philanthropyOz Blog

Weekly Roundup

This will be our last Weekly Roundup for the year. As I will be away on leave for December, please note that any events or jobs submitted for posting to our website from next Tuesday 29 November will not be attended to until early January 2012. So if you have anything you’d like included on our Positions Vacant page or Events Calendar, please submit it by 5pm Monday 28 November.

- Joanna

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PRESSING MATTERS STORY OF THE WEEK

Balwyn man making a difference

By Bianca Carmona (Progress Leader, 21/11/11)

A Balwyn disability campaigner is among big names, including cyclist Cadel Evans and singer Paul Kelly, to be named as finalists in the state Australian of the Year awards.
Quiet achiever Bruce Bonyhady said: “To be nominated as Victorian of the Year, given the many outstanding Victorians who have preceded me, is an honour which I never expected and am stunned to receive.”

» Click here to read the full article on the Progress Leader website

» What is PRESSing Matters?

NEWS

iPledg - New Australian Crowdfunding Platform Launching January

A new Australian-based online crowdfunding platform will be launching on 1 January 2012. iPledge describes itself as “Australia’s newest and most comprehensive crowdfunding platform for commercial, creative and charitable projects”.

They’re currently taking expressions of interest from project creators, potential funders and partners.

Crowdfunding - sometimes known as crowd financing - describes the collective cooperation, attendion and trust by people who network and pool their money and other resources together, usually via the internet, to support efforts initiated by other people or organisations.¹

» www.ipledg.com

» Follow iPledg on Twitter or Facebook

¹ Crowd funding, Wikipedia

Philanthropy Australia Office Closures Over New Year

Our Melbourne and Sydney offices will be closed over the New Year break from 4pm Wednesday 21 December, reopening at 9am Monday 9 January 2012.

EVENTS

Coming up for the rest of this year:

• National Conference on Volunteering (28-30 November, Gold Coast QLD)
• Gala Dinner with Abigail Disney: Behind the famous surname lies a woman helping women fight for peace (29 November, Melbourne / 1 December, Sydney)
• National Summit for the Charitable and Nonprofit Sector, Canada (29-30 November, Canada)
• Donor Morning Tea & Project Briefing: Victorian Women & Mental Health Network (30 November, Melbourne)
• Philanthropy MasterClass: “BOLD, BRAVE & BREAKING NEW GROUND” with Abigail Disney (30 November, Melbourne / 2 December, Sydney)
• 4th Annual Family Office Congress (30 November - 1 December, Sydney)
• Imagineering - Humanitarian Engineering Conference (30 November - 3 December, Melbourne)
• QUT Community Collection for Grant Seekers, Fundraisers and Philanthropists Library Tutorial (1 December, Brisbane)
• Global Grantmaking Institute (1-2 December, USA)
• ACPNS Course Information and Professional Development Evening (6 December, Brisbane)
• Philanthropy Australia’s All Members End of Year Celebrations (6 December, Sydney / 7 December, Melbourne)

New & updated this week:

• Indigenous Sustainability: Enterprise, Education & Environment (28 February 2012, Sydney)
• 6th Australasian Better Boards Conference (27-29 July 2012, Melbourne)
• Understanding the Governance of Charitable Foundations Seminar (9 October 2012, Sydney - click here to register / 10 October 2012, Melbourne - click here to register)

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

POSITIONS VACANT

• Director of Alumni Relations & Philanthropy, Australian National University, Canberra, applications close 2 December
• Manager, Institutional Donor Programs, Australian National University, Canberra, applications close 2 December
• General Manager, OzHarvest, Sydney, applications close 2 December
• Community & Sustainability Advisor, Coles, Melbourne, applications close 4 December
• Chief Executive Officer, United Synergies, Sunshine Coast QLD, applications close 19 December
• Executive Officer, Mary Ward International Australia, Melbourne, applications open until filled

» Further details on these jobs are available on the Positions Vacant page.

Gender Audit Survey

It’s a century since Australia first celebrated International Women’s Day, but how much have things really improved - particularly in the not-for-profit sector? Seeing the equal pay case for community workers (85% of whom are women) currently before Fair Work Australia, it is tempting to wonder how many women are in senior management and Board positions across the not-for-profit sector.

ACOSS, YWCA Australia and Women on Boards have developed a survey to assess the gendered representation within senior roles and Boards across the community sector. It should take no more than 8 minutes to complete and should give a fuller picture of the governance and management of our sector.

Click here for more information and to begin the survey.

This is also a reminder that the Australian Women Donors Network will be holding two gala events with international philanthropist Abigail E. Disney in Melbourne (Tuesday 29 November) and Sydney (Thursday 1 December). There will also be an exclusive philanthropy masterclass, held in both Melbourne and Sydney, where Abigail will present about the strategies and success of her non-profit organizations - Peace is Loud and the Daphne Foundation. More information about Abigail’s visit is available from the Australian Women Donors Network.

Guest Post: Communicating ideas and innovation through social media

The following guest post is by Stacey Thomas, Myer Family Company.

One of the strengths of the philanthropic sector is its ability to be flexible and respond quickly to needs and trends within the community. However when it comes to communication, the methods employed by the philanthropic sector have been, until quite recently, limited and unchanging.

The sector relies on not-for-profit organisations and yet has historically offered a very one-sided and austere method of communication. For those foundations who have engaged in public communication it has tended to be through a formal publication such as an annual report, and in recent times through a more casual newsletter. And then of course there are many more foundations who have not engaged in any kind of communication.

The last couple of years have seen a slow change in the way the philanthropic sector engages with those organisations they seek to support. With the explosion of the social media revolution there are now a growing number of foundations using this as an opportunity to link with others who have an interest in philanthropy. Whether it is The Ian Potter Foundation’s Facebook page, or The Myer Foundation’s twitter account we are seeing some of Australia’s biggest philanthropic institutions opening themselves up to a more two-sided dialogue with those that they fund.

There is also a growing number of ‘philanthrocrats’, or the staff of foundations, deliberately trying to engage with the not-for-profit sector around topics from basic information sharing to seeking opinions on operational aspects. In a recent Three Eggs blog (an Australian philanthropy blog http://3eggphilanthropy.com) 26 Australian philanthropy tweeters were identified.

Continue reading Guest Post: Communicating ideas and innovation through social media…

Weekly Roundup

PRESSING MATTERS STORY OF THE WEEK

Forget the Gold Coast: school leavers focus on charity in Cambodia

By Louise Schwartzkoff and Andrew Stevenson (SMH, 14/11/11)

With the ink barely dry on their Higher School Certificate exam papers, 19 graduates from Mosman High School will fly to Cambodia to help build houses for impoverished families in a village outside Phnom Penh. They are part of a growing group of HSC graduates eschewing the traditional Gold Coast knees-up in favour of alternative options.

» Click here to read the full article on the Sydney Morning Herald website

» What is PRESSing Matters?

EVENTS

Coming up this fortnight:

• The Annual European Forum on Fundraising (18-20 November, London)
• Philanthropy and the marine sector with Dr Sylvia Earle (21 November, Sydney)
• Philanthropy 101 Seminar (22 November, Sydney; click here to register)
• Disability Projects Briefing for Philanthropy (23 November, Melbourne)
• Australia’s Welfare 2011 Conference (23-24 November, Canberra)
• Quality At Work Forum: Creating sustainable employment through social enterprise models (24 November, Melbourne)
• AEGN Annual General Meeting with presentation from Dr Sylvia Earle (24 November, Melbourne)
• PLuGIN, Philanthropy Leadership Group in the Inner North (24 November, Northcote VIC)
• 2011 Stegley Lecture: Professor Thomas Pogge - What are the resonsibilities of the affluent to address global poverty? (24 November, Melbourne)
• National Conference on Volunteering (28-30 November, Gold Coast QLD)
• Gala Dinner with Abigail Disney: Behind the famous surname lies a woman helping women fight for peace (29 November, Melbourne / 1 December, Sydney)
• National Summit for the Charitable and Nonprofit Sector, Canada (29-30 November, Canada & online)
• Donor Morning Tea & Project Briefing: Victorian Women & Mental Health Network (30 November, Melbourne)
• Philanthropy MasterClass: “BOLD, BRAVE & BREAKING NEW GROUND” with Abigail Disney (30 November, Melbourne / 2 December, Sydney)
• 4th Annual Family Office Congress (30 November - 1 December, Sydney)
• Imagineering - Humanitarian Engineering Conference 2011 (30 November - 3 December, Melbourne)
• QUT Community Collection for Grant Seeker, Fundraisers and Philanthropists Library Tutorial (1 December, Brisbane)
• Global Grantmaking Institute (1-2 December, USA)

New & updated this week:

• National Summit for the Charitable and Nonprofit Sector, Canada (29-30 November, Canada & online)
• QUT Community Collection for Grant Seeker, Fundraisers and Philanthropists Library Tutorial (1 December, Brisbane)
• Australian Centre for Philanthropy & Nonprofit Studies Course Information and Professional Development Evening (6 December, Brisbane)
• Council on Foundations Family Philanthropy Conference 2012 (13-15 February 2012, USA)
• Skoll World Forum (28-30 March 2012, UK)
• The positive and negative implications of social media in solving social challenges (16 May, Sydney / 30 May, Melbourne)

» 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.

POSITIONS VACANT

• Fundraising and Partnerships Manager, SecondBite. Melbourne. Applications close 19 November.
• Director of Alumni Relationships & Philanthropy, Australian National University. Canberra. Applications close 2 December.
• Manager, Institutional Donor Programs, Australian National University. Canberra. Applications close 2 December.
• General Manager, OzHarvest. Sydney, 12 month maternity cover. Applications close 2 December.
• Executive Officer, Mary Ward International Australia. Melbourne. Applications open until filled.

If you’d like to submit a job listing for the philanthropic sector or senior fundraising positions, please see our submissions page here.

Myer awarded by Business/Higher Education Round Table for Philanthropy

Last Thursday The Business/Higher Education Round Table (B-HERT) 2011 Award winners were announced, recognising outstanding achievement in collaboration between business and higher education in the fields of research & development and education & training.

We’d like to congratulate all the winners, with a special congratulations to the winner of the award for Outstanding Philanthropic Support for Higher Education 2011, The Sidney Myer Fund and the Myer Foundation and Family. This award recognises Myer’s ongoing and long-term support of the University of Melbourne and Monash University.

“The Myer family has been one of the longest-standing and most important benefactors of higher education in Australia. The pattern of giving began with Sidney Myer, it continued through his estate (in the form of the Sidney Myer Fund), and has expanded over the following decades with his descendants, both individually and through the Myer Foundation.

“Collectively, the family has been one of the largest and most important philanthropic supporters for the University of Melbourne and Monash University in their history. The Myer gifts to the University of Melbourne and Monash University alone are so numerous that it would be an impossible feat to mention all of them. The gifts have embraced all of the Myers’ well–‐known philanthropic interests – The Arts and Humanities; Australia as part of the Asia–‐Pacific region; Education; Poverty and Disadvantage; and Sustainability and the Environment.”

Special mention went to Macquarie Group Foundation for various initiatives at the University of NSW including the Centre for Social Impact and Macquarie Group Foundation Chair, and Olga Tennison for the Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre at La Trobe University.

Philanthropy Australia’s Bruce Argyle was honoured to be included on the judging panel for the philanthropy award.

» Go to the B-HERT website for more details on the 2011 Awards

Weekly Roundup

PRESSING MATTERS STORY OF THE WEEK

Philanthropy Head Victorian Finalist in Australian of the Year (ProBonoNews, 3/11/11)

Philanthropy Australia’s President, Bruce Bonyhady AM, has been nominated as one of four Victorian finalists for Australian of the Year. Philanthropy Australia CEO Deborah Seifert says the nomination reflects the incredible drive, dedication and the impact of Bruce’s voluntary work, not only in the area of advocacy for the disabled, but also in the wider area of increasing the reach and influence of Philanthropy Australia.

» Click here to read the full article on the Pro Bono Australia website

» What is PRESSing Matters?

NEWS

First Australian NFP Fulbright Scholarship Announced

The prestigious Fulbright program is now offering scholarships to emerging leaders in the Australian for not-for-profit sector. Based at a U.S. university or charitable organisation, NFP managers and directors have the opportunity to undertake research and professional development for three to four months in the Fulbright Professional Scholarship in Non-Profit Leadership.

An initiative of  the Australian-American Fulbright Commission, the Australian Scholarships Foundation and Origin Foundation, one scholarship of $40,000 will be awarded each year from 2013 to 2017. The first applications will be received in 2012.

» Read the full announcement on the Pro Brono Australia website

» More information on applying at Australian Scholarships Foundation

EVENTS

Coming up this fortnight:

• The Maimonides Society Spring 2011 Gathering: Churchill Fellowships – Opportunity for the philanthropic sector? (14 November, Melbourne)
• Advocacy Workshop - Change the World Through Philanthropy (15 November, Sydney / 17 November, Melbourne)
• 2011 Research Australia Awards (16 November, Melbourne)
• The Role of Community Development Financial Institutions with Ronald Grzywinski (17 November, Canberra)
• Philanthropy in the 21st Century (17 November, USA)
• The Annual European Forum on Fundraising (18-20 November, UK)
• Philanthropy and the marine sector with Dr Sylvia Earle (21 November, Sydney)
• Philanthropy 101 Seminar (22 November, Sydney)
• Disability Projects Briefing for Philanthropy (23 November, Melbourne)
• Australia’s Welfare 2011 Conference (23-24 November, Canberra)
• Quality At Work Forum: Creating sustainable employment through social enterprise models (24 November, Melbourne)
• AEGN Annual General Meeting with presentation from Dr Sylvia Earle (24 November, Melbourne)
• PLuGIN (Philanthropy Leadership Group in the Inner North) (24 November, Northcote VIC)
• 2011 Stegley Lecture: Professor Thomas Pogge - What are the responsibilities of the affluent to address global poverty? (21 November, Melbourne)
• National Conference on Volunteering (28-30 November, Gold Coast QLD)
• Gala Dinner with Abigail Disney: Behind the famous surname lies a woman helping women fight for peace (29 November, Melbourne / 1 December, Sydney)
• Donor Morning Tea & Project Briefing: Victorian Women & Mental Health Network (30 November, Melbourne)
• Philanthropy MasterClass: “Bold, Brave & Breaking New Ground” with Abigail Disney (30 November, Melbourne / 2 December, Sydney)
• 4th Annual Family Office Congress (30 November - 1 December, Sydney)
• Imagineering - Humanitarian Engineering Conference 2011 (30 November - 3 December, Melbourne)
• Global Grantmaking Institute (1-2 December, USA)

New & updated this week:

• The Role of Community Development Financial Institutions with Ronald Grzywinski (17 November, Canberra)
• Philanthropy MasterClass: “Bold, Brave & Breaking New Ground” with Abigail Disney (30 November, Melbourne / 2 December, Sydney)
• Philanthropy Australia’s All Members End of Year Celebrations (6 December, Sydney / 7 December, Melbourne)
• Philanthropy Australia Conference 2012 (4-5 September 2012, Sydney)

» Further details on these events are available on the Events Calendar.If you have any events relevant to Australian philanthropy coming up, please let us know by submitting it on our website here.

POSITIONS VACANT

• Fundraising and Partnerships Manager, SecondBite (Melbourne) Applications close 19 November
• Director if Alumni Relations & Philanthropy, Australian National University (Canberra) Applications close 2 December
• Manager, Institutional Donor Programs, Australian National University (Canberra) Applications close 2 December
• General Manager, OzHarvest (Sydney) Applications close 2 December
• Executive Officer, Mary Ward International Australia (Melbourne) Applications open until filled

If you’d like to submit a job listing for the philanthropic sector or senior fundraising positions, please see our submissions page here.

Save the date: Philanthropy Australia Conference 2012

Philanthropy Australia is pleased to announce that our next biennial conference will be held on Tuesday 4 & Wednesday 5 September 2012 at Dockside Conference Centre, Cockle Bay Wharf, Sydney.

The current working theme is Improving Civil Society; we’ll be refining this as the programme is confirmed.

The conference will be open to the whole sector; Full and Associate Members will be notified of important developments. If you’re not a Member and would like to be kept in the loop of any conference news, please click here fill out our register of interest.

Registrations are expected to open in early 2012.

So far planning is shaping up well - we hope you’ll be joining us!

» Go to the Philanthropy Australia Conference 2012 website

Weekly Roundup

PRESSING MATTERS STORY OF THE WEEK

Profile: Ross Lewis (The Age, 26/10/11)

This philanthropist dreams of a society in which all are accepted as equals. Ross Lewis has been at the forefront of a revolution in the past 20 years to have disadvantaged people accepted into mainstream society, especially in the workforce. When he first started working in the sector, people with mental and physical disabilities were often institutionalised or parked in so-called “sheltered workshops”.

» Click here to read the full article on The Age website

» What is PRESSing Matters?

NEWS

Consultation Paper on Definition of Charity

Treasury has released a Consultation Paper on the definition of charity. The paper seeks public views on possible approaches to implement the statutory definition of charity which was announced in the 2011-12 Budget. The Statutory Definition will guide the future of the sector and has potential to impact the majority of our Members either directly (if they are endorsed as charitable trusts or charitable institutions) or indirectly (via the purposes and organisations they fund).

The submission deadline is  9 December 2011. Philanthropy Australia will be submitting a response; we urge Members with comments or questions to contact Vanessa Meachen at v.meachen@philanthropy.org.au by Thursday 24 November 2011.

» Download the Consultation Paper from Treasury’s website

Read the full Philanthropy Australia Policy Alert (Members access only)

Philanthropy Australia on YouTube

Philanthropy Australia now has a YouTube channel! We don’t yet have any original uploads (they’re coming),  but our Favourites list contains a number of videos which might be of interest to the philanthropic community, usefully divided into categories including Legislation & Law, Philanthropy Profiles, Philanthropy News & Opinion and Philanthropy at Work. We’ll be adding more to the channel as we come across content.

» http://www.youtube.com/PhilanthropyAus

EVENTS

Coming up:

• Grantseeker Workshop (8 November, Brisbane; More info)
• Philanthropy Professional Development Workshop: Working with the Board (8 November, Melbourne; Full Members only; More info)
• The Maimonides Society Spring 2011 Gathering: Churchill Fellowships - Opportunity for the philanthropic sector? (14 November, Melbourne)
• Advocacy Workshop - Change the World Through Philanthropy (15 November, Sydney / 17 Novembe, Melbourne; More info)
• 2011 Research Australia Awards (16 November, Melbourne)
• Philanthropy in the 21st Century (17 November, USA)
• The Annual European Forum on Fundraising (18-20 November, UK)

New & updated this week:

• Imagineering - Humanitarian Engineering Conference 2011 (30 November - 3 December, Melbourne)
• TED2012: Full Spectrum (27 February - 2 March 2012, USA)
• TED Active 2012: Full Spectrum (27 February - 2 March 2012, USA)
• 2012 GEO National Conference: Smarter Grantmaking. Stronger Noprofits. Better Results. (12-14 March 2012, USA)
• 11th Annual Global Philanthropy Forum Conference (16-18 April, USA)
• TED Global 2012: Radical Openness (25-29 June 2012, Scotland)
• 2012 Fall Conference for Community Foundations (10-12 September 2012, USA)

» 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.

POSITIONS VACANT

• General Manager, OzHarvest. Sydney, 12 month maternity cover. Applications close 2 December.
• Executive Officer, Westpac Foundation. Sydney, full-time. Applications open until filled.

If you’d like to submit a job listing for the philanthropic sector or senior fundraising positions, please see our submissions page here.

Global launch of the Human Development Report 2011

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) this week released the 2011 edition of the Human Development report. Examining data from around the world on various areas including literacy, carbon emissions, endangered species, poverty, impact of natural disasters, and mortality, the Report presents findings on the state of global development. Its recommendations focus on the challenge of sustainable development and its relationship with global warming and inequality. From the summary:

The integral relationship between inequality and unsustainability is recognized. The inequitably apportioned control and consumption of natural resources is a key driver of global warming — and yet those who will suffer most from climate change are disproportionately those least responsible for environmental deterioration. The Report seeks to identify ways in which sustainability and equity can be jointly advanced.

Australia is ranked at #2 - Very High HDI - for our overall level of development, human rights, gender equality and living conditions in the Human Development Index for 2011.  Broken down into some of the areas of development, Australia ranks at #3 for Education, #5 for Health, and #18 for Income .

Norway topped the list of overall HDI at #1, with the Netherlands at #3 and USA at #4. To no surprise for many, Congo ranked at the bottom of the list of 187 indexed countries for its poor record of human rights and prosperity. Somalia was the only country not ranked due to a lack of data.

The Report is  available to download free as PDF or eBook and hardcopies can be purchased for $40USD each.

» Go to the selection of downloads of the Human Development Report

» Order a hardcopy from the United Nations Publications website

The HDI website also has a fantastic array of data tools and visualisations charting the Human Development Index back to 1980.

» Click here to visit the Human Development Report website

Gender gap closing - but only in some areas

The World Economic Forum has released a report indicating that although gender equality ratios have improved in 85 percent of countries over the past six years, particularly in the areas of health and education, economic participation and political empowerment for women has failed to match the progress of health and education. Political empowerment, in particular, lags behind with the report indicating that only 18% of the gap between men and women has been closed in this arena.

This report, “Global Gender Gap”, follows on from a 2006 report and illustrates the gender-disparity gap between men and women across 135 countries. Disappointingly, Australia ranks at number 23 in terms of gender equality - below many of our Western counterparts such as the UK and US, and well below New Zealand which comes in at number 6.

The Global Gender Gap report can be downloaded from the World Economic Forum (direct PDF download).

The report provides an interesting global perspective in the wake of last week’s announcement of the inaugural research study into Australian philanthropic funding for women and girls, conducted by the Australian Centre for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies at Queensland University of Technology for the Australian Women Donors Network (AWDN). It also throws a spotlight on the visit to Australia later this month by international visitor Abigail E. Disney. Abigail is a member of the Walt Disney family who has stepped aside from the famous surname to take on a role as social activist filmmaker, humanitarian and philanthropist.

The Australian Women Donors Network will be holding two gala events with Abigail in Melbourne (Tuesday 29 November) and Sydney (Thursday 1 December). There will also be an exclusive philanthropy masterclass, held in both Melbourne and Sydney, where Abigail will present about the strategies and success of her non-profit organizations - Peace is Loud and the Daphne Foundation. More information about Abigail’s visit is available from the Australian Women Donors Network.