In the News
In the past year Australian Communities Foundation has continued to carry out its vision to build healthy resilient communities and positive social change. At the AGM on Monday 21 November we presented the financial performance for 2010-11 and launched the 2011 Annual Report.
In 2010-11 we made 325 grants worth $2.56M. Whilst 46% of our grants were made to organisations and projects in Melbourne, grants made Australia wide increased to 34% from 28%.
We welcomed 16 new sub-funds and 13 Gumnut Accounts. Our community of donors has continued to grow from all over Australia. The financial reports and AGM presentation are available for viewing or download on our website. www.communityfoundation.org.au
The focus of the Annual Report 2011 is Diversity. As Australia’s premier community foundation, we highlight the range of products and services which facilitate anyone interested in philanthropy to be become a donor. The Report also has a number of donors’ stories including profiles on the Grocon workplace giving program and a longstanding donor who established a sub-fund 10 years ago and has made over 160 grants.
As we near the end of 2011, we are settling into our new name, Australian Communities Foundation. The transition has been smooth and we have been delighted by the feedback that it more positively reflects the Foundation. The logo in particular has been a huge hit!!!
We will start off 2012 with new staff. Rebekah Lautman joined us in November as Philanthropy Manager. She will be supported by Leonie Mugavin our Grants Officer. Together they will work with donors to support their grantmaking interests.
We will also be welcoming a full time Administration Officer, Christine Selle and we look forward to her coming on board in February.
Another exciting change is that we have secured new premises. In 2012 we are on the move to the offices accessible for community organisations by the Yarra City Council, at the Fitzroy Town Hall. We will have additional much needed office space and even more exciting is that we have access to all of the meeting and function facilities at the Town Hall.
In this newsletter we have chosen some lovely donor and grant stories for you to read, as well as a report on the 2nd Ethics in Philanthropy Debate held at the BMW Edge at Federation Square in October. We hope you enjoy!!
Andrea Heffernan
Acting CEO
Second Annual Ethics in Philanthropy Debate: Philanthropy – A Class Divide?
Our annual Ethics in Philanthropy debate has quickly established itself as a major event in the philanthropy calendar. Held on 27th October at BMW Edge and with an audience of over 300 people, this year’s debate bought together a diverse and lively panel to wrestle with the question of whether philanthropy emphasises the gulf between those that give and those that receive.
Hosted by Peter Mares of ABC Radio’s The National Interest, the panel, consisting of Stephanie Alexander, Dennis Altman, Rod Quantock, Dorothy Scott and Cath Smith, debated a range of issues exploring whether philanthropy in the 21st century continues to be the province of the very wealthy distributing alms to the deserving poor or whether it has become a more progressive and thoughtful reallocation of wealth for positive social change in society.
As with the previous year’s debate, there was considerable audience participation, with thorny questions about philanthropy’s reluctance to fund projects in areas of high social stigma and would donors still give if they didn’t get a tax deduction.
If you weren’t able to be there, but are interested in listening to the debate it will be broadcast as part of the summer series on Radio National. We will advise of time and date once the programming is finalised.
There is also a thoughtful summary of the debate and comments by people who attended the session on the ozphilanthropy blog at ozphilanthropy.com
Corporate Funds
Unico Community Fund was established in 2008 and is one of the most active and engaged corporate funds at Australian Communities Foundation. To date, the organisation has made 30 grants from their Workplace Giving program, mainly to organisations in the greater Melbourne region but the sub-fund has also made a small number of grants to organisations based in NSW and has recently supported the United Nations Childrens Fund East Africa famine appeal.
Some recent grant recipients include:
Donor Stories
Making a difference in International Education
Professor Tony Adams was revered as a policy innovator, leader, mentor and role model by generations of staff in international offices and education abroad centres across Australia. Many Australian students would never have been places and seen things without Tony's inspiration.
Tony was the key figure in the creation of the International Education Association of Australia, the industry's professional body. On the global stage, he was joint editor of the Journal of Studies in International Education, and was committed to bodies such as NAFSA and the European Association for International Education. In Australia in 1997 he was awarded the inaugural IDP award for excellence in international education and in 2006 was recognised by the Association of International Education Administrators.
In September family and friends set up a sub-fund in his memory at Australian Communities Foundation . The Tony Adams Fund aims to continue the work of Tony in international education by supporting activities in the areas of research, professional development and student mobility.
Annual grants will be provided to help support individuals seeking to undertake research in international education, participation in professional development activity or participation in international study experiences.
Granting in Action
St Kilda Gatehouse
Street sex work continues to be an option sought by those who have experienced childhood trauma, poverty and a lack of traditional supports. The engagement in street sex work tends to be closely linked with drug addiction and homelessness and sex workers often find it difficult to access mainstream services and exit from street sex work.
St Kilda Gatehouse works with street sex workers, providing immediate material aid and support and building trust and relationships. Navigate is a program developed at St Kilda Gatehouse which provides relationship based support to individuals, assisting them to navigate the often daunting world of government and non-government agencies and services.
Staff work with individuals to set up appointments and accompany them, as needed, to agencies such as DHS and Centrelink, provide advocacy, assist with transport and network with other agencies and introduce individuals to key service providers. Staff assist women to develop skills and undertake training to find employment other than sex work. Supporting young women to access mental health services, the Navigate program also aims to reduce the extent to which young women self medicate through use of illicit substances.
Funding for the Navigate program from the Vicki Standish Family Fund will support around 50 young women through the program over a three year period. The primary expected outcomes of the program include:
