

Presentations from Philanthropy Australia’s AGM

Philanthropy Australia’s AGM took place on the morning of Thursday, 26 April. Incoming President, Bruce Bonyhady, delivered a thoughtful presentation, sharing his personal thoughts on the the key challenges facing philanthropy today as well as detailing Philanthropy Australia’s draft Strategic Plan.

Bruce Bonyhady’s presentation is available for download in PDF format here.

The Consultative Draft of Philanthropy Australia’s Strategic Plan is available for download here.

Celebrating 30 Years: Issue 8

The Philanthropy Australia Resource Centre – a decade of development

In this edition we start with Philanthropy Australia’s very first Journal, and a grant to establish a “small resource centre”…

Continue reading Celebrating 30 Years: Issue 8…

Grantseeker Workshop in Sydney

The next Philanthropy Australia Grantseeker Workshop to be held in Sydney has been announced for July 5th, 2007.

Go to the Workshops page to find out more information and register your interest.

2 New Positions Vacant

• Head of Perpetual Foundation
• The Cancer Council Victoria: High-Value Relationships Manager

See the Positions Vacant page for more information.

Great Philanthropy Story

In a heart-warming story reported in The Age newspaper yesterday, the Rats of Tobruk auctioned their property in Albert Park (Melbourne) in order to give the proceeds to the Royal Children’s Hospital for medical research. The WW1 veterans were stunned to hear the building’s new owner, who paid $1.73M, said that they could keep the hall as long as they want it.

This is such a great example of how “giving” doesn’t always mean the often complex bureaucratic process of “tax deductible donations” and “grant applications”. Stories like this that pop up really help to remind us just how rewarding the “joy of giving” can be for all of us involved!

You can read the story here.

‘Indigenous Philanthropy’ journal published

Hot off the press! We have just published the ‘Indigenous Philanthropy’ issue of our journal Australian Philanthropy, which our Members and subscribers should receive soon in the mail. It features an interview with Jackie Huggins AM, articles by several of our Members who fund in this area, as well as some inspiring Indigenous guest writers, including Prof. Larissa Behrendt, Wesley Aird and Rhoda Roberts. Already we’ve had some wonderful feedback on this issue, and are hoping to hear more from our readers on how useful and informative, or otherwise, they find it. Please ring or email our editor Louise Arkles with your comments l.arkles@philanthropy.org.au

We will be sending a copy of the journal to each trustee of our full Members, and further copies to their secretariat as usual. Please contact us if you would like to change the number of journals you are receiving. New subscriptions can be ordered via our website.

In conjunction, we’ve also set up a Topical Issues page on Indigenous Australians. It contains a number of relevant resources as well as information on key elements of the issue, and will be updated as we find more information. Keep an eye on this blog for notification of these updates.

Scholarship Fund: Supporting Professional Education in the Not-For-Profit Sector

Press release from Advanced Solutions International:

Saints, White Lions and Kiwis Among Scholarship Winners
ASI SMART Company Scholarship Fund

Interest in the ASI SMART Company Scholarship Fund continues to grow with 26 individuals applying for $30,000 of funding in the March round.

Recipients from this round of funding include individuals from: Wellington Free Ambulance, youth services provider Whitelion, Orana Family Services, AIDS Council of New South Wales: Royal Australasian College of Surgeons and St John Ambulance. They will share $7000 in funding for training in fundraising, project management and paramedic skills.

Now in its second year the ASI SMART Company Scholarship Fund supports individuals to undertake study directly relevant to their work in the NFP sector across Australia and New Zealand. ASI works with more than 400 Australasian fundraising organisations and associations providing software solutions and support via its leading product iMIS.

“The word is clearly out,” says ASI managing director and fund chair Paul Ramsbottom. “No catches, no torturous application forms and a chance to gain real skills to make the sector smarter.” Recognising the sector’s interest, ASI increased funding to $25,000 for 2007.

Paul was inspired to establish the fund after attending a fundraising course as a sponsor some years ago. Upon seeing how relatively small dollar amounts make major impacts he decided to establish his fund to “help people learn how to fish for themselves”.

$18,000 in funding remains for upcoming rounds the next of which will be announced in June.

Details at: www.advsol.com/ap/scholarship.

About ASI: Advanced Solutions International (Asia-Pacific) - ASI - has more than 35 staff and over 400 clients from the not-for-profit, charity and association sectors including: Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, The Cancer Council Victoria and the Australian Medical Association. They use ASI products such as iMIS to manage membership communications, fundraising, events, payments and website content.

Mission Australia’s 2007 Survey of Australia’s Young People

Mission Australia is conducting its sixth survey of young Australians aged between 11-24 years. Its primary purpose is to identify and clarify the key and emerging issues for young people. It asks young people about what they value; their concerns; sources of advice and support; involvement in community activities, whether they identify as Indigenous and if they live in or outside a capital city. In 2006, 14,700 young people responded to the survey.

The survey publicly affirms that young people and their views are valued by the community and is a valuable resource for:

• Young people themselves
• Those working with young people, in helping to evaluate and improve their programs and policies
• Those involved in youth issues, including youth organisations, researchers, employers, politicians
• Anyone concerned about the wellbeing of young people.

Copies of the report of the survey findings will be available late in 2007 and broadly distributed.

• Complete the Survey online or download it in PDF
• Find out more about the Survey

2 New Events

• Full Members Only Event:
  Key Success Factors for Youth-Led Youth-focused Organisations: Lessons from Australian organisations
  Identifying organisations that are likely to be effective and are likely to be sustainable beyond the life of a grant or a partnership are key concerns for philanthropic and corporate funders. An upcoming Philanthropy Australia Member Forum will explore the key success factors for Australian youth-led youth-focused organisations. Full Members interested in understanding how to identify youth-focused organisations that are likely to be effective and sustainable are invited to attend this session.
  Go to the Events Calendar for more information.

• The Spritual Dimensions of Philanthropy: Denis Tracey
  This is the first in a series of public lectures hosted by Caux Initiatives for Business and Initiatives of Change. Denis Tracey is Deputy Director of the Centre for Philanthropy and Social Investment at Swibnburne University. He is studying for a Masters degree on Christian influences on Australian philanthropy.
  Go to the Events Calendar for more information.

Victoria Law Week, Bushfire Recovery Taskforce

• Law Week 2007 (13-19 May, Victoria-wide)
  Put the ‘human’ into ‘Human Rights’ this Law Week Law Week 2007 promises to be the most exciting and innovative Law Week ever. Held in the 3rd week of May each year, Law Week reaches out to members of our community with FREE events, to learn about our law and justice system and meet with staff.
  Go to the Events Calendar for more information.

• Bushfire Recovery Taskforce
  The Victorian State Government’s Ministerial Bushfire Recovery Taskforce recently announced a $138 million recovery package. Details of what has been included in this package is available in the Taskforce’s final report which is available online from the DHS website.
  Go to the Topical Issues: Bushfires page.