philanthropyOz Blog

We are moving!

We will be closing our Melbourne office at 12.00pm on Friday 11 September, and will reopen at 9.00am on Tuesday 15 September.

Our new address is: Level 2, 55 Collins Street, Melbourne VIC 3000

As our website servers will be moving with us, Philanthropy Australia’s online services - the website, The Australian Directory of Philanthropy, the PhilanthropyOz Blog, and the Philanthropy Wiki - will also be unavailable from noon Friday, 11 September. We anticipate that the online services will have resumed by Monday 14 September.

During this time, please address urgent enquiries to our Sydney office - Louise Burton or Annie Scoufis (02) 9223 0155.

New Projects Pool launched for Members

Philanthropy Australia is delighted to announced that our Projects Pool is now live!

Designed as a tool for our Full Members to share information about projects, the Project Pool is a reservoir of recommended projects for which non-profits are currently seeking funding. Each project listed has been recommended by a Philanthropy Australia Full Member - usually one which a Member has received an application for, and assessed as outstanding, but cannot themselves fund.

Using the Projects Pool Members can:

• Recommend projects for funding
• Seek out projects which come recommended by other funders, having had initial due diligence undertaken.

The Projects Pool offers a convenient, discreet and secure way for our Members to share project recommendations.

To access the Projects Pool go to our homepage and click on the link under Membership, or go direct to www.philanthropy.org.au/projects.

We are looking forward to filling the Pool with great projects, furthering collaboration and growing philanthropy.

Trustee Workshop is now The Governance of Charitable Foundations Seminar

To reduce the confusion over the Trustee Workshop, we have renamed it to The Governance of Charitable Foundations Seminar.

We were finding that although the target workshop audience were interested in Governance matters, there was the impression these workshops were for Trustees only. We have not reduced the focus on Trustees role and duties, though we hope to encourage a wider audience within trusts and foundations to these seminars, including Trustees themselves. All materials (the Trustee Handbook),  speakers and content remain the same as previously.

If you are interested in attending, please take a look at the Governance of Charitable Foundations Seminar page.

If you have already registered for a coming Trustee Workshop, your registration is still valid and you will receive further information on the name change.

If you have any questions regarding the seminar, please feel free to call us on 03 9620 0200 or email workshops@philanthropy.org.au.

Report on responding to the Victorian Bushfires

Effective Philanthropy have written an excellent paper, probono as part of their donation, entitled ‘Responding to the Victorian Bushfires - What Role for Philanthropy?’. It has been structured to help philanthropists get a better understanding of what support affected communities will need, and what role philanthropy can best play, to support the community recovery and renewal process. It draws on Australian and overseas experience to identify good grantmaking principles in a disaster recovery context, and provides an overview of the types of activities that philanthropy support.

The paper can be downloaded from the Victorian Bushfires page on our Website.

Philanthropy Australia holiday office closures

Both Philanthropy Australia offices will be closed from Wednesday 24 December until Monday 5 January. During this time there will be no filling of orders and no response to requests for publications, information or services.

Our offices will reopen on Monday 5 January.

Philanthropy Australia Conference - registration open

Registration is now open for Philanthropy: Passion and Purpose, Philanthropy Australia’s 2008 Conference.

Ignited by passion for a cause and a desire to make a difference, we all know that it’s easy to give - but many of us have discovered it’s considerably more difficult to give effectively. Philanthropy’s role is unique - it can operate where markets and government don’t, won’t, can’t or shouldn’t. This conference is a special opportunity to balance the passion with the purpose, to get inspired, informed and networked in the philanthropic community.

Who should attend?

• Trustees and staff of family, private, community, Prescribed Private Fund, and corporate foundations
• Professional advisers who advise clients on their philanthropy
• Families and individuals who want to make a difference through their own philanthropy or to inspire others to give

Join us for this exciting two-day programme that explores the many complex and compelling issues that surround philanthropy, through a series of practical and engaging conference sessions.

To register for the conference please go to the conference page on our website:

http://www.philanthropy.org.au/conference/

PhilanthropyWiki Launch

Last week Sydney and Melbourne we held our annual end-of-year get-togethers for Philanthropy Australia Members. We also took this opportunity to launch the major knowledge management and ICT project we’ve been working on for the past two years - the PhilanthropyWiki.

The Macquarie Group Foundation funded the development of the Wiki (and in fact, the entirety of the Knowledge Bank project, of which the Wiki is a component), and also most generously hosted the events in both Sydney and Melbourne. Julie White, Head of the Macquarie Group Foundation, officially launched the Wiki, speaking alongside Philanthropy Australia’s Bruce Bonyhady (our President) and Gina Anderson (our CEO).

Both events had an excellent turnout, and feedback from Members on both nights indicated not only a good deal of excitement about the Wiki, but enthusiasm with regards to contributing to and shaping the Wiki. This was great feedback, as enthusiasm is a key factor required as we move into the next, crucial stage in the Wiki’s evolution - out of development and into operation!

We’re also planning on running some information and possibly tutorial sessions in 2008 for Members who wish to contribute, or even just need some pointers on how to best use the PhilanthropyWiki. We’re planning on gearing those sessions for a variety of skill levels and needs.

As a part of the Resource Centre team who developed the PhilanthropyWiki, I’m sure I speak for everyone at Philanthropy Australia when I say I’m immensely proud of this project, and having the opportunity to present it to our Members in a launch was wonderful. Working on the PhilanthropyWiki has taught us not only a lot about the knowledge it will contain and how our constituents wish to access and share it, but a lot about how we, as a not-for-profit, use technology.

Macquarie Group Foundation’s support of the entire Knowledge Bank project gives us great confidence in our ability to help build capacity in the not-for-profit sector using ICT. Even as I type this we are discussing in the office with great relish the potentials the PhilanthropyWiki has opened up not only for us, but for the entire philanthropic sector in how we use technology, shares knowledge and accesses information.

We’re very much looking forward to working on populating the PhilanthropyWiki now with our Members, and beginning work on the next components of the Knowledge Bank in 2008 with renewed confidence.

If you’d like to read the official press release for the PhilanthropyWiki launch, you can download it here.

- Emily Turner, Web & Communications Administrator, Philanthropy Australia

PhilanthropyWiki is now live!

Philanthropy Australia is delighted to announce that the highly anticipated PhilanthropyWiki is now live!

The PhilanthropyWiki is an online encyclopaedia and archive of knowledge on philanthropy in Australia, which now provides a ‘first-port-of-call’ to the philanthropy and not-for-profit sectors, nationally and internationally, on philanthropic giving, charitable trusts, philanthropic foundations and the charity sector in Australia.

The development of the Wiki has been most generously supported by Macquarie Bank Foundation.

Visit the Philanthropy Wiki at www.philanthropywiki.org.au

The types of information contained within the PhilanthropyWiki include:

Philanthropedia (the Who, Where & How Much of philanthropy) - documenting historically significant people, organisations, statistics, issues and events that have occurred in Australian philanthropy.

Structures & Models - (the What of philanthropy) - categorising and explaining specific types of philanthropic bodies.

Practices - (the How of philanthropic giving) - Covering the practical information relevant to those in the sector.

Theories & Debates - (the Why we do what we do the way we do it) - encompassing information and/or opinions that are by nature analytical and/or theoretical.

Program Areas - Collating information relevant to funders on different areas of funding, such as Health, Social Justice or the Environment.

Web users will be familiar with the wiki model through sites such as Wikipedia, which is famous as a vastly extensive, multi-authored encyclopedia that is accessed and edited online in real time. The PhilanthropyWiki utilizes the wiki model in its own unique way. Philanthropy Australia’s Members (grantmaking trusts and foundations), invited academics and other philanthropy specialists are able to edit existing, and create new, pages. All contributions are constantly monitored by our administration team to ensure the veracity and clarity of information contributed.

The PhilanthropyWiki is a key component of Philanthropy Australia’s KnowledgeBank, a culmination of several years’ work on encouraging and embodying effective knowledge management in the sector. Throughout this process, we have come to understand the immense value of making use of the information technology at hand, recognising that supporting the effective use of IT in the not-for-profit sector is crucial to the sector’s progression towards effective knowledge management.

Other KnowledgeBank components include the Philanthropy Australia Website, The Australian Directory of Philanthropy Online, and the Philanthropy Australia Library Catalogue. Components that are still pending include the KnowledgeBank Search, the Grants Database & the Projects in the Pipeline Database.

For more information contact us at info@philanthropy.org.au or on (03) 9620 0200.

Announcement: Philanthropy Australia’s KnowledgeBank

Over the past few years, Philanthropy Australia has been developing a model to bring together our information services to make them as extensive and accessible as possible.

Throughout this process, we have come to understand the immense value of making use of the information technology at hand. The resulting model is what we have called our “KnowledgeBank”.

The KnowledgeBank will be an extensive and user-friendly information service, created and maintained by Philanthropy Australia and made accessible to our Members, the nonprofit community and the general public through the internet.

It will expand the community sector’s knowledge base on philanthropy, promote and facilitate understanding and partnerships between funders and grantseekers, and provide a user-friendly and accessible ‘first port of call’ for anyone seeking information on philanthropy and the nonprofit sector.

The KnowledgeBank project has been most generously supported by Macquarie Bank Foundation, which has enabled us to take a holistic and inclusive approach to our knowledge management and information management across the board.

The KnowledgeBank encompasses several components of Philanthropy Australia’s online information services:

• KnowledgeBank Search
• Philanthropy Australia Website
• Philanthropy Australia Library Catalogue
• PhilanthropyWiki
• The Australian Directory of Philanthropy Online
• Philanthropic Grants Database
• Projects in the Pipeline Database

These components are in various stages of development, refinement and completion. We’ve set up a page on our Website where you can find out more about each of these components, as well as keep track of our progress on the KnowledgeBank project.

New Members of Philanthropy Australia

Philanthropy Australia would like to warmly welcome the following new Members who have joined us in the past quarter:

Full Members

• Annemarie & Arturo Gandioli Fumagalli Foundation
• The Cardinia Foundation
• W. Daniels
• Inner North Community Foundation
• Jack & Ethel Goldin Foundation
• Ruffin Falkiner Foundation
• R. Rutnam
• The Snow Foundation
• Tasmanian Early Years Foundation
• Trust Foundation

Associate Members

• Australian Museum
• Enrich Australia
• Medibank Private
• Melbourne Recital Centre
• Pilgrim Private
• The Royal Children’s Hospital Foundation

You can find a list of all our Members on our Website.