philanthropyOz Blog

Child Abuse & Neglect in the spotlight - ABC TV Thur 9 Sept, 9.30pm

The increasing incidence of child abuse and neglect in Australia will take centre stage on 9 September at 9.30 pm with the tv premiere of an intense short film, Polly and Me, on ABC 1 during National Child Protection Week. The broadcast will be followed by a live audience discussion looking at solutions hosted by Geraldine Doogue.

Polly and Me is the story of a mother and child isolated from any support systems of community and family. The film is made by filmmaker and Philanthropy Australia member Ian Darling from The Caledonia Foundation, who previously created national attention with The Oasis – a feature documentary about a group of homeless youth on the streets of Sydney. The 25-minute film is part of a larger campaign to put the urgent need for prevention and early intervention on the national agenda.

Polly and Me is endorsed by leading family and child abuse prevention organisations including: Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY), Benevolent Society, CREATE Foundation, Good Beginnings, Families Australia, Lighthouse Foundation, Lou’s Place, Mirabel Foundation, National Association for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (NAPCAN), The Salvation Army and The Smith Family.

The producers and participants of Polly and Me are calling for every Australian to make child abuse and prevention their business. They want urgent effort and funding for prevention policies and programs, with a nationally-coordinated prevention and early intervention plan.

We encourage our readers to watch the documentary and join in the discussion.

Billionaires commit to give half their wealth

As a result of launch of “The Giving Pledge” by Warren Buffett and Bill & Melinda Gates, some forty American billionaires and their families have pledged to give away at least 50% of their wealth. Each person making the plege has written a letter describing why they have done so, providing a fascinating insight into the philanthropic impulse.

» Read the full story on the Sydney Morning Herald website here
» Visit the Giving Pledge website to view the pledges

New PPF guidelines released

Philanthropy Australia welcomes today’s release of new draft guidelines for Private Ancillary Funds, formerly known as Prescribed Private Funds (PPFs). It is pleasing that Treasury has adopted the recommendation of Philanthropy Australia, its members and the wider philanthropic sector to set a minimum distribution rate of 5%. This will ensure the continuing growth of a vibrant and healthy culture of giving and philanthropy.

Gina Anderson, CEO of Philanthropy Australia, said “This is a significant benefit for the entire community. Philanthropy Australia and the philanthropic sector have worked closely with Government on clarifying and revising the rules under which PPFs operate. For the first time support for the philanthropic sector is truly bipartisan. The PPF structure was introduced by the Howard government in 2001. It has now been refined and updated by the Rudd government following wide consultation. We welcome the opportunity to respond to these draft guidelines and look forward to working with the Government to improve the integrity of Private Ancillary Funds”.

The PPF structure was introduced in 2001 and since that time approximately 800 PPFs have been created with a collective value of over $1.2 billion. Over $120 million was distributed from PPFs to the community in the 06/07 financial year. The new guidelines ensure that existing PPFs and new PAFs can operate with renewed confidence, ensuring maximum community benefit and continuing to build an Australian culture of giving.

For further information: http://www.treasury.gov.au/contentitem.asp?NavId=002&ContentID=1568 for new guidelines and instructions on how to respond
http://www.philanthropy.org.au/representation/submissions.html for Philanthropy Australia’s previous submissions.

Kid’s Business documentary on ABC TV tonight

‘Kid’s Business’, a documentary about kids, violence, bullying and relationships, will screen tonight on ABC TV at 9:25 PM. The documentary highlights a range of experiences confronted by primary school children and follows a group taking part in Solving the Jigsaw, an early-intervention program that changes a culture of violence and bullying into a culture of wellbeing. Solving the Jigsaw has been supported by a number of Philanthropy Australia members including the R.E. Ross Trust, the Colonial Foundation, the William Buckland Foundation, the Ian Potter Foundation and the Helen Macpherson Smith Trust.

Kid’s Business screens tonight on ABC1 at 9:25 PM.

‘Background Briefing’ on the Third Sector

For those of you who might have missed the recent Background Briefing program on the not-for-profit sector on ABC Radio National, you can read the transcript, listen online or download the audio file from the RN website.

The program, titled ‘Inventing the Third Sector’, features many voices familiar to Philanthropy Australia Members and makes fascinating listening.

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/backgroundbriefing/

ABC Radio National “Inventing The Third Sector” This Sunday

ABC’s Radio National programme Background Briefing will be broadcasting a programme called “Inventing The Third Sector” this Sunday 17 May at 9am AEST, and replayed on Tuesday 19 May at 7pm AEST.

The programme will be exploring the current raft of government reviews on NGOs, including Treasury’s PPF review, and the future of Australian charitable organisations.

Fran Westmore, Executive Officer of Donkey Wheel, was interviewed by the programme’s reporter Stephen Crittendon and says “[Stephen] seems to have done some really good research, so it should be a high quality piece, and could be quite a useful influence on the reviews.”

More information about the programme can be found at the Radio National website. It will be available for download after broadcast on Sunday.

Govt. announce new body for not-for-profit sector

In a media release on Wednesday 28 January, the Rudd Government announced that it will appoint the Community Response Taskforce to advise on responses to hardships caused by the economic downturn.

The announcement follows a meeting between the Acting Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, and the Parliamentary Secretary for Social Inclusion and the Voluntary Sector, Senator Ursula Stephens, with not-for-profit sector leaders to discuss the impact of the economic downturn on Australians.

The Taskforce will also focus on priorities for regulatory reform to enable not-for-profit organisations to focus on helping vulnerable Australians rather than expending valuable resources on managing red-tape.

The Taskforce is to hold its first meeting in late February or early March. The group will also seek a meeting with Infrastructure Minister Anthony Albanese to discuss how not-for-profit organisations can contribute to nation building initiatives that reduce hardship.

“Strong non profit organisations build cohesion and fairness in our community in good times and bad. The Rudd Government remains committed to a compact which builds a strong and effective partnership with this sector that works most closely with Australians suffering disadvantage, marginalisation and those who may find themselves in economic hardship for the first time.”

“The Community Response Taskforce will provide a direct line of contact between Australians doing it tough and the Rudd Government. The invaluable perspectives and advice the Taskforce will provide will enable us to implement effective responses to minimise hardship and rebuild the community strength of our nation,” said Senator Stephens.

The media release can be found at the Ministers’ Media Centre

Women Donor’s Network

In April the Women Donor’s Network was launched in Melbourne. Several of Philanthropy Australia’s Members participate in the Network, which brings together women philanthropists and encourages them to fund women. Philanthropy Australia and ANZ Trustees co-launched this initial meeting, which featured academic Barbara Lemon speaking on women in philanthropy.

You can find out more about the Network via a feature article published in The Age on June 1st, Time for a she change.

Website Updates

Positions Vacant:
Account Manager - Donor Relations (Mission Australia, Sydney)
State Director - Community Services (Mission Australia, Adelaide)

Events:
Doing IT Better conference day - June 17 (Melbourne)

Philanthropy Australia in the Media:
How open source is losing the charity battle on ZDNet Australia quotes Philanthropy Australia’s Louise Arkles regarding our use of open source software.

New on the Philanthropy Australia Website

New Position Vacant:

• Grants Manager, Victoria Law Foundation

New Events:

• Disability Affinity Group (Melbourne, Members Only) - 23rd April
• Philanthropy and Government in Partnership with Place (Melbourne) - 29th April
• Strong Foundations… Strong Future: Aboriginal Health Research Conference 2008 (Sydney) - 29th-30th April
• The Maimonides Society - take the temperature of Al Gore’s Climate Project (Melbourne) - 30th April
• Great Minds Review (Sydney, Members Only) - 6th May
• Climate Change: An American Funder’s Experience. Morning Tea with Ted Smith, Executive Director of the USA Kendall Foundation. (Melbourne) - 6th May
• Corporate Foundation Network Meeting (Sydney, Members Only) - 13th May
• Indigenous Affinity Group Meeting (Sydney, Members Only) - 15th May
• Early Intervention Affinity Group Meeting (Sydney, Members Only) - 22nd May
• Climate Change: the State and Federal Political Context, Lunchtime Seminar with John Thwaites (Melbourne) - 27th May
• Early Intervention Affinity Group (Melbourne, Members Only) - 29th May
• Loddon Mallee Aboriginal Reference Group panel - Indigenous Affinity Group (Echuca, Members Only) - 4th June
• Invasive Species -Threatening Australia’s Biodiversity and Landscapes (Lunchtime Seminar, Melbourne) - 10th June
• Arts Affinity Group (Melbourne, Members Only) - 12th June
• Grants 101: Professional Grant Proposal Writing Workshop (Sydney) - 23rd-25th June
• Making a Difference: Social Inclusion for New and Emerging Communities (Adelaide) - 26th-27th June
• Anti-Poverty Week 2008 (National) - 12th-18th October

New on the PhilanthropyWiki:

• The SEIFA (Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas) tables, produced by the ABS, provides a detailed data set comparing the relative social and economic conditions of cities, towns and suburbs across Australia as well as accompanying explanatory material and analysis.
• Developing Grantmaker Principles and Standards - presentation by Chris Andersen
• Prime Minister’s Community Business Partnership - Many of the PMCBP’s publications are now available via FAHCSIA.

Other News:

• The Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal is part of a story on ABC Landline on Sunday 20 April at 12.00pm. It’s the story on the winner of the Drought not Out partnership FRRR had with the ABC.