philanthropyOz Blog

Position Vacant: ANZ Trustees

ANZ Trustees are seeking a Grant Program Manager to design and deliver quality granting programs and philanthropic advice, and effectively network with and engage stakeholders both internal and external. Focusing on a range of trusts and donor programs, this role will make a significant contribution to the design, review and implementation of ANZT grant programs.

» Visit the Positions Vacant page for further details

Positions Vacant Update

Artsupport Australia is seeking a dynamic SA Manager, a new role to grow philanthropic support for arts and culture in South Australia.

Applications close 10 June 2011

» Visit the Positions Vacant page for further details

Wyatt Benevolent Institution have extended their application closing date for the Grants Portfolio Manager position to 1 June 2011.

This role will develop and manage new and existing innovative grant programs in partnership with other organisations who share commitment to Wyatt’s specified goals and outcomes.

» Visit the Positions Vacant page for further details

New edition of ‘Australian Philanthropy’ Journal - International Giving

Investing offshore: giving beyond our borders is the theme of our latest issue of Australian Philanthropy, Issue 78 Autumn 2011.

Containing recent academic analysis on diaspora philanthropy, considered commentary on the contentious field of microfinance, sophisticated insights into historical giving, not to mention knowledge and opinions from some of the most remarkable voices in the Australian philanthropic sector, this issue is timely and thought-provoking. This issue of Australian Philanthropy is devoted to international giving.

• Read selected articles online or browse the full contents list on the PhilanthropyWiki
• Find out more about Australian Philanthropy on the Philanthropy Australia Website
• Individual copies and annual subscriptions to Australian Philanthropy Journal are available to purchase from our website

Our previous issue, Outcomes, outputs and impact (Issue 77 Summer 2010) is now available for Members to download from the PhilanthropyWiki here.

New Position Vacant

A challenging opportunity exists for an experienced Philanthropy Manager to provide leadership and oversight of fundraising programs for the benefit of research, teaching and community projects at Queensland University of Technology.

Applications close 23 June

» Visit the Positions Vacant page for further details

Reflections on Personal Philanthropy - Carrillo Gantner

Carrillo Gantner, Chairman of Sidney Myer Fund, delivered a rousing speech at Philanthropy Australia’s Trustees Dinner on 12 May, reflecting on his personal and family philanthropy.

Here’s an excerpt:

I was once told that the Japanese start every speech with an apology whereas Westerners start theirs with a joke. I am going to show my hybrid origins tonight by choosing a third course: I choose to start with a confession. I don’t want to go up the blind alley of semantics tonight, and I know this is a Philanthropy Australia dinner, but I hereby confess that I don’t much like the word “philanthropy”. While we all know it comes from two Greek words that taken together mean “love of mankind” which is a very broad concept, its usage has come to be almost exclusively associated with wealth, with large dollops of money contributed by rich people to various good causes. Please don’t get me wrong: I think this is a really wonderful thing. God bless so many people for giving very large sums of money to good causes. What worries me, however, is the perception that philanthropy is the exclusive preserve of the wealthy and, two corollaries that follow this: first, that it is not something that ordinary people engage in and second, that through philanthropy, the wealthy earn some kind of moral superiority. To use the vernacular, I suspect many ordinary Australians equate the word “philanthropist” with “wanker”.

Download Carrillo’s speech from PhilanthropyWiki

New Position Vacant

The Wyatt Benevolent Institution are seeking a Grants Portfolio Manager to develop and manage new and existing innovative grant programs in partnership with other organisations who share commitment to Wyatt’s specified goals and outcomes.

Applications close 25 May 2011

» Visit the Positions Vacant page for further details

Event Calendar Update

New additions to our Events Calendar this week:

• Wine & Cheese Talk - The Impact of Rockefeller Foundation in Australia (24 May; ACT)
• Afternoon Tea Talk - Is philanthropic money solely private? (25 May; ACT)
• Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne in conversation: Better to give than receive? (25 May; VIC)
• Private Wealth Forum (14 June; VIC / 16 June; NSW)
• AEGN 2011 Conference: Environmental and Indigenous Philanthropy (28-29 June; VIC)
• Pacific Microfinance Week 2011 (26-29 July; Vanuatu)
• Philanthropy Australia’s Community Foundations Forum 2011 (17-19 August; NSW)
• Philanthropy Australia Oration (1 September; NSW)
• Philanthropy Australia Oration (8 September; VIC)

Members Only*
* Full Members of Philanthropy Australia only, unless otherwise specified.

• Launch of Philanthropy Australia’s new Rural & Regional Affinity Group (26 May; VIC)
• Addressing Homelessness Affinity Group (23 June; VIC)
• Ageing Futures Affinity Group (28 June; VIC)
• Addressing Homelessness Affinity Group (29 June; NSW)
• South Australia Network (5 July; SA; Full Members & non-Member grantmakers)
• Affinity Group & Network Chairs Lunch (12 July; VIC; Full Member Chairs only)
• Philanthropy Australia Members Strategic Planning Discussion (28 June NSW / 13 July; VIC)
• Circle of Learning (21 July; NSW; Full & Associate Members only)
• Corporate Network (28 July; VIC)
• All Members Mid-Year Update (3 August; NSW; Full & Associate Members only)
• Corporate Network (23 August; NSW)
• CEO Network (31 August; NSW)
• PAF Network (8 September; NSW)
• Disability Affinity Group (14 September; VIC)
• Addressing Homelessness Affinity Group (20 September; NSW)
• Addressing Homelessness Affinity Group (13 October; VIC)
• Ageing Futures Affinity Group (19 October; VIC)
• Corporate Network (20 October; VIC)
• South Australia Network (25 October; SA; Full Members & non-Member grantmakers)
• Affinity Group & Network Chairs Lunch (10 November; NSW; Full Member Chairs only)
• Affinity Group & Network Chairs Lunch (29 November; VIC; Full Member Chairs only)
• Philanthropy Australia’s All Members End of Year Celebration (6 December; NSW / 7 December; VIC; Full & Associate Members only)

Further details on these events are available on the Events Calendar.

If you have any events relevant to Australian grantmakers coming up, please let us know by submitting it on our website here.

Sydney and Gold Coast workshops

Places are still available for our Grantseeker Workshops in Sydney (Friday, May 27) and Robina, QLD (Monday, May 30).

This workshop makes a fantastic introduction on how to look for funding from philanthropic sources, and a great refresher for those who have some experience but are interested in hearing tips and tricks from some sector insiders. Learn how to research potential funding sources, what to include in a submission, what to leave out, how to make your application easy to understand, and what makes foundations different to other funders. There are plenty of tips and hints included to help you make the most out of your application and ensure the best possible chance of success.

Sydney: Friday, 27 May, 9:30 am - 12:30 pm
Presented by Vanessa Meachen

Robina, Qld: Monday, 30 May, 9:30 am - 12:30 pm
Presented by Rikki Andrews

This is the last Grantseeker Workshop in both Sydney and Queensland for several months - don’t miss out! See the Workshops Page on our website to book your place.

NFP regulator & definition of charity announced in Budget

Among the announcements in last night’s Budget were a couple of exciting points for the philanthropic sector and for the not-for-profit sector as a whole.

• The new independent not-for-profit regulator will be called the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) and will be established by 1 July 2012.
• The implementation taskforce for the ACNC will be set up in Treasury from 1 July 2011
• The Commissioner of the ACNC will be appointed by Government and report to parliament through the Assistant Treasurer
• The Commissioner will have sole responsibility for determining charitable status, PBI status and other not-for-profit status for all Commonwealth purposes.

The Treasurer also announced that the Government will consult on and introduce a statutory definition of charity for all Commonwealth laws to take effect from 1 July 2013. The definition will be based on the 2001 Report of the Inquiry into the Definition of Charities and Related Organisations, but will also take into account the findings of recent judicial decisions such as the Aid/Watch case.

For more information see the Budget site at: http://www.budget.gov.au/2011-12/index.htm

Advocacy to Achieve Environmental Outcomes - Workshops coming up in May

The Australian Environmental Grantmakers Network (AEGN) is inviting funders to attend their workshops on Advocacy to Achieve Environmental Outcomes, to be held in Sydney and Melbourne next week.

 Advocacy is an important tool used by business, industry, peak groups and the community sector to influence public policy outcomes. However, within the community sector there has been considerable uncertainty about when this tool can be used. And within the philanthropic sector there has been even greater misunderstanding and uncertainty about what can be funded and indeed the nature of advocacy itself.

These workshops are designed to assist funders to understand the role of advocacy to achieve environmental protection in light of recent court determinations such as the Aidwatch case and government interpretations.

We will explore the nature of advocacy, the Australian Tax Office’s directions on what the community sector can do in relation to advocacy and what is possible to fund. We will also consider some examples of successful grants for advocacy work in the environmental sector.

Speaker Esther Abram is the project manager of the Charity Law Reform Project at Changemakers Australia, which is seeking changes to charity laws to ensure philanthropic and community organisations can legitimately work towards social change.

The workshops are being held on 17 May in Sydney and 19 May in Melbourne. Attendance is free of charge.

Download the invitation here for further information and RSVP details