The Seahorse, Issue 42, December 2021 by The Ian Potter Foundation

Past Issues View this email in your browser

Translate Issue 42, December 2021

MESSAGE FROM THE CEO

Counting our blessings As we approach the end of another year, feeling exhausted and expectantly looking to 2022 as a ‘more normal’ year, I am thrilled to share with you the work we have undertaken here at The Ian Potter Foundation over the last half of 2021. This work, on the part of my program management team and the Board members, is evidenced by the variety of grants approved at the December Board meeting. These include three Major Grants directed to ‘capacity building’ – providing general operating support funding for an organisation’s growth and development. These three outstanding organisations will each benefit from a $2.5 million, 5-year Major Grant that will fund expenditure prioritised by each organisation as part of its comprehensive strategic plan, prepared by its management team, that aspires to amplify its impact in a meaningful and sustainable way. Moving forward, the Board has agreed to no longer advertise nominated focus areas for Major Grants. Major Grants will remain ‘by invitation’ only – prospective applicants can not apply for a Major Grant without first being invited to do so. In determining which major

grant applications to consider, management will work with external experts and the Board Subscribe Past Issues Translate to prioritise matters aligned to the Foundation’s funding pillars and that are considered of great importance and significance to the community. The Foundation will then work to identify specific opportunities to fund that it hopes will have a lasting and enduring benefit for many Australians. The Board also approved several important recommendations including: Multi-year, general operating support grants will represent an increasing proportion of the Foundation’s future philanthropic grants portfolio. Such general operating support grants may also include a combination of nonfinancial and additional financial support that seeks to strengthen charitable organisations (including staff development, operating systems, and connections with peers). Three new staff positions (to be advertised during 2022), including two support roles and one senior position to support the Foundation’s evolving approach regarding Major Grants. We learnt that during 2020 and 2021, many for-purpose organisations were forced to innovate and adapt rapidly to changing circumstances. At the same time, funding and operating environments for the arts and social sectors continued to experience structural change. In the latter half of 2021, the Foundation has enjoyed working alongside The Myer Foundation, Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation, Gandel Philanthropy and The Vincent Fairfax Family Foundation. As a group, we have sought to take the lessons learnt during the COVID-19 pandemic and – informed by detailed research that engaged with a variety of arts and social sector organisations – to understand how best to support such organisations to thrive and strengthen their resilience. While organisations are responding creatively in direct response to the pandemic, further innovation and adaptation seem inevitable and necessary for not-for-profit organisations to be resilient in the face of a changing operating environment while still hoping to achieve their respective missions. Recommendations from the research confirmed the need for innovation and greater collaboration within the arts and social sectors. To translate the research recommendations into proposals that might benefit Australian charitable organisations, this philanthropic group launched an open call funding round for arts and community not-for-profits in October 2021, offering a pool of $1.5 million for a few innovative and potentially impactful collaborations. I am encouraged by the quality of submissions received and hopeful that the process will unearth some outstanding opportunities for the group of funders to support and that ultimately benefit many Australians. Working collaboratively alongside other philanthropic foundations, engaging with my Board members collectively and individually, and energising my team of program managers and the other staff here at The Ian Potter Foundation are key elements of my day-to-day role as CEO of this wonderful institution. I am blessed to have this role and to engage directly with so many incredible people with an aligned vision to assist as many Australians as possible

in various ways. In such challenging times, it is nice to reflect on the good the Foundation Subscribe Past Issues Translate seeks to achieve alongside the people, communities and organisations we aim to support as a leading Australian philanthropic foundation. I hope everyone reading this message enjoys a wonderful festive season with family and friends they love. Craig Connelly

GRANTS ROUND UP

$13.9 million across 22 grants

Hello Sunday Morning.(developer of the Daybreak app) has received a Major grant this round.

In the latest funding round, the Board of The Ian Potter Foundation approved 22 grants worth $13,924,000. These include $11,750,000 in major grants to five organisations: White Box Enterprises, Hello Sunday Morning, Centre for Future Health Systems (UNSW), Unison Housing and the Invasive Species Council. In the Arts program, eight grants totalling $1,527,000 were awarded to support successful existing professional development and mentoring programs and new projects designed to support the arts sector as a whole to develop, collaborate and reach new audiences. Three Community Wellbeing grants totalling $530,000 were also awarded along with six

Impact Enhancement Grants to support natural extensions or enhancements of existing Subscribe Past Issues grants.

FUNDING ROUNDS & PROGRAM AREAS

Revised guidelines, dates, processes

Preview of the new Book a Call function on the new website launching in 2022

Community Wellbeing funding guidelines revised At the December Board meeting, the Governors agreed to amend the funding guidelines for Community Wellbeing to reflect the priority given to employment-related projects in recent years. The new objective is: To improve circumstances for disadvantaged members of the community, through supporting initiatives delivered by, but not limited to, organisations that seek to create employment pathways for people with disabilities or otherwise vulnerable and/or marginalised individuals. These new Community Wellbeing guidelines are effective immediately.

Translate

Past Issues

Funding Round 2, 2022 – change to EOI close date

Translate

Round 2, 2022 opens on 14 March 2022 for Community Wellbeing, Early Childhood Development and Environment Expressions of Interest. Please note the closing date for EOIs in this round has been changed to 7 April 2022 (5 pm AEST). Funding Round 1, 2022 is currently open for Medical Research grant applications, closing on 25 January (5 pm AEDT). All grantseekers must speak to the relevant Program Manager prior to submitting an EOI or Application.

Book a Call is coming From early 2022, we are introducing a new system to streamline booking phone calls with program managers to discuss proposed Expressions of Interest. This system will allow grantseekers to book a time to speak to the relevant program manager during periods of high call volumes in the lead up to funding rounds opening. The new system will be accessible via our new website which we plan to launch in late January 2022 prior to the opening of Funding Round 2 in March 2022.

Funding round dates

SECTOR ENGAGEMENT

Catch on to social procurement

Past Issues

Translate

Social Traders have recently launched the ‘It’ll Never Catch On’ campaign designed to inspire people to make the switch to buy from social enterprise. The campaign has been created for the social enterprise sector to put a spotlight on the benefits of ‘business for good’ and to encourage businesses and governments to catch on to making the ‘switch to good’. The “It’ll Never Catch On” campaign shows famous revolutionary moments throughout time. Not taken seriously at first, out-of-the-box ideas like planes, computers and mobile phones have ultimately changed the course of history. The campaign positions social enterprise in a similar light, as an idea that we need to get behind now. As part of the campaign, Social Traders developed a Marketing Tool Kit for the social enterprise sector and a useful how-to-get-started guide on social procurement for businesses and government. Social enterprises are also being encouraged to get certified by Social Traders to be nationally recognised and included in the Social Enterprise Finder, a national public directory of social enterprises. Social Traders are a national organisation and an advocate for social enterprise procurement in Australia. They are the only certifier and intermediary connecting businesses and governments with social enterprises.

Learn more

Past Issues

Translate

GRANTEES IN THE NEWS

Starting Better report launched

Centre for Policy Development report receives wide coverage Starting Better: A guarantee for young children and families, a major report from the Centre for Policy Development (CPD) was released in late November. This major report recommends a decade of reforms across all levels of government to establish guaranteed universal access to a minimum of three days a week of free or lowcost quality early education and care from birth to school age, including two years of preschool and up to 25 visits from maternal and child health nurses for new parents. The report also outlines how more paid parental leave shared between partners will ensure babies spend more time with parents in the crucial early months of life. The evidence shows that children who get time with their parents early in life, support for their families through community services like health and childcare, and early education before they start school will go on to thrive throughout their lives. The report draws on 12 months of consultation and research as part of CPD’s Early Childhood Development initiative including the work of the Early Childhood Development Council, an informal intergovernmental body comprising senior officials from all jurisdictions, ECD experts and sector leaders. This research has been co-funded by The Ian Potter Foundation and the Minderoo Foundation. Starting Better has received extensive media coverage in newspapers, radio and television including: an op-ed in The Australian by Ken Henry former Treasury Secretary radio interview with Professor Leslie Loble and National Children’s Commissioner Anne Hollands on RN Drive

television interviews with CPD CEO Travers McLeod on ABC’s 7:30 , ABC News Past Issues Breakfast and Sky News Australia.

Translate

GRANTEE NEWS

International Recognition

Green Connect wins international award Green Connect is one of 15 international recipients – and the only Australian winner – in the Commonwealth Secretary-General’s 2021 Innovation for Sustainable Development Awards, announced in late September. Wollongong social enterprise Green Connect has been recognised by the Commonwealth for global leadership in sustainable development, for its urban permaculture farm. In partnership with its local community, Green Connect has transformed 11 acres of wasteland into one of Australia’s leading examples of urban agriculture and one of the largest urban permaculture farms in the world. The farm employs young people and former refugees to grow chemical-free produce using organic and permaculture principles. Its transformation has taken eight years and has now attracted international recognition.

Subscribe Past Issues Translate The Governor-General of Australia, His Excellency General the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Retd) congratulated the Green Connect team on this significant achievement saying, “Green Connect is an outstanding initiative – over the last decade they’ve built an impressive, innovative model that reduces waste, improves sustainability and increases connection in the community. They are a local group that is now having an international impact and, on behalf of all Australians, I congratulate them for the award and thank them for their inspirational work.”

GRANTEE AWARDS

Designed for good

Learn Local awards

Justice Connect’s free online self-help tool for Victorian renters, Dear Landlord, has received a prestigious Good Design Award in the Best in Class in the Social Impact category recognising outstanding design and innovation.

Learn More

Better Beginnings

Congratulations to our two Community Wellbeing grantees named as finalists in the Victorian State Government's 2021 Learn Local Awards. Zoe Support was a finalist in the Program Award for Small Providers while Ballarat Neighbourhood Centre's Our Kitchen Social Enterprise was a finalist in the Program Award for Large Providers.

Learn More

What is Kindytxt?

Past Issues

Translate

IPF News

The Early Childhood Research Group at Edith Cowan University (ECU) has won the 2021 Engagement Australia Excellence Award - Outstanding Engagement for Research Impact.

Christmas closure

This award recognises the 16-year partnership between ECU and the State Library of Western Australia, which has developed a suite of family literacy programs called Better Beginnings, culminating in an SMS-based program called Kindytxt. The Engagement Australia awards recognise excellence in research and development activity that makes a substantial difference to the community, or Australian prosperity, undertaken jointly by researchers in tertiary education institutes and partners in the community, business, and industry.

Learn More

It's been another challenging year and the staff of The Ian Potter Foundation are looking forward to some time to rest and recharge our batteries. Our office will be closed from Thursday 23 December until Monday 10 January. We wish all our not-for-profit partners and philanthropic colleagues a very safe and happy festive season!

We produce this quarterly e-newsletter to keep our friends and associates up to date with all the news and recent grants made by The Ian Potter Foundation. We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we work. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present.

Forward

Facebook

Twitter

Google Plus

Past Issues

unsubscribe from this list

update subscription preferences

Translate