philanthropyOz Blog

New issue of Australian Philanthropy journal - Brave Philanthropy: taking risks and testing solutions

Brave Philanthropy: taking risks and testing solutions is the theme of our latest issue of Australian Philanthropy, Issue 82, Spring 2012.

Lisa Jordan, executive director of the Bernard van Leer Foundation wrote in Alliance magazine, (March 2012) “…taking risks is an inherent responsibility of organised philanthropy … to use private money to try to solve intractable problems … The question is, do we?” While foundations often explore and plan for financial risk in their investment management, there is little understanding of risk on the program side. “We have no forums where risk can be discussed … and we rarely use the tools we have such as evaluation to help us understand the degree to which we have succeeded or failed.”

The question of failure is a tricky one – it assumes we have identified a measure of achievement to be aimed for, and fallen short of that bar. But how many foundations have actually identified the impact they want to make in a given place or field, let alone measured success against those aims? If, on the other hand, the only true failure is a grant that nothing is learned from, why do many foundations inhibit the extent of their successes by not sharing the learnings? Issue 82 investigates whether Australian philanthropy does indeed take risks in its grant-making and learn from both its successes and failures.

SELECTED ARTICLES

Innovation doesn’t grow on trees - the art of finding and funding new solutions (PDF)

By Brenton Caffin, CEO, The Australian Centre for Social Innovation (TACSI)

The Australian Centre for Social Innovation works with people to create and spread new ways to lead better lives. We heard the call from the child protection system and in response we undertook a project to explore ways of preventing families fromb spiralling into crisis and to enable more families to thrive. The result was Family by Family.

Interview: Eda Ritchie (PDF)

The R. E. Ross Trust, funding across Victoria, is one of the most innovative and respected foundations in the country, showing leadership across grant-making, communications and transparency. Eda Ritchie joined the Trust as trustee in 1997 and Louise Arkles asked her about the importance of risk-taking in philanthropy.

Interview: Dr Sam Prince (PDF)

Picture this: a Scottish-born Australian doctor with Sri Lankan heritage running a chain of Mexican restaurants alongside his work in emergency medicine and doing aid work in Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Vietnam, and now in remote communities in the Northern Territory. Phew!
Dr Sam Prince lives this life – he’s a medical doctor, a business entrepreneur, and the founder of the charities Emagine Foundation and One Disease at a Time, and to top it off he’s not yet 30. Louise Arkles, editor of Australian Philanthropy, asked Sam Prince about his philanthropy and his approach to taking risks and testing solutions.

Browse the full contents list on the PhilanthropyWiki

» Click here for more information on the Australian Philanthropy Journal

Members of Philanthropy Australia can download the full PDF version of issue 82 here (requires Member login)

New CEO for Philanthropy Australia

Philanthropy Australia (PA) today announced the appointment of a new CEO, Louise Walsh. This follows the resignation of Dr Deborah Seifert.

Ms Walsh brings extensive corporate, government, not for profit and philanthropic leadership and planning experience to the role. A former corporate lawyer with Allens Arthur Robinson, Louise has worked on Sydney’s Olympic Bid, corporate partnerships for the 2000 Olympic Games and the City of Sydney, before becoming Director of Development for the Sydney Symphony.

Most recently, Louise has been founding Director of Artsupport Australia, an initiative of the Australian Government agency, the Australia Council for the Arts, to grow cultural philanthropy. During her 10-year tenure, Artsupport Australia has facilitated over $77 million of philanthropic funds for Australia’s cultural sector across hundreds of organisations and individual artists.

Outgoing Dr Seifert has been Chief Executive of Philanthropy Australia for two years during which time she has undertaken a major strategic review of the organisation.

“Deborah, who has spent most of her career in education, has also been responsible for growing membership, managing the organisation’s finances in a tight post-GFC environment, developing new workshops and educational tools for the sector and organising next month’s Philanthropy Australia conference, which will bring together an outstanding line up of international and national speakers,” President of Philanthropy Australia, Mr Bruce Bonyhady AM said.

“Deborah has provided valuable leadership over the past two years, and I thank her for her many contributions and wish her all the best for the future,” he said.

Louise Walsh will take up her appointment from 8 October 2012.

“Louise’s deep understanding of philanthropy, the arts and the non-profit sector more generally, coupled with her personal passion, will provide dynamic leadership in a new era for Philanthropy Australia. Louise is already well known to many of our members through her highly successful development of Artsupport over the past decade. This is an exciting development for Philanthropy Australia and Australian philanthropy” said Bruce Bonyhady.

Ms Walsh’s primary task will be to deliver on the outcomes of the recent strategic review of Philanthropy Australia, complemented by her particular focus on impact investing, cultivating the new generation of young philanthropists, and private and corporate initiatives such as matchfunding and workplace giving.

Following the Australian Government’s recent announcement of the future merger of Artsupport Australia and the Australia Business Arts Foundation (AbaF), Ms Walsh will also be working closely with the Council of Philanthropy Australia to explore common areas of interest between Philanthropy Australia and the new arts entity as it takes shape.

“Philanthropy Australia has significant reach across many areas of philanthropic interest, including welfare, education and health as well as arts and culture and we believe there are significant benefits from close partnerships in philanthropy to grow the sector” said Bruce Bonyhady.

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For further information please contact President Bruce Bonyhady via the Philanthropy Australia Office on 03 9662 9299 or at info@philanthropy.org.au.

Public Ancillary Funds Trustee Handbook launched

Philanthropy Australia is pleased to launch a new free downloadable Handbook for trustees of Public Ancillary Funds (PuAFs). Not only is this guide useful for existing PuAFs, but also to those who are considering establishing a PuAF or have involvement with them as a partner or grant-seeker.

In the light of recent legislative changes and the new Guidelines for Public Ancillary Funds, this Handbook will be a particularly useful guide to the new requirements. It comments on what is now required of trustees of PuAFs, and where the trustee is a company the directors thereof, under the Guidelines and at law. It is not a legal document but a “plain English” introductory guide to the role and duties of the trustee and trustee directors.

Download the Public Ancillary Funds Trustee Handbook online.

Philanthropy Popquiz Re-Launched

You may have heard of - and hopefully participated in - the Philanthropy Popquiz which Stacey Thomas of The Myer Family Company has run on a weekly basis via email and Twitter for over a year. The Philanthropy Popquizzes are intended as interesting conversation starters around the relationship between philanthropy, the community organisations philanthropists seek to assist, and the people that interact with both.

Stacey has generously offered Philanthropy Australia the chance to take over the Popquiz and after a couple of months’ hiatus it is ready for re-launch. We’re looking forward to sharing these snapshots of opinion and generating some conversations!

In keeping with Stacey’s successful format, we’re sticking with one topic per quiz which should take no more than 3 minutes to complete. Results from previous popquizzes will be available on our website; you can also subscribe to the fortnightly email update via the Popquiz page. We’ll share the results here on the philanthropyOz Blog, and also encourage discussion via Facebook and Twitter.

This fortnight’s Philanthropy Popquiz is on:

Public Reporting

Do you make your annual report (including financial statements) available, and why?

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

We encourage you to participate and share with your networks. And of course, if you have any burning questions for consideration as future popquizzes, please leave your suggestions in the Popquiz comments.

Philanthropy Australia AGM: President’s Report, Strategic Plan and address by Dr Peter Yule

Philanthropy Australia’s AGM was held on Wednesday 18 April, when President Bruce Bonyhady reported on achievements against the previous Strategic Plan and outlined the Strategic Plan for the next three years. There have been transformative changes in the philanthropy sector over recent years and Philanthropy Australia has set three goals: to Lead, Grow and Strengthen. These goals will form the blueprint to guide Philanthropy Australia over the next three years.

Council and Management believe the Goals and Priorities as set out in the Strategic Plan 2012-2014 will provide a strong strategic direction. Philanthropy Australia is poised and well-positioned to respond to and help shape the changing landscape by providing a strong leadership role in the philanthropic sector and to promote giving. On behalf of the Council and Management we look forward to working with all stakeholders to build a stronger philanthropic sector towards A Giving Australia.

The Strategic Plan 2012-14 is titled ‘A More Giving Australia’, which has become the new vision for Philanthropy Australia. and can be accessed here:

Click here to download the Strategic Plan 2012-14 (PDF)

Click here to download Bruce Bonyhady’s speech (PDF)

At the Luncheon after the AGM, Dr Peter Yule gave a fascinating talk on the lives of W L Baillieu and Sir Ian Potter, and discussed similarities and differences in their lives and their involvement in philanthropy.

Click here to download Dr Peter Yule’s address (PDF)

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.

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.

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.