philanthropyOz Blog

Macquarie Group Foundation launches David Clarke Social Innovation Fellowship & Award

The Macquarie Group Foundation yesterday announced the launch of the inaugural David Clarke Social Innovation Fellowship. Established in memory of the former chairman of Macquarie Group and the Macquarie Group Foundation, the late David Clarke, the Fellowship provides the CEO of an Australian not-for-profit organisation with a grant of up to $A20,000 to visit and research best practice social innovation around the world.

In launching the Fellowship, Macquarie Group Foundation Chairman Richard Sheppard said: “David will always be remembered for fostering innovation to meet pressing social needs, alleviate disadvantage and encourage social inclusion. We are proud to establish the David Clarke Social Innovation Fellowship as a tribute to one of the pioneers of corporate philanthropy in Australia.”

The Macquarie Foundation today also called for nominations for the Macquarie Social Innovation Award.

The Award will be provided to an Australian not-for-profit organisation or program that addresses an unmet community need. Like the Fellowship, it recognises, promotes and rewards ideas that address social needs, and encourages lateral thinking about community issues.

The recipient of the Macquarie Social Innovation Award will receive $A100,000 over two years to fund further investment in, or development of, their program.

The head of the Macquarie Group Foundation, Lisa George said: “We recognise that innovation is essential for successfully addressing long-term community problems. The path to innovation may require trialling a number approaches that may need to be tested and, in the end, social innovation is often about new combinations or hybrids of existing ideas rather than being wholly new.”

Mr Sheppard added: “We hope the Award and Fellowship will cement the winning organisations’ abilities to develop their program further and motivate other not-for-profit organisations to consider how they can innovatively deliver services to those in need.”

The nomination period for the biennial Macquarie Social Innovation Award and David Clarke Social Innovation Fellowship closes on the 28th of September 2012. The winner will be announced in December 2012. Award application, criteria and eligibility can be found on www.macquarie.com/foundation.

Queen’s Birthday Honours recipients

Philanthropy Australia offers warm congratulations to the following members and associates who were honoured in the 2012 Queen’s Birthday Honours:

Mary Crooks, Executive Officer, The Victorian Women’s Trust (AO)

Simon McKeon, Australian of the Year, former World Vision board member (AO)

Emeritus Professor Robert Officer, Board member, Colonial Foundation (AM)

Kristen Stegley, Life Member through the Stegley Foundation (OAM)

Alice Macdougall wins Pro Bono Leadership Award

Philanthropy Australia extends warmest congratulations to Alice Macdougall, Special Counsel at Freehills, who has been announced as the winner of the inaugural Keith Steele Pro Bono Leadership Award. Many Members and others in the sector will know Alice through her advice for charities and foundations, as well as her papers and workshops on not-for-profit sector issues. She has provided invaluable advice and support for Philanthropy Australia’s policy work.

The Keith Steele Pro Bono Leadership Award was created to honour the memory of Keith Steele, Freehills partner and a founding member of the Sydney Pro Bono Committee, which also established the Shopfront Youth Legal Centre in inner Sydney. The award recognises individuals within the firm who have demonstrated outstanding contribution to the pro bono sector.

Alice Macdougall, Special Counsel for Freehills’ charity law group in Melbourne, was the first Freehills employee to receive this award. Freehills Partner and Chair of the Freehills Foundation, Peter Butler, said: ‘Through her legal support in hundreds of matters for charity organisations, Alice has indirectly helped thousands of people across Australia and internationally. She has built a strong reputation within this sector through her academic activity and made a real difference to the ability of others to access justice,’ he said.

Congratulations to Alice from staff and Council of Philanthropy Australia!

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.

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.

Bruce Bonyhady nominated as Victorian finalist for 2012 Australian of the Year

Philanthropy Australia’s President, Bruce Bonyhady AM, has been nominated as one of four Victorian finalists for Australian of the Year.

This is fantastic recognition of all that Bruce has done and continues to do in this sector. This nomination reflects the incredible drive, dedication and the impact of Bruce’s voluntary work, not only specifically in the area of advocacy for the disabled, but also in the wider area of increasing the reach and influence of Philanthropy Australia.

Congratulations to Bruce! This is such fitting acknowledgment of Bruce’s determination to improve people’s lives through policy and system change.

Dr Deborah Seifert
CEO
Philanthropy Australia

Excerpt from the finalists announcement media release:

Armed with a strong sense of social justice, Bruce Bonyhady worked tirelessly for over 25 years to improve the lives of people with disabilities. As the father of two disabled sons, Bruce’s skills, passion and wisdom have seen him undertake a range of influential volunteer roles that are helping secure a better future for the disabled. He first became involved in volunteer work in 1987 when his eldest son was born with a disability. He undertook a range of fundraising work and brought European disability specialists to Australia to work with local therapists. Bruce’s third son was also born disabled. Despite the significant challenges of raising two children with disabilities, Bruce continued his community commitments with Yooralla, Victoria’s largest disability support service provider. He became its Chairman in 2004 and was subsequently invited to Chair the Centre for Developmental Disability Research, later known as Solve. As President of Philanthropy Australia, Bruce has raised the profile and professionalism of the organisation, attracting influential members and promoting philanthropy in Australia. Bruce has been the driving force behind the proposed National Disability Insurance Scheme, which has received support from the Commonwealth Government. Bruce was nominated by the Prime Minister to participate in an Advisory Group to the Select Council on Disability Reform.

» Download the ‘Finalists for State Territory Australian of the Year Awards 2012 Announced’ media release (PDF)

» Visit the Australian of the Year Awards website

2012 AIGM Grantmaker of the Year Award nominations open

Nominations are open for The Australian Institute of Grants Management (AIGM) 2012 Grantmaker of the Year Award.

The awards emphasise the importance of the professional people behind grants and empowering them to lead the philanthropic sector with good practice and intelligence in grantmaking. The awards also uphold the importance of grants in the Australian economy, as a driving factor in innovation, empowering the enthusiastic and driving the effective.

Nominees are asked to provide a vision for the next steps in good grantmaking, rewarding innovative thinking and demonstrating how to “bring grantmaking out of the shadows”.

Australian grantmaking individuals are encouraged to apply, with a cash prize of $5,000 to the winner.

Nominations close 9am Thursday, 24 November 2011.

» Click here to visit the AIGM website for further information and to apply

Position Vacant:

SmartyGrants, a division of AIGM, are seeking a  software Trainer for their online grants management system. Based in Melbourne, the successful applicant will assist and train SmartyGrants users in becoming more effective grantmakers. The role includes teaching of technical and grantmaking skills, developing new training documentation, and phone and email support.

Applications close Tuesday 18 October 2011

» Click here for further information on this position

Registration for 2011 Annual PwC Transparency Awards now open

As part of PwC’s support for the improvement of transparency and quality of reporting in the not-for-profit sector, PwC has joined with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia and the Centre for Social Impact to launch the 2011 PwC Transparency Awards.

These Awards give not-for-profit organisations a valuable opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to transparent and quality reporting seriously. Nominees for the 2011 Transparency Awards will be in the following categories:

• Generate revenue >$30m (category 1, capped at 30 registrations)
• Generate revenue >$5m but less than or equal to $30m (category 2, capped at 40 registrations)

The winner and runner-up in each category receive $20,000 and $10,000 respectively towards sending member(s) of their organisation on training and development or study tours.

To be a part of these Awards and receive individual feedback on how to improve your organisation’s reporting, register on-line at http://www.pwc.com.au/about-us/corporate-responsibility/transparency-awards/index.htm by 5pm Friday 4 November 2011. For further information please contact Georgie Swan, georgie.swan@au.pwc.com or (03) 8603 4597.

Australian Workplace Giving Awards Winners

The Australian Charities Fund inaugural Australian Workplace Giving Awards were announced this week at the NSW Parliament House in Sydney. In their recent media release, ACF’s CEO Edward Kerr said the judges were impressed by the number and high quality of submissions.

“The quality of submissions made choosing a winner in some categories very difficult. As a result there were a number of instances where the judges recommended issuing a Highly Commended Award in addition to naming a winner,”  Kerr said.

In ACF’s recent study, ‘Cutting to the Heart of Workplace Giving’, it’s estimated that workplace giving now generates approximately $20million per year in donations, providing non-profit organisations with steady, reliable funds.

Philanthropy Australia would like to congratulate the winners, and pass on our appreciation to all Australian workplaces implementing workplace giving schemes to allow employees to contribute significant regular giving to community organisations.

Winners and Highly Commended

• Winner: PwC - Best Practice: Employer Organisation Award
• Highly Commended: Commonwealth Bank - Best Practice: Employer Organisation Award
• Winner: Redkite - Best Practice: Community Organisation Award
• Winner: JB Hi-Fi - Organisational Engagement Award
• Winner: Amalgamated Holdings Ltd/Camp Quality - Collaboration - Joint Award Employer/Community Organisations Award
• Highly Commended: Palais Theatre/Save the Children - Collaboration - Joint Award Employe/Community Organisations Award
• Winner: PwC - Innovation Award
• Winner: Kevin Perkins, CEO, Collins Foods Group - Inspirational Leadership Award
• Highly Commended: Tracy McCully - Barker & Katrina O’Donnell, Ageing, Disability & Home Care - Inspirational Leadership Award
• Highly Commended: Julianne Cowley, AusAID - Inspirational Leadership Award