philanthropyOz Blog

PPF Information Returns: 1 July 2006 – 30 June 2007

Prescribed private funds (PPFs) must provide a simple annual return - a “Prescribed Private Fund information return” - to the Tax Office at the end of each financial year. The return for the financial year 1 July 2006 – 30 June 2007 have now been sent by the ATO to all PPFs and must be completed and lodged with the ATO by 28 February 2008.

There are two versions of this form, the full version or the simplified version. The particular circumstances of your PPF will determine which of these forms is the appropriate one for your foundation.

For further information on these forms and how to complete them please refer to the ATO website.

Philanthropy Australia’s Reconciliation Action Plan

In August, the Council of Philanthropy Australia endorsed a Reconciliation Action Plan for Philanthropy Australia.

Reconciliation Australia is inviting government, business, peak bodies, NGOs and community organisations to identify and develop business practices that contribute to the wellbeing and quality of life of Indigenous Australians. They can do this by developing and pursuing individual Reconciliation Action Plans as part of a National Program of Action. This Program will provide a framework for sustained and coordinated measures to increase the wellbeing and quality of life of Indigenous Australians. On the Reconciliation Australia website there are a number of Reconciliation Action Plans, including those from ANZ, BHP Billiton, Melbourne City Council, Oxfam Australia and the Victoria Police.

• Read Philanthropy Australia’s Reconciliation Action Plan
• Go to the Topical Issues: Indigenous Australians page.

Anti-Poverty Week, 14-20 October

Anti-Poverty Week was established in Australia as an expansion of the UN’s annual International Anti-Poverty Day on October 17.

The main aims of Anti-Poverty Week are to:

- strengthen public understanding of the causes and consequences of poverty and hardship around the world and in Australia;
- encourage research, discussion and action to address these problems, including action by individuals, communities, organisations and governments.

Everyone who is interested in helping to reduce poverty and hardship here or overseas is encouraged to organise their own activities during the Week or join in some being organised by other people. The activities can be large or small, and events at the local level are especially welcome.

You can find out more about Anti-Poverty Week at www.antipovertyweek.org.au

Doing IT Better - Social Justice Initiative

Posted: 10-09-2007
These days, electronic communications now underpin the operations of almost all organisations that NFPs deal with in their everyday work and personal lives.

However, many smaller community-sector organisations struggle with how to use information and communication technologies (ICTs) effectively in their work with clients or their relationships with other organisations.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that what is currently available in the market place or from their funding agencies does not support them and with new products and innovations appearing all the time, they feel that they are falling behind.

The Doing IT Better project in Victoria is set to address these issues. It’s a 3-year social justice initiative of the Centre for Community Networking Research, Faculty of Information Technology at Monash University, and the Victorian Council of Social Service and funded by a private donor.

Doing IT Better will help NFPs draw out their own knowledge, build independent capacity, and develop long-term plans and support for a networked sector, having flow-on effects into areas such as criminal justice, family support, drug and alcohol services, disability, community education, and so on-all the areas in which community-sector organisations play such a vital part at the coalface.

The skills, knowledge, and relationships they develop will be shared around the sector and enable benefits to be passed onto clients through better services. The project will also allow such organisations to develop more effective relationships with IT vendors and funders.

Larry Stillman from Monash University says the project is also an opportunity for a university to build new grass-roots relationships to serve the needs of disadvantaged groups in the community and perhaps, ultimately, affect how students in many disciplines (law, social work, community development, health, information technology etc.), who work in or have relationships with the sector, learn about the place of ICTs in their work.

The Doing IT Better Initiative will be launched in Melbourne on Friday 5 October @ 11.30am-12.30pm by Fran Thorn, Secretary of the Department of Human Services, Victoria in conjunction with Cath Smith, Executive Officer of VCOSS, and Professor Richard Larkins, the Monash Vice-Chancellor.

Workers from a number of participating organisations will also talk about the value of the project to their work.

All Not for profit representatives are invited to attend.

WHERE: Travellers’ Aid City Centre, cnr Swanston and Bourke Streets,
(Second Floor), Melbourne

RSVP: Please use the following link to RSVP your attendance electronically: www.eventbrite.com/event/68573104

For more information contact Larry Stillman 03 9903 1801.

Source: Pro Bono Australia

Australian Environment Grantmakers Network Events

• AEGN Symposium - 17th October, 2007 (Vic)
• AEGN Field Trip - 21-27th October, 2007 (WA)

These events are open to grantmakers only. See the Events Calendar for more information.

Karma Currency Foundation

This October, the Karma Currency Foundation will be launching Australia’s First Online Charity Gift Voucher with the help of the National Australia Bank (NAB) and Nova Radio.

At the Karma Currency Foundation website people and corporations will be able to purchase Charity Gift Vouchers which they can then send to their family and friends, customers and colleagues. The recipient of the voucher is then directed back to the website to give to the charity of their choice.

The Foundation is now in phase one where charities can register online at www.karmacurrency.com.au. Registration is free for the two months, but organisations wanting to register need to be an Australian Charity with DGR status and must register before October 1.

For further details contact:

Ashley Rosshandler
Founder and CEO - Karma Currency Foundation
ph: 03 9686 6100
OR visit www.karmacurrency.com.au

PricewaterhouseCoopers Transparency Awards – call for submissions

Increased transparency and quality of reporting is of growing importance to the not-for-profit sector. It allows donors to make informed decisions about who they give to; it helps keep volunteers motivated; it lets directors demonstrate their organisation’s integrity; and it helps to build confidence in the community.

As part of PricewaterhouseCoopers’ support for the improvement of transparency and quality of reporting in the not-for-profit sector, PricewaterhouseCoopers has collaborated with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia to launch the PricewaterhouseCoopers Transparency Awards.

The PricewaterhouseCoopers Transparency Awards give not-for-profit organisations a valuable opportunity to prove that they take the issue of transparency and quality of reporting seriously. Furthermore, all organisations will receive an individual feedback report and an overall summary that will benchmark best practice in the sector and the winning organisation will also receive $20,000 towards the training and development of its people.

Eligible organisations wishing to be a part of these Awards will need to register online.

Registrations for the Awards close at 5:00 pm on Friday, 26 October 2007

New Event Listings

• CSR Business Breakfast (30/10/07, Vic)
• CSR Masterclass for NGOs (30/10/07, Vic)
• CSR Masterclass for Government (31/10/07, Vic)

Go to the Events Calendar for more details.

Cosima Lends a hand to nonprofits

Former Australian Idol star Cosima De Vito has been confirmed to appear alongside an all star line up of celebrities helping to celebrate the remarkable work that non-profit organisations do for our community.

The Not-For-Profit Network non-profit awards will recognize those organisations, projects or team members who are achieving outstanding work within the non-profit sector in Australian and New Zealand.

As a singer and songwriter who has enjoyed a number one single and a platinum selling album, Cosima is well-known to the Australian public.
Like her past Idol contemporaries, she has created her own artistic style and is making a sensational comeback to the Australian music scene with her latest pop single Keep it natural.

Cosima will also perform her upcoming track Moving On at the prestigious awards night.

Nominations for this exciting and unique awards program closed at 5pm on 31st July 2007.

The reaction from non-profit organisations towards nominating teams and organisations who have worked hard for the non-profit sector has been exceptional.

A spokesman for the Not-For-Profit Network said “the response for the awards has been fantastic, and we have been inundated with fabulous nominations!”

The winners will be announced at a star studded gala ceremony to be held at Warner Bros. Movie World on the Gold Coast on Friday 23rd November 2007.

Cosima joins a glamorous line-up of national and international celebrities who are committed to supporting the Australian and New Zealand non-profit sector in attending this high profile red carpet event.

For more information about the Non-profit awards you can visit Not-For-Profit Network’s official website at www.nfpn.com.au or phone 07 3210 2288.

Carbon trading schemes may encourage the cutting of trees

A recent study released in the journal Public Library of Science Biology attacks head-on the assumption that carbon offset markets are beneficial for the environment, claiming that some schemes actually result in increased deforestation. The controversial claim is supported in the study, titled “No Forest Left Behind”, and provides an interesting perspective on the potentially adverse effects of carbon trading.

The researchers assert that under the Kyoto Protocol there is no profit motive for the 10 countries and one French territory that hold 20 percent of the Earth’s intact tropical forest to preserve it.

The Kyoto treaty has focused on assigning carbon credits for countries and companies that plant new trees where forests have been destroyed due to development, logging or farming, the authors noted. There is no credit for countries that maintain already-abundant forestland, the study said.

The study recommended assigning carbon credits for preserving already-intact forests.

- Read full piece online.
- Go to the Topical Issues: Climate Change page.