philanthropyOz Blog

Wind, warming, and what to do next: take-aways from the AEGN conference

By Louise Arkles, Director Knowledge & Communications, Philanthropy Australia

A colleague once said to me: “No one ever goes to conferences to learn things, it’s all about the networking.” I attended the Australian Environmental Grantmakers Network (AEGN) conference this week, and was delighted that it proved this attitude wrong.

I want three things from a conference to make it worth my while:

• to take away new understanding that sticks - sticky facts
• to be inspired enough for the time to fly by, and
• to hear views that challenge me out of my comfort zone, no matter if the speaker is holding a microphone or a cup of coffee.

This Conference was worked on every level. I was riveted.
Here are my top ten sticky facts:

1. We need to shift the frame of the debate – from ‘the need to act’ to ‘strategically managing the problem now’ - in order to accelerate change.
2. The energy industry is turning on its head. Demand is collapsing from too much supply. Australians are learning to do more with less energy. There will soon be wholesale disruption in the energy industry and a strong fight from threatened fossil fuel industries.
3. Technology costs are coming down fast – the big cost is not the generation of electricity but the distribution - but regulation and vested interests are inhibiting change. Solar costs came down 75% in 2010/11, and will come down a further 30% this year. We are already down 15% on forward expectations. We therefore need the renewable energy target to be firm and robust.
4. Funding the environment is funding social justice, and disadvantage, and health, and research - our imposed silos are a furphy.
5. Once the finance sector cottons on that renewables are cheaper than fossil fuels then the markets will shift, as we are already seeing, and finally government policy will follow.
6. It’s hard for people to picture the real impact of climate change, and lack of understanding fuels disempowerment, leading to an absence of personal responsibility. More understanding will lead to more support.
7. No one ever identifies as ‘a member of the public’, so pitching a message to ‘the public’ won’t work.
8. Focusing on facts is not going to work. People have their own beliefs and get stuck in being right. Value sets are important, and control people’s actions.
9. Wind farms pose no threat to human, plant or animal health, but the debate has been hijacked by a climate of fear in Australia.
10. More heat now going into the earth than is going out, so the earth is warming at a staggering rate.

Simon Holmes a Court took a group of delegates to visit the Hepburn Community Wind Farm, of which he is Chair, prior to the conference, presenting a powerful case study (forgive the pun). Hepburn Springs is a small town in central Victoria. Seven years ago 200 people turned up to a community meeting to defeat a developer planning a wind farm. Now a community-owned wind farm in Hepburn has 2000 members, and generates about substantial percentage of the community’s power needs, with the two turbines powering approximately one thousand local homes each. Also a grant maker, the Hepburn Community Wind Farm is on track to donate $50,000 to the local area in the coming year.

Eleven NFPs working in the environmental space were invited to give a 2 minute pitch to the delegates. Lunch was beckoning, but these voices were louder than my stomach, their message imperative, for they deliver the change we want to see in the world. This first-hand account from grant recipients and NFP partners was a valuable connection, linking theory to practice for delegates.

Implementation is always a hard ask at the end of a conference - how can I put this new-found knowledge to work? Here are my top 7 opportunities for the philanthropic to-do list:

1. Support the experts to develop and drive a collective strategic view, understood and owned by the community, so we can recognise the gaps and act to address them.
2. Harness the appetite for behaviour change around climate that is already out there, by disseminating a clear message about renewable energy, coming simultaneously from a range of credible sources. Fund communication campaigns: work with the almost 1 million Australians who have solar panels on their roofs.
3. Act on the strategic goal to sequence the green energy concept, shifting from being a radical idea to becoming the social norm. Philanthropy can take the risks needed to drive this shift.
4. Stop focusing on countering denial, rather focus on getting the killer arguments and key questions ready for when the backlash comes.
5. Reframe the debate from fear to strategy, from reacting to irrelevant questions to answering strategic ones. Identify the pertinent questions - How can we minimise the employment dislocation in the energy industry? How can we protect the disadvantaged through this transition? Prepare sound answers and get them into a variety of media.
6. We must be proactive and assertive in getting our message out to the public, but not anti-corporate. Find leaders from inside successful corporates locally and internationally who have embraced renewables to talk to lagging corporates, instead of relying on NFPs to try to push a green message.
7. Fund research: eg. benchmark policy in Australia, produce report cards on government action.

Congratulations to Amanda and her team at the AEGN for hosting a very worthwhile event.

Call to not-for-profit and philanthropy researchers

When the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) commences on 1 October 2012, part of its function will be to improve public understanding of the work of the sector. An important part of this function will be to work closely with the existing research community, including both academic researchers and researchers within not-for-profits, to facilitate and support research into not-for-profits and charities.

The ACNC Taskforce is developing its research strategy and is keen to hear from researchers about how it can best support their work. One option under consideration is establishing a regular forum for engaging people with an interest in research relating to charities and not-for-profits. This could take the form of a mailing list, regular meetings, or the establishment of an online community.

Another would be to bring together some of the existing databases of resources and promote the work of the research community through the Commission’s website.

Other possibilities include:

• Collaborating on or supporting research projects in various ways
• Assisting to identify areas of research need, such as challenges faced by the sector or knowledge gaps
• Building stronger links between NFP researchers and Commonwealth government agencies

The ACNC Taskforce is seeking the input of researchers about the best ways to develop close and productive working relationships. To offer feedback or just to get in touch, please contact Dr Fiona Tweedie, researcher, (Fiona.Tweedie@ato.gov.au) or Dr Joyce Chia, senior policy officer, (Joyce.Chia@ato.gov.au). You can also join the conversation on the Aussie Charities and NFPs forum on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/groups/Aussie-Charities-NFPs-4541894

Government announces NFP Sector Tax Concession Working Group

The Hon Mark Butler, Minister for Social Inclusion, and Assistant Treasurer The Hon Mark Arbib have issued a joint press release announcing the establishment of the Not-for-Profit Sector Tax Concession Working Group. The Chair of the working group will be Linda Lavarch, Chair of the Not-for-profit Sector Reform Council. Other members of the group include John Emerson of Freehills.

The Working Group’s mission is to consider whether there are better ways of delivering the current support provided through tax concessions to the NFP sector. For more information including the terms of reference and full membership of the Working Group, see the press release.

Not-for-profit reforms: submission deadlines extended

Assistant Treasurer Mark Abib has extended the deadlines for responses to several government reform papers affecting the not-for-profit sector, as reported in the NFP Newsletter issued on December 23.

• Submissions on the exposure draft of the ACNC legislation are now due 27 January 2012
• Submissions on the consultation paper on the governance framework for the Not-for-Profit sector are now due 27 January 2012
• Submissions in response to the ACNC administrative systems are noe due 27 February 2012

Philanthropy Australia welcomes the extension of time for responses.

Other upcoming reform matters include:

• Further consultation on NFP tax concessions, proposed for early 2012
• Exposure draft of the proposed statutory definition of charity, due mid-2012
• A second exposure draft for consultation on the ‘in Australia’ principle, early 2012

Philanthropy Australia will keep you updated on these matters and our draft submissions will be made available to members for comment.

Consultation paper: Review of Not-for-profit Governance Arrangements

Treasury has today released a Consultation Paper into governance arrangements for not-for-profit (NFP) organisations, including charitable trusts. Final submissions to Treasury are due Friday 20 January 2012 (this date was first stated as 6 January 2012, but has been extended!)

The paper looks to implement a single governance scheme across the NFP sector regardless of structure. It is intended that it will cover charitable trusts.

Philanthropy Australia will be making a brief submission in response to this paper. We have not had time to adequately review this paper in detail at this stage, but will be arguing against a one-size-fits-all approach. The paper covers a very broad range of issues and Philanthropy Australia will be focusing mainly on those which affect philanthropic sector entities.

For more information:

Download consultation paper and associated Fact Sheet from Treasury website:
http://treasury.gov.au/contentitem.asp?NavId=002&ContentID=2252

Final Charity Definition Submission available

Philanthropy Australia’s final submission in response to the Consultation Paper, ‘A Definition of Charity’, is now available for download.

Many thanks to our Members who made comments and suggestions.

Download the submission in PDF format.

Public Ancillary Funds legislation passed

The Tax Laws Amendment (2011 Measures No. 7) Bill 2011, the legislation which allows for the new regulatory framework for Public Ancillary Funds, was passed by the Senate in late November with no amendments and was given Royal Assent on November 29. The new regulatory framework will therefore become law on 1 January 2012.

A final version of the Guidelines is not yet available. Philanthropy Australia continues to check very regularly for the final Guidelines and will provide further information as soon as it is available.

Philanthropy Australia encourages Members with Public Ancillary Funds to familiarise themselves with the legislation, which can be found on the Parliament website at the link below.

For more information:

Homepage for Tax Laws Amendment (2011 Measures No. 7) Bill 2011
http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id%3A%22legislation%2Fbillhome%2Fr4676%22

Exposure Draft, Draft Guidelines, Consultation Summary
http://treasury.gov.au/contentitem.asp?NavId=037&ContentID=2048

Published submissions in response to Exposure Draft & Draft Guidelines
http://treasury.gov.au/contentitem.asp?ContentID=2166&NavID=037

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…

Observations from the CHOGM People’s Forum

Bruce Argyle attended the CHOGM People’s Forum on behalf of Philanthropy Australia last week.

As part of the various meetings and fora held in conjunction with the Commonwealth Heads of government Meetings in Perth, the CHOGM Peoples Forum (CPF) brought together 250 civil society representatives from across the Commonwealth to share ideas and to respond to issues under the theme ‘Driving Change for a Dynamic Commonwealth’.

The program included eight themed workshops;

1. Governance and Democracy
2. Gender and Women’s Rights
3. Indigenous People
4. Education, Technology and Innovation
5. Culture, Identity and Peace
6. Economic Development, Trade and Finance
7. Climate Change, Environment and Disaster Management
8. Human Rights

The People’s Forum was opened by the Prime Minister, the Hon Julia Gillard who spoke about the CPF being a place for promoting democracy and civil society, representing over 2 billion people from 54 countries. She encouraged those present to ensure that civil society brings commonwealth values to life on a daily basis.

Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah (‘Danny’), Interim Director of the Commonwealth Foundation, highlighted that, in order to remain relevant, the Commonwealth needed to return to focusing on both values and on value-adding in terms of adding value to people’s lives.  Kamalesh Sharma, Secretary General of the Commonwealth highlighted these values as including tolerance, respect and understanding and cited the Commonwealth as being the original worldwide web.

Phiroshaw Camay, Chair of the Commonwealth Foundation, spoke about the Statement on Civil Society that has been developed and highlighted the importance of education as a fundamental human right.  Ingrid Srinath, Secretary CIVICUS, The Global Society for Civil Society, took the assembled group on a journey of civil society … through the heady optimism of the 1990’s to the war on terror and increasing levels of disparity around the world.  This has been mirrored by an increase in criminalisation of dissent in many countries.

There was a strong focus on civil society throughout the Forum sessions and an encouragement to ‘join the dots’ through partnerships and collaboration. Interestingly, Facebook was cited as the largest example of civil society on the planet. Commonwealth connect was launched as a new platform for building closer connections between people in the Commonwealth.

Three recommendations forwarded to the Heads of Government were:

1. To see civil society as a resource and as allies of government
2. To instruct public servants to work more closely with civil society
3. To instruct the Commonwealth Foundation to take on a facilitator role to make the above happen.

Sir Ronald Sanders spoke on behalf of the EPG (Eminent Persons Group) that was set up in 2009 to frame a report for the Heads of Government on reforms for the Commonwealth. This report includes 206 recommendations but has yet to be made public (much to the consternation of delegates present). It is said to include recommendations for a Human Rights Charter, the establishment of a Commissioner for democracy and human rights and an expert group to look at the impacts of climate change for member countries.

On Wednesday evening a panel of human rights advocates included the Hon Michael Kirby who spoke to the topic ‘Silence is not an option’.  Participants were strongly encouraged to speak up for human rights as part of civil society. In terms of Commonwealth priorities this included speaking up on:

• Early and forced marriages
• Racism
• Rights of women and girls
• Impacts of climate change

Climate change was highlighted as an area that the Commonwealth needs to adopt a much stronger position on, given the huge impact likely to be seen on small Pacific islands and low lying countries. Speakers included Daisy Cooper, Director of the Commonwealth Advisory Bureau who gave clues to how increased efforts could be achieved; Nicholas Watt of the Commonwealth Ecology Council spoke about the need to establish marine parks and sustainable fisheries (‘If we don’t have fisheries on the agenda then by 2050 we won’t have fish on the menu’).

On the final afternoon participants were delighted to have two special guests speak about the need to finish the task of totally eradicating Polio. It was noted that there are now only four countries and 1% of the world still have Polio (Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, Nigeria) but speakers highlighted that we cannot afford to rest before total eradication. The first guest was Ramesh Ferris, a polio survivor from India, now living in Canada. He talked of his own experience and how he was provided rehabilitative support and corrective surgery.  The second was Hugh Evans, CEO of Global Poverty Project (previously Oaktree Foundation) who talked about the need to raise funds to remove the final traces of Polio. Without this a further 10 million children will get polio over the next 40 years.  A special concert is being held for Polio in Perth during CHOGM and Julia Gillard announced that  Australia will commit to providing $50M of additional funds to address polio. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation are also contributing $40M.

The Commonwealth People’s Forum provided an opportunity to see firsthand how civil society can engage around shared values to address global issues and to be a part of framing future directions. Against a backdrop of needing to ensure relevance it was great to network and be a part of a worldwide web of very diverse peoples.

» Click here to visit the official CHOGM website

Nonprofit sector reform update

Treasury has released the first edition of its Not-For-Profit Reform Newsletter, which can be downloaded from Treasury’s website in either PDF or Word format.

The newsletter includes some information on the near future of the reform process. Upcoming developments include:

• Statutory Definition of Charity: consultation paper expected October 2011, exposure draft legislation expected in first half of 2012
• Second exposure draft of ‘In Australia’ special conditions legislation: expected late 2011
• Exposure draft relating to ‘Better targeting of tax concessions’: expected late 2011
• Discussion paper on a national approach to fundraising regulation: expected late 2011
• Legislation relating to establishment of the ACNC: expected late 2011
• Review of corporations limited by guarantee and governance arrangements for not-for-profits: expected late 2011

You can subscribe to the newsletter by emailing NFPReform@treasury.gov.au.