Annual Grants Report 2008-09 by The Ian Potter Foundation

The Ian Potter Foundation was established in 1964 by Sir Ian Potter and is now one of Australia’s leading philanthropic foundations. The Ian Potter Foundation donates nationally, supporting a wide range of projects across many sectors of the community. The Governors and staff of the Foundation work to uphold Sir Ian’s legacy by supporting Australia’s community leaders and innovators to bring a positive contribution to our society.

Contents

Chairman’s Report

Funding Principles

CEO’s Report

Community Wellbeing

Alec Prentice Sewell Gift

Education

Health

Environment & Conservation

Science

Medical Research

GOVERNORS

STAFF

Arts

The Ian Potter Foundation is governed by a Board of Governors. The Chairman is Mr Charles Goode, AC. Governors also serve terms on the Finance and Audit Committees. The Board meets four times each year.

Chief Executive Officer Mrs Janet Hirst

Travel

Finance Mr John Kellaway Ms Therese Reidy

Conference

Review

Life Governor Lady Primrose Potter, AC Governors Mr Charles B Goode, AC (Chairman) Professor Geoffrey N Blainey, AC Mr Leon Davis, AO The Hon Sir Daryl Dawson, AC, KBE, CB The Hon Sir James Gobbo, AC, CVO, QC Mr John B Gough, AO, OBE Professor Thomas W Healy, AO Dr Thomas H Hurley, AO, OBE Mr Allan J Myers, AO, QC Mr Frank L Nelson Dr P John Rose, AO Professor Graeme B Ryan, AC

Grant Management Ms Caitriona Fay Ms Helen Murray Ms Claire Rimmer Ms Maria Roberts Communications Ms Avalee Weir Administration Ms Gail Lewry Ms Rebecca Clark Assistant to the Chief Executive Officer Ms Kay Roworth

Above The Chairman and staff of The Ian Potter Foundation

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

Contents

Chairman’s Report

Funding Principles

CEO’s Report

Community Wellbeing

Alec Prentice Sewell Gift

Education

Health

Environment & Conservation

Science

Medical Research

GOVERNORS

STAFF

Arts

Chief Executive Officer Mrs Janet Hirst

Travel

Finance Mr John Kellaway Ms Therese Reidy

Conference

Review

Above The Chairman and staff of The Ian Potter Foundation

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

Chairman’s Report This past year was one of unprecedented financial turmoil that saw the global financial market in crisis, adversely impacting upon economic activity and causing much hardship. In such circumstances, the Foundation’s attention naturally turned to the issue of what we could do to alleviate the suffering caused by the Global Financial Crisis, especially the increased pressure on welfare agencies in the face of less funding available and more demand. Although the Foundation’s capital was impacted by these events, we were fortunate to be able to maintain our grants at a similar level to the previous year, and moving forward, the Board of Governors has agreed to a minimum level of grants for the next five years to ensure that the Foundation maintains its commitment to ‘making a difference’. In the coming year, the Foundation will direct an increased proportion of its grants to the Community Wellbeing program area to help tackle some of the pressing issues currently facing this sector. I would like to acknowledge the Governors and our advisers who have worked to manage and protect the Foundation’s financial integrity in difficult circumstances to ensure that we can continue to honour the tradition established by Sir Ian. Despite the pressure of the financial market downturn that affected disbursements for many foundations in the last 18 months and a reduction in corporate giving in particular, philanthropy in Australia continues to grow and develop. Interestingly, Philanthropy Australia reports that not-for-profit fundraising actually went up over the year, an indicator of Australians’ willingness to give to others in time of need. The philanthropic sector as a whole is becoming increasingly professional and resultsoriented as foundations and trusts, large and small, seek to ensure that their funding reaches those who can use it best and need it most.

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

The Ian Potter Foundation has continued to develop its professionalism and improve its efficiency. Our Program Managers are qualified and experienced and bring particular knowledge of the various areas the Foundation operates within. They spend a great deal of time assessing applications, considering them against the Foundation’s principles and objectives as well as the new system of indicative budgets, and meeting with many applicant organisations before making recommendations and submitting them for consideration by the program area Committees and then the Board. With hundreds of applications each round this can be an exacting process. At the same time, the CEO, Program Managers and the Governors proactively seek out projects that will meet particular objectives or a need that has been identified in the community, and we expect to place increased emphasis on this approach in the future.

Funding Principles

Six common principles are central to the Foundation’s grant-making across all Program Areas: A commitment to excellence. We support organisations, programs and individuals who are outstanding in their field in a national and international context. An emphasis on the ‘Innovate, Evaluate, Disseminate’ strategy. We seek to fund programs and projects that take a new approach to problems and support the evaluation of their trial and, if successful, their replication in other locations or contexts. A focus on prevention. In seeking to maximise the value of our grants, we try to address the causes of problems, rather than treat the symptoms. Supporting research is fundamental to this approach. P otential for leverage. Our grants have greater impact when combined with support from other sources. These might include other trusts and foundations, government, business and volunteers. We are happy to be one of a number of supporters of a program. Long-term thinking. We try to fund programs that will continue to have an impact well beyond the period of our support. In making grants, attention is given to the sustainability of the project at the conclusion of the period covered by the grant.

The task for The Ian Potter Foundation is to ensure that as a leading Australian foundation we maintain our ongoing commitment to a fair and thorough process, professional standards of administration, record-keeping and communication, and of course, our commitment to the principles that have been developed over the last 40 years.

P artnerships. We encourage applications from organisations that are working with others in their field, and indeed in other fields.

I would particularly like to thank our Chief Executive Officer and her staff for the professional and enthusiastic manner in which they have carried out their duties. We feel the Foundation’s grants have made a difference to many people and organisations.

Charles Goode Chairman

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

Funding Principles

P artnerships. We encourage applications from organisations that are working with others in their field, and indeed in other fields.

Charles Goode Chairman

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

CEO’s Report This year the Foundation has approved 145 grants in the areas of the Arts, Community Wellbeing, Education, Environment & Conservation, Health, Medical Research, Science, Travel and Conference, and paid grants totalling $13,077,358, a slight increase over the previous year although the total value of the new grants was down on the previous year. This brings the total of grants paid by the Foundation since inception to $132 million. As at 30 June 2009, future commitments stand at a further $10.93 million. Not surprisingly, this year we saw an increase in the number of grant applications submitted to the Foundation. The pressure on funding sources has clearly had an impact across all sectors and the economic climate has provided an added impetus for us to consider ways to increase the effectiveness of our grant making. We continue to receive applications from diverse organisations, with a common theme across them all – the desire to make a difference to the lives and wellbeing of our communities and the environment. For its part, the Foundation seeks to uphold and promote Sir Ian Potter’s legacy by working with community leaders and innovators to bring about positive long-term change in our society and to fund strategically for maximum impact over time. The difficult part is to measure the social impact of the grant – it is important for a Foundation such as The Ian Potter Foundation to know our grants are making an effective difference and to know what works and what doesn’t. Accordingly, during the year we have undertaken a review of our evaluation processes so we can track this information, utilise it to help us make funding decisions in the future and share it with others. We have asked some successful past grantees to tell their stories in the Review section of this report – it makes interesting and inspiring reading, especially for potential applicants.

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

Innovate, Evaluate, Disseminate Our funding is guided by funding principles which include an emphasis on our ‘Innovate, Evaluate, Disseminate’ strategy – programs and projects that take a new approach to problems and support the evaluation of their trial and, if successful, their replication in other locations or contexts. During the year, we have reviewed the strategy to ensure that we are taking the risks to back new approaches to significant challenges, supporting good ideas and sound organisations, ensuring that the implementation of projects is rigorously evaluated and if they prove to be successful and sustainable, sharing the knowledge. Through this dissemination strand of the strategy, we hope grants made to these organisations can ultimately help many more. Staff The skills and professionalism of our staff continue to grow with the appointment of new staff members. Avalee Weir joined the Foundation in the new position of Communications Manager. One of her many tasks is the development of dissemination strategies for funded projects where reports indicate that the project has contributed to advancing knowledge about a service model, area of research or other activity. Claire Rimmer has come from the UK to join our team. Claire previously worked at the Heritage Lottery Fund in Scotland, and with her Honours Degree in Fine Art and a Masters Degree in the History of Art, is an excellent manager of the Arts Program Area. During the year, Alice Levy, a student at L’Institut d’Etudes Politiques in Lyon, France joined the team at the Foundation as our inaugural Intern. Alice researched and assessed the Evaluation component of the Foundation’s ‘Innovate, Evaluate, Disseminate’ Strategy, and presented to the Board a comprehensive paper with well thought through recommendations. Rebecca Clark joined the Foundation in the new role of Administration Assistant and has proved an invaluable addition to the team.

This year’s report provides a snapshot of the diversity of excellent programs the Foundation has been able to support, with funding reaching people and places in almost every state and territory. For organisations that are seeking funding, the best place to start is always our website where you can find out about application procedures and requirements and check our funding objectives and priorities in each program area. Finally, I would like to thank our Staff for all the value they bring to the Foundation’s work and the Board of Governors for their support and counsel throughout the year.

Janet Hirst Chief Executive Officer

Key Statistics 2008–09 Number of grants approved:

145

Total value of grants approved:

$6.8 million

Number of grants paid:

184

Total value of grants paid:

$13 million

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

Fundraising Event 2008–09 The Foundation regularly holds special fundraising events and invites the public to donate to the Foundation. In October 2008, the Foundation co-hosted a fascinating evening with The George Alexander Foundation at the Melbourne Museum. ‘Beyond the Seas’ provided guests with a tantalising glimpse of life beneath our bays and oceans. Dr Mark Norman, Senior Curator Marine Biology, Melbourne Museum, took us below the waters of Port Phillip Bay and introduced a surprising array of weird and wonderful sea- dwelling creatures, after which Dr Anne Hoggett, Director, Lizard Island Research Station outlined the environmental challenges being faced by coral reefs, in particular the issue of ocean acidity, and how these problems can be addressed. Following canapés, guests were treated to a special behind-the-scenes tour of some of the Museum’s collection rooms which was a highlight for all. The Foundation would like to thank our guests for their generous support. The evening was a great success.

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

Janet Hirst Chief Executive Officer

Key Statistics 2008–09 Number of grants approved:

145

Total value of grants approved:

$6.8 million

Number of grants paid:

184

Total value of grants paid:

$13 million

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

The Community Wellbeing Program Area consistently receives the greatest number of applications and this year was no exception with a total of 261 eligible applications being considered. With the overall goal of enhancing quality of life, there are currently five specific objectives of the program, covering projects that address the challenges of parenting and family life, the challenges confronted by children and young people as they move from one life stage to the next, the challenges that confront older Australians, people with disability or illness, new settlers and people from disadvantaged backgrounds.

With such a wide-ranging remit, it is not surprising that the range of applications is equally broad. Grants were made for programs addressing the effects of chronic illness and disability, programs to enhance literacy levels in Aboriginal and nonAboriginal children, projects to provide better facilities for the aged, those with intellectual disabilities, and those with no access to playgrounds. A hospice, a counselling service, a youth club and agencies that provide services for families and children all received grants from the Foundation. One of the challenges facing this program is to decide whether this wide disbursement of funds makes the greatest impact, or whether the Foundation would achieve a greater impact by focusing on a more narrowly defined area of need. This issue is currently under consideration by the Board of Governors.

Number of new grants approved: 62

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008â&#x20AC;&#x201C;09

Value of new grants approved:

$2,733,287

Number of grants paid:

Total of grants paid:

$2,677,628

Percentage of total grants paid:

20.5%

Community Wellbeing

Number of new grants approved: 62

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008â&#x20AC;&#x201C;09

Value of new grants approved:

$2,733,287

Number of grants paid:

Total of grants paid:

$2,677,628

Percentage of total grants paid:

20.5%

Community Wellbeing

Islamic Women’s Welfare Council of Victoria, VIC

MultiLink Community Services Inc., QLD

Riding for the Disabled Association of Australia, VIC

$105,012 As part of a commitment of $315,036 over three years

$19,575 Driving for Empowerment Project

$100,000 RDAA National Coach Development Program

Aydill social and cultural integration program for schools

www.multilink.org.au

www.rda.org.au

Refugee women take the driver’s seat

More coaches, more opportunity

Learning to drive and attaining a driver’s licence are rites of passage many of us take for granted in Australia but for many new migrants this is not the case. Possessing a driver’s licence not only increases an individual’s confidence, but also increases employment and social opportunities. Many jobs, even those as cleaners, frequently require the employee to drive. Licences are also commonly accepted as a means of identification, and they can help people integrate into Australian society.

Each week hundreds of skilled volunteers across Australia work with disabled children and adults to help them benefit from programs that involve close contact with horses. Early intervention with children with a disability can positively enhance their outcomes in later life, reduce their dependence on education and health services, and their reliance on their families through the development of increased confidence, cognitive skills, mobility and social interaction.

Multilink Community Services is an agency that provides programs that meet the needs of the culturally diverse population that lives in the areas of Logan, northern Gold Coast and southern Brisbane. In response to this need, Multilink designed a project to provide driving instruction and practice with professional driving instructors to single refugee women from the disadvantaged Logan area of Brisbane.

Riding for the Disabled’s volunteers need to be supervised by coaches who can ensure that the activities offered are appropriate to each individual participant. Currently, there is a significant shortage of trained coaches, so to address this problem RDAA has developed a National Coach Development Training Program.

www.islamicwomenswelfare.org.au

Understanding for successful integration Aydill, the Arabic word for measured and balanced decision making, is the name given to a three-year program based on peace education models used internationally by the UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency. Aydill is a group work program for Muslim and non-Muslim primary and secondary school children, staff and parents, that aims to develop the social, emotional and life skills needed for successful social and cultural integration within the school setting. Trained workers from The Islamic Women’s Welfare Council of Victoria visit schools where they lead group work programs for children, teachers and parents. Through a range of activities, the children learn to understand others, manage and communicate their feelings, value difference and understand the cultural differences that exist between home and the wider environment. The programs for adults build on the awareness and skill of both teachers and parents, facilitating the integration of Muslim children into the school setting, and helping Muslim and non-Muslim parents develop their parenting skills, particularly those related to gender and culturally-inclusive parenting. The programs are offered to schools that request and value the service, and the program is included in the school timetable. Groups are led by trained project workers who have the necessary language skills and have learnt how to conduct group work programs. The Foundation’s grant will cover the salaries of the project workers and the costs associated with running the groups.

The pilot program, involving 15 women, began with three months attendance at the Learners’ Class, during which the women prepared for their written tests. Once these had been passed, they received 25 hours of driving practice over 12 weeks before taking their driving tests. This is a longer preparation than that offered to many learner drivers, but experience has demonstrated that women from refugee backgrounds and those who have endured traumatic experiences often need longer to learn to drive than women who have not had traumatic experiences.

The training program will increase the number of qualified and accredited RDAA coaches across Australia. The Foundation’s grant will assist the implementation of the program which aims to train 12 coaches for each state and territory, a total of 96 coaches to be trained within one year. This will enable RDAA to help 960 additional children within the first year, reduce client waiting lists (currently up to two years), and sustain the number of RDAA Centres that can be open and operational.

If this pilot project is successful, Multilink will aim to add a driving program to the suite of programs currently on offer.

Far left Aydill group discusses parenting issues Left An empowering opportunity for refugee women Above right A helping hand for little Sophie Right RDAA coaches are vital

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

Islamic Women’s Welfare Council of Victoria, VIC

MultiLink Community Services Inc., QLD

Riding for the Disabled Association of Australia, VIC

$105,012 As part of a commitment of $315,036 over three years

$19,575 Driving for Empowerment Project

$100,000 RDAA National Coach Development Program

Aydill social and cultural integration program for schools

www.multilink.org.au

www.rda.org.au

Refugee women take the driver’s seat

More coaches, more opportunity

www.islamicwomenswelfare.org.au

If this pilot project is successful, Multilink will aim to add a driving program to the suite of programs currently on offer.

Far left Aydill group discusses parenting issues Left An empowering opportunity for refugee women Above right A helping hand for little Sophie Right RDAA coaches are vital

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

Araluen Centre, VIC

CanTeen Australia, National Office, NSW

Good Shepherd Youth and Family Service, VIC

$47,725 Naroo Living and Learning Centre: Hospitality and Horticulture Training

$30,000 Now What...? Dealing with your brother’s or sister’s cancer. A resource book for young people who have a sibling diagnosed with cancer.

$120,000 Sudanese Kinship Care Project

www.araluen.org

www.goodshepvic.org.au

www.canteen.org.au

Inclusion and opportunity for young people with disabilities Araluen provides vital accommodation and day services for adults with intellectual disabilities in Melbourne’s north-east suburbs. Each client has an individual service plan that is designed to provide optimal opportunity, empowerment, community inclusion and participation. To assist the intellectually disabled clients aged 18–40 in reaching these goals, Araluen has established the Naroo Living and Learning Centre. Naroo is a log cabin that houses the facilities for people to develop their literacy skills, and prepare them for employment in the fields of hospitality, horticulture and IT. The goal is to equip the students with the skills that will enable them to find employment and lead more independent lifestyles: goals that would not be attainable without specialised training. The Centre’s intent is to meet the same standards as those expected of mainstream students. The Foundation’s grant assisted with the cost of the kitchen that is used for hospitality training, and with the cost of the raised garden beds and the fit-out of the horticulture activity room. The completed project is a source of great pride to the Araluen participants and their families. Trainees now have a sense of ‘coming to work’ each day, and their families have been impressed by the quality of the technological options available to their children. The new facilities mean that Araluen is able to respond much more appropriately to the changing needs of their clients, and to prepare them to find and maintain employment and take their rightful place in the community.

Support and recognition for siblings

Helping families in transition

CanTeen is the Australian organisation for young people (aged 12–24) living with cancer. Members may be patients, siblings, or children of a person who has cancer, or has died from cancer. CanTeen runs programs such as camps, activity days and recreation days for its members, allowing participants to meet and talk with other young people in the same situation as they are, thus gaining a sense of sharing, support and understanding.

Arriving in Australia from North African refugee camps, new Sudanese migrants bring with them a multiplicity of complex issues which affect their settlement in the very different culture of Australia. The number of children in statutory care from newly arrived immigrant groups is increasing, providing additional evidence of the challenges facing this group. Good Shepherd Youth and Family Service works with the Sudanese communities in the St Albans and Collingwood areas of Melbourne. Several agencies that provide foster care for these children approached Good Shepherd for help identifying culturally appropriate foster families for these children, or training for such families.

One of CanTeen’s most successful projects was the production of a publication titled Your Mum or Dad Has Cancer. This carefully designed book is available free of charge to the relevant young people, and has been of great value to them in allowing them to explore and raise issues that are troubling, but sometimes difficult to talk about. CanTeen has now produced a companion volume, Now What...? Dealing with your brother’s or sister’s cancer: A resource book for young people who have a sibling diagnosed with cancer. The Foundation’s grant went towards the design, printing and distribution of 3,000 copies of the new 90-page book. The book’s design appeals to its audience. It has a flexible plastic cover, spiral binding, coloured pages, and detachable sections that can be shared with parents, siblings and friends. The publication geared towards young people, is free, and will be distributed nationally through hospitals, clinics, social work departments, and other facilities that work with people with cancer.

In response, Good Shepherd developed the two-phase Sudanese Kinship Care Project. The first step is to work with Sudanese communities in Melbourne to explore and identify the communities’ resources, and contribute to the enhancement of individual, family and community capacity to develop kinship networks and foster social and family cohesion. The ultimate goals are to prevent family breakdown and to provide culturally appropriate foster care for Sudanese children when this is needed. Careful evaluation of the progress and findings of Phase 1 of the project will determine whether Phase 2 of the project – development of foster carers with awareness of the particular challenges of working with families from the Sudanese community – is the appropriate next step.

Above and left Sudanese Kinship Programs support parents and children

Right CanTeen supports young people who have a brother or sister with cancer in a variety of ways including residential programs and recreation days

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

Araluen Centre, VIC

CanTeen Australia, National Office, NSW

Good Shepherd Youth and Family Service, VIC

$47,725 Naroo Living and Learning Centre: Hospitality and Horticulture Training

$30,000 Now What...? Dealing with your brother’s or sister’s cancer. A resource book for young people who have a sibling diagnosed with cancer.

$120,000 Sudanese Kinship Care Project

www.araluen.org

www.goodshepvic.org.au

www.canteen.org.au

Support and recognition for siblings

Helping families in transition

Above and left Sudanese Kinship Programs support parents and children

Right CanTeen supports young people who have a brother or sister with cancer in a variety of ways including residential programs and recreation days

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

Ruby Gaea Darwin Centre Against Rape, NT

Shine for Kids, NSW

Victorian Arabic Social Services Inc., VIC

$20,000 Sexual Assault Prevention Education in Darwin High Schools

$20,000 SHINE for Kids – Children of Prisoners Mentoring Capacity Building

www.rubygaea.org.au

www.shineforkids.org.au

$40,000 As part of a commitment of $80,000 over two years Anti Racism Action Band (A.R.A.B.), Glenroy Special School and Moreland City Council Youth Services Community Collaboration www.vass.org.au

Education fundamental

Mentors help break the cycle

Banding together for better outcomes

The Ruby Gaea Darwin Centre Against Rape was established in 1987 by a group of volunteers who recognised the need to provide counselling, support and shelter to survivors of sexual violence. Twenty years later the organisation is established as a respected support service providing counselling, advocacy and community education related to sexual violence to the people of the Darwin area.

The Children of Prisoners Support Group (COPSG) was established in New South Wales in 1982 as a response to that state’s The Children of Imprisoned Parents report. COPSG provided advocacy and other support to the children of prisoners, and in December 2005 changed its name to Shine for Kids to present a more optimistic representation of its work. Each week thousands of Australian children visit an imprisoned parent, and are subject to the negative effects of parental imprisonment. Children of imprisoned parents are more likely to live in poverty, suffer family breakdown, perform poorly at school, and suffer social stigma and discrimination, and it is these effects that Shine seeks to address.

The Anti Racism Action Band (A.R.A.B.) has established itself as an innovative, collaborative community development performing arts project for youth of all cultural backgrounds in the Northern region of Melbourne. A.R.A.B. aims to provide an outlet for the talent and need for self-expression that exists for young people in the area who would otherwise have limited opportunities, and to diffuse potentially destructive issues around low self-esteem and confidence. By providing opportunities for development of performing arts skills, A.R.A.B. provides opportunities to a large number of disadvantaged individuals and groups to explore issues around race, culture, difference and identity and has developed a proven track record of success.

School education programs can help students to better assess risky behaviour and situations in order to avoid and recognise sexual assault. Ruby Gaea is committed to the education aspect of its services, but lacked the staffing needed to respond positively to increased requests for education programs in high schools. The Foundation’s grant to Ruby Gaea will assist with the employment of an education officer to allow the service to better implement their education program, work towards long-term funding for their schools programs and develop an effective evaluation program to assess the long-term benefits of their work. The new education officer will be employed for four days a week, meaning that at least 200 students will be able to participate in the programs.

One of Shine’s major interventions is its Mentoring Program. Shine believes that participation in a wellplanned mentoring program can help children deal with the experience of having a parent in prison, and with the discrimination and stigma they frequently experience. Shine for Children received a grant to assist with the introduction of its successful NSW mentoring and capacity-building program to prisons in Victoria. Shine’s plans include formalising, documenting and purchasing additional training resources to increase the pool of volunteers who work with the children and their families when they visit the imprisoned parent. The Program Manual will document the experiential knowledge gained over the years by key staff and mentors, and will be in line with accreditation guidelines as a first step towards a future application for accreditation of the program.

Despite the support of school and families, teenagers with disabilities often miss out on the rites of passage available to others such as diverse socialisation and access to a creative or sporting vehicle that can help them share common life experiences with others. The Foundation provided funding to support a two-year community development collaboration to engage 50 culturallydiverse adolescent participants from the Glenroy Special School who have multiple disabilities and link them into the A.R.A.B. ensemble, with support from Moreland City Council Youth Services. This project will help these young people to access a proven creative program that will allow self-expression, social connectedness and interaction with the broader community.

Above right Glenroy Specialist School students performing with other A.R.A.B. youth performers in their 2009 show ‘Conjure’

Above Education helps students to assess risky behaviour

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

Ruby Gaea Darwin Centre Against Rape, NT

Shine for Kids, NSW

Victorian Arabic Social Services Inc., VIC

$20,000 Sexual Assault Prevention Education in Darwin High Schools

$20,000 SHINE for Kids – Children of Prisoners Mentoring Capacity Building

www.rubygaea.org.au

www.shineforkids.org.au

$40,000 As part of a commitment of $80,000 over two years Anti Racism Action Band (A.R.A.B.), Glenroy Special School and Moreland City Council Youth Services Community Collaboration www.vass.org.au

Education fundamental

Mentors help break the cycle

Banding together for better outcomes

Above right Glenroy Specialist School students performing with other A.R.A.B. youth performers in their 2009 show ‘Conjure’

Above Education helps students to assess risky behaviour

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

Community Wellbeing Grants Paid 2008–09

Abbeyfield Society (Dingley Village) Inc. Building Extension

$50,000

Family Drug Support Stepping Stones to Success Project

$60,000

Aboriginal Employment Strategy Ltd Employment of a manager and a support person to work with Aboriginal students in the School-Based Traineeship program

$95,000

Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal Small Grants for Small Rural Communities Program

$75,000

$15,000

Friends of Autism Find a Friend – School Mentoring Program for Children Affected by Autism

$20,000

Aboriginal Literacy Foundation Australia Literacy tutoring in the Geelong region

$47,725

Glastonbury Child and Family Services SCARF (Strengthening Child and Adolescent Relationships in Families)

$16,850

Araluen Centre Naroo Living and Learning Centre: Hospitality and Horticulture Training

$21,116

Good Shepherd Youth and Family Service Sudanese Kinship Care Project

$120,000

Assistance Dogs Australia The Ian Potter Foundation Assistance Dogs Australia Service Dogs Project

$20,000

The Gowrie Community Services (WA) Inc. Gowrie Harmony Community Garden

$10,000

Australian Red Cross Victorian Bushfire Appeal 2009

$20,000

James Cook University The Rise of the For-Profit Child Care Sector: Implications for Choosing Quality Child Care in Northern Regional Australia

$14,297

Ballan & District Soldiers Memorial Bush Nursing Hospital & Hostel Inc. Family Support Resource Centre Big Brothers Big Sisters (Melbourne) Inc. First Friends

$35,000

Habitat for Humanity Australia (Victoria) Inc. Habitat ReStore Victoria

$42,000

Brophy Family & Youth Services Inc. Reality & Risk: Pornography, Young People and Sexuality

$40,000

Islamic Women’s Welfare Council of Victoria Aydill – social and cultural integration program for schools

Camp Breakaway Inc. Smith Magenis Syndrome (SMS) Camp

$5,000

Canteen Australia, National Office Now What...? Dealing with your brother’s or sister’s cancer. A resource book for young people who have a sibling diagnosed with cancer

$30,000

Children’s Protection Society Inc. Stronger Families: A blueprint for family support intervention and evaluation (to be known as Stronger Families)

$70,000

Chinese Community Social Services Centre Inc. Cognitive-behavioural group treatment (CBGT) program – Enhancing stress resilience in Chinese parents of children with disabilities.

$35,000

The Colac Community Hospice Project Inc. Refurbishment of Anam Cara House

La Trobe Lifeskills Recreation and Work Inc. Sensory Garden @ Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, East Melbourne

$105,012 $9,540

Lifeline Community Care Queensland Community Wellbeing International Travel Grant

$15,000

Lifeline Gippsland Inc. Equipping the Suicide Crisis Support Coordinator’s Room/Facility

$15,000

LifeTec Queensland Fit-out of North Queensland Display & Consultation Centre – Townsville

$121,760

Mallee Family Care The Tony Vinson Centre for Community Development

$50,000

$56,000

Media Access Australia Improving access to computers and the internet for seniors with disabilities

$10,000

Community Life Batemans Bay Inc. Community Life Support Project

$11,000

Merri Outreach Support Service Young Lives Big Stories

$14,600

Crisis Support Services Inc. Mensline Australia using SMS to connect our callers to professional support

$20,000

MultiLink Community Services Inc. Driving for Empowerment

$19,575

Dawn House Inc. Purchase of beds

$10,000

Nazareth House Enhancing care for severely frail residents and those with dementia through use of electric low-to-ground beds

$98,120

Dingley Village Community Advice Bureau Inc. Breakfast before the basics

$10,000

Odyssey House Victoria Community based Mutual Assistance Employment Program

$60,000

Emergency Accommodation and Support Enterprise Inc. Solving the Jigsaw – Nationally Accredited Facilitator Training Program

$25,000

Open Family Australia The Redskins Youth Leadership Program

$31,535

Environment Victoria Inc. Multicultural Leaders in Sustainability

$25,000

Othila’s – Young Women’s Housing and Support Service Inc. At Home in My Community – young women finding solutions to homelessness

$15,000

Eva Tilley Memorial Home Inc. Residential redevelopment

$25,000

Ottrey Homes Cobram and District Retirement Village The Ian Potter Walk

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

$8,000

Community Wellbeing Grants Paid 2008–09

Abbeyfield Society (Dingley Village) Inc. Building Extension

$50,000

Family Drug Support Stepping Stones to Success Project

$60,000

Aboriginal Employment Strategy Ltd Employment of a manager and a support person to work with Aboriginal students in the School-Based Traineeship program

$95,000

Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal Small Grants for Small Rural Communities Program

$75,000

$15,000

Friends of Autism Find a Friend – School Mentoring Program for Children Affected by Autism

$20,000

Aboriginal Literacy Foundation Australia Literacy tutoring in the Geelong region

$47,725

Glastonbury Child and Family Services SCARF (Strengthening Child and Adolescent Relationships in Families)

$16,850

Araluen Centre Naroo Living and Learning Centre: Hospitality and Horticulture Training

$21,116

Good Shepherd Youth and Family Service Sudanese Kinship Care Project

$120,000

Assistance Dogs Australia The Ian Potter Foundation Assistance Dogs Australia Service Dogs Project

$20,000

The Gowrie Community Services (WA) Inc. Gowrie Harmony Community Garden

$10,000

Australian Red Cross Victorian Bushfire Appeal 2009

$20,000

James Cook University The Rise of the For-Profit Child Care Sector: Implications for Choosing Quality Child Care in Northern Regional Australia

$14,297

Ballan & District Soldiers Memorial Bush Nursing Hospital & Hostel Inc. Family Support Resource Centre Big Brothers Big Sisters (Melbourne) Inc. First Friends

$35,000

Habitat for Humanity Australia (Victoria) Inc. Habitat ReStore Victoria

$42,000

Brophy Family & Youth Services Inc. Reality & Risk: Pornography, Young People and Sexuality

$40,000

Islamic Women’s Welfare Council of Victoria Aydill – social and cultural integration program for schools

Camp Breakaway Inc. Smith Magenis Syndrome (SMS) Camp

$5,000

Canteen Australia, National Office Now What...? Dealing with your brother’s or sister’s cancer. A resource book for young people who have a sibling diagnosed with cancer

$30,000

Children’s Protection Society Inc. Stronger Families: A blueprint for family support intervention and evaluation (to be known as Stronger Families)

$70,000

Chinese Community Social Services Centre Inc. Cognitive-behavioural group treatment (CBGT) program – Enhancing stress resilience in Chinese parents of children with disabilities.

$35,000

The Colac Community Hospice Project Inc. Refurbishment of Anam Cara House

La Trobe Lifeskills Recreation and Work Inc. Sensory Garden @ Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, East Melbourne

$105,012 $9,540

Lifeline Community Care Queensland Community Wellbeing International Travel Grant

$15,000

Lifeline Gippsland Inc. Equipping the Suicide Crisis Support Coordinator’s Room/Facility

$15,000

LifeTec Queensland Fit-out of North Queensland Display & Consultation Centre – Townsville

$121,760

Mallee Family Care The Tony Vinson Centre for Community Development

$50,000

$56,000

Media Access Australia Improving access to computers and the internet for seniors with disabilities

$10,000

Community Life Batemans Bay Inc. Community Life Support Project

$11,000

Merri Outreach Support Service Young Lives Big Stories

$14,600

Crisis Support Services Inc. Mensline Australia using SMS to connect our callers to professional support

$20,000

MultiLink Community Services Inc. Driving for Empowerment

$19,575

Dawn House Inc. Purchase of beds

$10,000

Nazareth House Enhancing care for severely frail residents and those with dementia through use of electric low-to-ground beds

$98,120

Dingley Village Community Advice Bureau Inc. Breakfast before the basics

$10,000

Odyssey House Victoria Community based Mutual Assistance Employment Program

$60,000

Emergency Accommodation and Support Enterprise Inc. Solving the Jigsaw – Nationally Accredited Facilitator Training Program

$25,000

Open Family Australia The Redskins Youth Leadership Program

$31,535

Environment Victoria Inc. Multicultural Leaders in Sustainability

$25,000

Othila’s – Young Women’s Housing and Support Service Inc. At Home in My Community – young women finding solutions to homelessness

$15,000

Eva Tilley Memorial Home Inc. Residential redevelopment

$25,000

Ottrey Homes Cobram and District Retirement Village The Ian Potter Walk

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

$8,000

Community Wellbeing Grants Paid 2008–09 cont.

Port Phillip Community Group Roomers at Your Place: Outreach workshops for those facing physical and mental illness and disability Prahran Mission Victorian Voice Hearers Network – Phase 1 Hearing Voices Network – Victoria Queensland Police Citizens Youth Welfare Association Wheels over Yarrabah Riding for the Disabled Association of Australia RDAA National Coach Development Program Riding for the Disabled Association Raymond Terrace and Lower Hunter Centre Development of the health and wellbeing of people with disabilities in the Hunter Region

$14,675

The Trichothiodystrophy, Xeroderma pigmentosum, Cockayne Syndrome Trust Fund Creating a Better Life

$20,000

Typo Station Community Support and Development Worker

$50,000

$20,000 $45,000

Uniting Aged Care Victoria and Tasmania Day Therapy Centre – equipment support

$40,000

Upper Murray Family Care Inc. Purchase and development of property in Wodonga

$50,000

Victorian Arabic Social Services Inc. Anti Racism Action Band, Glenroy Specialist School and Moreland City Council Youth Services Community Collaboration

$40,000

$100,000 $9,500

$7,400

$8,160

Ruby Gaea Darwin Centre Against Rape Sexual Assault Prevention Education in Darwin High Schools

$20,000

Victorian Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders (VACRO) Engaging the invisible children of offenders

$15,000

Victorian Immigrant and Refugee Women’s Coalition Funding a community arts coordinator to work with migrant and refugee women

$24,800

Sandy Ridge House Inc. T/a Ronald McDonald House Monash Volunteers – the lifeblood of the House

$20,000

Victorian Women’s Housing Association Increased organisational capacity

$60,000

Sandy Ridge House Inc. T/a Ronald McDonald House Monash Family Benefactor

$100,000

Whitelion Incorporated Young Women’s Work Futures Program

$25,000

SCOPE Scope for Future Generations – Scope Employment Project

$136,000

WorkVentures Ltd Airds Local Enterprise Centre

$30,000

Second Bite Food Program Research and Development Manager

YMCA Victoria – Youth and Community Services Inc. Creative Life Program

$14,181

Self Help Addiction Resource Centre Inc. Getting in Touch Yoga

$10,000

Senses Foundation Contact person support for older West Australians

$50,000

Shepparton Villages To build a new 65-bed Residential Aged Care Facility (Banksia Lodge) at Kialla Gardens Village and fit out with specialised furniture and equipment.

$33,333

Shine for Kids Co-Operative Limited SHINE for Kids – Children of Prisoners Mentoring Capacity Building

$20,000

Southcare Community Care Inc. Mentoring support for young people at risk

$10,000

Spina Bifida & Hydrocephalus Association of SA Inc. Folate Awareness Campaign

$13,065

Spinal Injuries Association Inc. Spinal Education Awareness Team (SEAT) Interactive DVD

$20,000

Stepfamily Association of Victoria Getting on the Radar – the Stepfamily Counselling Project

$20,000

Sunraysia Residential Services Inc. Creations at SRS – Respite Backyard Project

$20,000

Sustainable Gardening Australia Foundation Neighbourhood Food Gardeners Project

$10,000

Time for Youth Waverley Street Respite

$24,384

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

$2,677,628 Total Community Wellbeing

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

Community Wellbeing Grants Paid 2008–09 cont.

$14,675

The Trichothiodystrophy, Xeroderma pigmentosum, Cockayne Syndrome Trust Fund Creating a Better Life

$20,000

Typo Station Community Support and Development Worker

$50,000

$20,000 $45,000

Uniting Aged Care Victoria and Tasmania Day Therapy Centre – equipment support

$40,000

Upper Murray Family Care Inc. Purchase and development of property in Wodonga

$50,000

Victorian Arabic Social Services Inc. Anti Racism Action Band, Glenroy Specialist School and Moreland City Council Youth Services Community Collaboration

$40,000

$100,000 $9,500

$7,400

$8,160

Ruby Gaea Darwin Centre Against Rape Sexual Assault Prevention Education in Darwin High Schools

$20,000

Victorian Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders (VACRO) Engaging the invisible children of offenders

$15,000

Victorian Immigrant and Refugee Women’s Coalition Funding a community arts coordinator to work with migrant and refugee women

$24,800

Sandy Ridge House Inc. T/a Ronald McDonald House Monash Volunteers – the lifeblood of the House

$20,000

Victorian Women’s Housing Association Increased organisational capacity

$60,000

Sandy Ridge House Inc. T/a Ronald McDonald House Monash Family Benefactor

$100,000

Whitelion Incorporated Young Women’s Work Futures Program

$25,000

SCOPE Scope for Future Generations – Scope Employment Project

$136,000

WorkVentures Ltd Airds Local Enterprise Centre

$30,000

Second Bite Food Program Research and Development Manager

YMCA Victoria – Youth and Community Services Inc. Creative Life Program

$14,181

Self Help Addiction Resource Centre Inc. Getting in Touch Yoga

$10,000

Senses Foundation Contact person support for older West Australians

$50,000

Shepparton Villages To build a new 65-bed Residential Aged Care Facility (Banksia Lodge) at Kialla Gardens Village and fit out with specialised furniture and equipment.

$33,333

Shine for Kids Co-Operative Limited SHINE for Kids – Children of Prisoners Mentoring Capacity Building

$20,000

Southcare Community Care Inc. Mentoring support for young people at risk

$10,000

Spina Bifida & Hydrocephalus Association of SA Inc. Folate Awareness Campaign

$13,065

Spinal Injuries Association Inc. Spinal Education Awareness Team (SEAT) Interactive DVD

$20,000

Stepfamily Association of Victoria Getting on the Radar – the Stepfamily Counselling Project

$20,000

Sunraysia Residential Services Inc. Creations at SRS – Respite Backyard Project

$20,000

Sustainable Gardening Australia Foundation Neighbourhood Food Gardeners Project

$10,000

Time for Youth Waverley Street Respite

$24,384

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

$2,677,628 Total Community Wellbeing

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

Hear and Say – Centre for Deaf Children Limited, QLD $99,000 Auditory-Verbal Online Course Development www.hearandsaycentre.com.au

Alec Prentice Sewell Gift

Tuning in to a new definition and treatment for Childhood Deafness Hearing loss is the most common disability in newborn babies and is often a hidden problem that is diagnosed too late for optimal treatment. In 2004, over 400,000 children were born with hearing loss worldwide: it is estimated that at any one time there are over three million children under the age of five with hearing loss.

Mr Alec Prentice Sewell (1909–2003) bequeathed a large part of his estate to The Ian Potter Foundation and expressed a wish that it be used for the ‘maintenance, education, welfare and benefit in life of needy children’. The Foundation honours his wish by making grants in his name to benefit children disadvantaged by economic, social, physical or geographical circumstances, to help them reach their full potential. Since 2004, grants totalling $1,097,000 have been approved through the Alec Prentice Sewell Gift. Number of new grants approved: 2 Value of new grants approved:

$117,772

Number of grants paid:

Value of grants paid:

$334,977

Percentage of total grants paid:

2.56%

Hear and Say has shown that children who are deaf can listen and speak just like any other child. Despite this redefinition of deafness and its treatment, there are still only enough trained listening and speaking professionals to effectively treat and teach eight per cent of all children and adults with hearing loss worldwide. With the assistance of The Ian Potter Foundation, Hear and Say are developing an on-line professional training program to address the critical need for appropriately qualified listening and speaking professionals, ensuring that the skills and techniques needed to help professionals teach children who are deaf how to listen and speak are delivered to all Australian cities, to rural areas, to indigenous communities and across the globe. The unique nature of this e-learning project has already generated interest from a leading Australian university and the Queensland Government. The initial content reviews and internal trials have proven successful and steps are now in place to transfer these life-changing courses into the most appropriate formats for delivery to professionals around the world.

Alec Prentice Sewell Gift Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare Inc. The Centre Scholarship Program

$26,968

Children’s Protection Society Inc. The Doula Project

$90,237

The Exodus Foundation The Exodus Foundation – Ashfield School of Arts Restoration Above and right Increasing access to professional training means more deaf children will benefit

$100,000

Hear and Say – Centre for Deaf Children Limited Auditory-Verbal Therapy Online Course Development

$99,000

Telethon Speech and Hearing Centre for Children WA (Inc.) Nursery Rhyme Time Program

$18,772

$334,977 Total Alec Prentice Sewell Gift The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

Hear and Say – Centre for Deaf Children Limited, QLD $99,000 Auditory-Verbal Online Course Development www.hearandsaycentre.com.au

Alec Prentice Sewell Gift

$117,772

Number of grants paid:

Value of grants paid:

$334,977

Percentage of total grants paid:

2.56%

Alec Prentice Sewell Gift Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare Inc. The Centre Scholarship Program

$26,968

Children’s Protection Society Inc. The Doula Project

$90,237

The Exodus Foundation The Exodus Foundation – Ashfield School of Arts Restoration Above and right Increasing access to professional training means more deaf children will benefit

$100,000

Hear and Say – Centre for Deaf Children Limited Auditory-Verbal Therapy Online Course Development

$99,000

Telethon Speech and Hearing Centre for Children WA (Inc.) Nursery Rhyme Time Program

$18,772

$334,977 Total Alec Prentice Sewell Gift The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

The Foundation’s long term interest in providing education and employment opportunities for young people, particularly those disadvantaged by their circumstances, continued to guide funding in the Education Program Area this year. In past years, this focus tended to come through in programs for young people in remote and regional areas, but this year our support of young people living in disadvantaged circumstances in urban areas continued to grow.

It is becoming increasingly clear that one of the key opportunities in this area is to promote holistic approaches to supporting disadvantaged and at-risk students, and supporting fundamentals to success such as encouraging student aspirations, transitions into further education, vocational training or the workforce.

Value of new grants approved:

$493,250

Lack of access for urban youth occurs for a range of reasons – cultural, social and economic – but the outcome is largely the same: disengaged teenagers who are at risk of a raft of future problems. The Western Chances Scholarships Program is an excellent example of the type of community-based intervention program that attempts to break the cycle of disadvantage and gives young people who have the will, the way to create a different future for themselves – with all the other benefits that brings to their families and the wider community.

Number of grants paid:

Value of grants paid:

$477,750

Percentage of total grants paid:

3.65%

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

Number of new grants approved: 6

Education

Value of new grants approved:

$493,250

Number of grants paid:

Value of grants paid:

$477,750

Percentage of total grants paid:

3.65%

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

Number of new grants approved: 6

Education

Jewish Holocaust Museum and Research Centre, VIC

The Red Room Company, NSW

$150,000 As part of a commitment of $250,000 over two years Jewish Holocaust Centre Exhibition Redevelopment

$50,000 As part of a commitment of $50,000 over two years Papercuts: Poetry Education

www.jhc.org.au

www.redroomcompany.org

Building bridges to cross-cultural understanding

Poetry in Motion

From humble beginnings in 1984, the Jewish Holocaust Centre has long relied on the passion and commitment of volunteers to raise funds for and run the Centre. After nearly 25 years of operation, including visits from over 16,000 secondary school students each year, the Centre has amassed an important collection of Holocaustrelated artefacts and personal survivor accounts. Much of the collection has not been seen by the general public and is held is store, meaning that the Centre has not been fulfilling its potential as a community resource and education tool. The Centre tackles racism by using Holocaust education as a tool to demonstrate the need for human rights, liberties, respect and cross-cultural understanding. Funding from the Foundation is helping the Centre to revamp its exhibition spaces and provide greater access to their collection. The funding will help the Centre implement new technologies to improve visitor understanding and participation and help to ensure that the voices of Australia’s many Holocaust survivors are always heard. One feature of the upgrade is the increased number of personal testimonies incorporated into the exhibition. The Centre currently holds over 1,300 video testimonies, many of which have not been heard by the public before. Personal audio devices will allow students and visitors to dig deeper into the personal accounts of individuals who experienced the atrocities of the Holocaust.

Poetry and its role in contemporary Australian life is the focus of The Red Room Company’s Papercuts program of poetry education. The pilot project undertaken in NSW with a $15,000 grant from the Foundation, seemed to successfully revive both individual students’ and schools’ interest in poetry, receiving positive feedback from all parties. Aside from the direct benefits of learning about poetry in all its forms, the project also had unexpected literacy and classroom behavioural benefits. Teachers have also expressed increased confidence in their ability to deliver against required English curriculum. The program will continue to expand into Victoria and regional New South Wales over the next two years with support from The Ian Potter Foundation. Papercuts aims to assist students as they explore poetry in all its forms, including writing, reading and performing, with a strong focus on Australian poetry. It engages the imaginations of both students and teachers, and enriches teaching and learning, by allowing them to work creatively with a tangible poetry project, and exposing them to some of the finest contemporary Australian poets and poems. The program specifically makes use of new technologies in writing, such as radio, pod casting and vodcasting. The program also includes lessons plans for teachers and exercises for students that explain poetic forms, the history of poetry and contemporary Australian poetry and the relevance of poets in our community.

Once the revamp is completed in 2010, the Centre will be able to provide access to a greater number of students, further engage in its outreach program and continue to provide support to organisations looking to participate in inter-faith and cross-cultural understanding programs.

Right, top to bottom Artist’s impression of the interior of the Jewish Holocaust Museum

Right, top Sea Things: poetry at Perth Modern School, WA

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

Bottom On a roll, poetry at Macquarie Fields High School, NSW

Jewish Holocaust Museum and Research Centre, VIC

The Red Room Company, NSW

$150,000 As part of a commitment of $250,000 over two years Jewish Holocaust Centre Exhibition Redevelopment

$50,000 As part of a commitment of $50,000 over two years Papercuts: Poetry Education

www.jhc.org.au

www.redroomcompany.org

Building bridges to cross-cultural understanding

Poetry in Motion

Right, top to bottom Artist’s impression of the interior of the Jewish Holocaust Museum

Right, top Sea Things: poetry at Perth Modern School, WA

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

Bottom On a roll, poetry at Macquarie Fields High School, NSW

The Earthwatch Institute, VIC

Western Chances, VIC

Centre for Sustainability Leadership, VIC

$22,000 As part of a commitment of $66,000 over three years Earthwatch Student Challenge

$17,250 The Ian Potter Western Chances VET Scholarships

$10,000 Online Future Sustainability Leaders Program – Audio/Visual content creation and delivery

www.westernchances.org.au

www.earthwatch.org.au

www.csl.org.au

Science outside the square

A hand up, not a hand out

The Ian Potter Foundation has a history of supporting programs that look to improve science and mathematics outcomes for students in remote and regional Australia. Unfortunately, the number of students from both urban and regional communities committing to postcompulsory science is decreasing. The Foundation is continuing to seek out innovative and interesting programs that may provide a spark for greater student engagement in these subject areas.

Many students across the western suburbs of Melbourne have the desire and talent to pursue Vocational Education and Training (VET) subjects, but find the costs of these subjects prohibitive. For example, a VET carpentry course can attract fees of $2,000 and a student interested in becoming a chef has to purchase expensive knife sets as tools of their trade, whereas a ‘traditional’ VCE subject carries little cost.

Earthwatch’s Student Challenge is a practical learning program in which students aged 16–18 join genuine conservation research projects and work with scientists in the field. The Student Challenge shows students a side of science that cannot be explored in the traditional classroom setting. It places them directly in the action and gives them the chance to work as a real researcher – rain, hail or shine. The IPF funded program will provide opportunities for up to 19 young people from regional areas each year for the next three years. The students will travel to either Kangaroo Island (South Australia) or Woolemi & Barrington National Park (New South Wales) to assist in conservation research projects. Earthwatch has also committed to track their students into the future, so the impact of the program on study and career choices can be evaluated. Anecdotally it appears this program is successful in changing young people’s traditional views of science. It is hoped that this additional research will help Earthwatch and the Foundation to examine the long-term effectiveness of programs of this kind. Below right Young Western Leaders Summit 2009 Below Dr Michael Mahony shows students how to weigh and measure frogs

The Ian Potter Western Chances VET Scholarships specifically target those students who have a vocational focus, and wish to undertake VET subjects, and aim to take up a trade on completion of their Year 12. The Scholarships address the lack of financial resources, networks and support that many of the young people in the area face. Since September 2008, seven VET Scholarships have been awarded to students studying a diverse range of subjects including hospitality and motor mechanics. One student, who is studying mechanics, was living in a refugee camp just two years ago. In the camp he gained experience in mechanics and with the assistance of the VET Scholarship he is now able to pursue his dream. Prior to receiving the Scholarship he had been forced to move schools due to the expense of doing VET at that particular school. Western Chances also supports the community development of the western suburbs of Melbourne through linking the young people, schools, community groups, businesses and organisations in the area.

Bridging The Gap Between Sustainability, Knowledge And Action The Centre for Sustainability Leadership (CSL) takes passionate emerging sustainability leaders, provides resources and matches them with experienced professionals to enable them build the skills and networks required to create change for a sustainable future. As part of their program, CSL offers a free online sustainability leadership program to young people across the globe which teaches key sustainability leadership skills, and creates study groups that form a global classroom. The grant from the Foundation was used to purchase a digital camcorder used to make a documentary interviewing 35 of the United Kingdom’s leading climate and environment experts. The material created with the camera will be incorporated into the online leadership training content to make the online program a dynamic and provoking forum.

Above Larissa Brown, leadership by example

Education Grants Paid 2008–09 Ardoch Youth Foundation Ardoch Education Support Project – primary school component

$50,000

Australian Catholic University: Faculty of Education MyScience Sustained: Expanding and enhancing teaching and learning in Science

$25,000

Centre for Sustainability Leadership Online Future Sustainability Leaders Program

$10,000

The Earthwatch Institute Earthwatch Student Challenge

$22,000

Jewish Holocaust Museum and Research Centre Jewish Holocaust Centre Exhibition Redevelopment Menzies School of Health Research To establish The Ian Potter Foundation Indigenous Research Fellowship at the Menzies School of Health Research The Redroom Company Papercuts: Poetry Education The University of Melbourne, Asialink Centre The Ian Potter Foundation Asialink Scholarship Program

$150,000 $3,500

$50,000 $100,000

Western Chances The Ian Potter Western Chances VET Scholarships

$17,250

Wunan Foundation The Connections Program

$50,000

$477,750 Total Education The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

The Earthwatch Institute, VIC

Western Chances, VIC

Centre for Sustainability Leadership, VIC

$22,000 As part of a commitment of $66,000 over three years Earthwatch Student Challenge

$17,250 The Ian Potter Western Chances VET Scholarships

$10,000 Online Future Sustainability Leaders Program – Audio/Visual content creation and delivery

www.westernchances.org.au

www.earthwatch.org.au

www.csl.org.au

Science outside the square

A hand up, not a hand out

Above Larissa Brown, leadership by example

Education Grants Paid 2008–09 Ardoch Youth Foundation Ardoch Education Support Project – primary school component

$50,000

Australian Catholic University: Faculty of Education MyScience Sustained: Expanding and enhancing teaching and learning in Science

$25,000

Centre for Sustainability Leadership Online Future Sustainability Leaders Program

$10,000

The Earthwatch Institute Earthwatch Student Challenge

$22,000

$150,000 $3,500

$50,000 $100,000

Western Chances The Ian Potter Western Chances VET Scholarships

$17,250

Wunan Foundation The Connections Program

$50,000

$477,750 Total Education The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

One of the Foundation’s key funding principles is prevention: addressing the cause and not the symptom and in no other Program Area is this more important than in Health. The focus in Health this year has been to promote and support innovative, replicable programs that work to intervene, educate and help to break the cycle where negative health trends exist. There has been a particular emphasis on programs that target ‘closing the gap’ in health outcomes for Indigenous Australians. Number of new grants approved: 4 Value of new grants approved:

$80,248

Number of grants paid:

Value of grants paid:

$80,248

Percentage of total grants paid:

0.62%

Health

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

$80,248

Number of grants paid:

Value of grants paid:

$80,248

Percentage of total grants paid:

0.62%

Health

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, NSW

Australian Drug Foundation, VIC

$34, 248 Rainbow Serpent Tours, Aboriginal Children’s Health program

$15,000 Implementation of an indigenous drug prevention strategy www.adf.org.au

www.chw.edu.au

Opening the door to better health

Cultural Sensitivity Key To Drug Harm Prevention

A number of barriers continue to restrict the access of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to quality health care in Australia. Some of these barriers are socio-economic, some are about availability and distribution of services and some are clearly cultural. The availability of health services including mainstream health services that are culturally equipped is one of the key factors that will contribute to improved health outcomes for Aboriginal children.

Problematic alcohol and other drug use is a major contributor to the poor health status, shorter life expectancy and a range of social problems for Indigenous Australians. Clearly, any response to alcohol and other drug use and harm in Indigenous communities must be culturally relevant and accessible. Unfortunately, many drug prevention efforts are either inappropriate or ineffective for Indigenous communities, or they miss out completely.

Starting from issues such as the prevalence of low birth weight among Aboriginal children, the statistics throughout childhood continue to illustrate the huge gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

The Australian Drug Foundation (ADF) has prioritised Indigenous health and is committed to improving outcomes for Indigenous Australians through the provision of targeted, evidence-based drug prevention programs and services.

The Aboriginal Health Services Unit of The Children’s Hospital at Westmead sought funding to organise a series of health tours at the hospital for Aboriginal children and their families focusing on prevention and education as part of their Koori Kids Strategic Health Plan and in conjunction with the Hospital’s Aboriginal Child Health Steering Committee. These tours will be initially run as a pilot program in which children and family members will travel by bus to the Hospital from their schools. The format is both educational and fun for children and parents/carers alike giving them information to prevent injuries and to show them some life-saving skills they can use in and around the home and in their local community. As well as a tour of key departments, the children will receive some health screening tests. All the results from the screening aspect of the tour will be given to local Aboriginal Health Workers who will then follow up any issues. Four schools will take part in The Rainbow Serpent Tours pilot over a 24-month period involving approximately 120 children and their parents/families after which an evaluation will be carried out and if successful the program will be expanded.

Aside from the benefits of a long-term strategy for the ADF and increased support for Indigenous workers and community, the ADF anticipates building beneficial partnerships through the process, which will be instrumental in achieving a successful and sustainable outcome.

Funding from The Ian Potter Foundation will help ADF to effectively implement and evaluate a sustainable Indigenous drug prevention strategy. The primary aim is to work in partnership with the Indigenous community in Victoria to ensure Indigenous health and welfare workers are resourced with best practice drug prevention information and resources. The ADF has recently appointed an Indigenous project worker to lead this work and an external Reference Group has been formed to guide delivery.

Top A warm welcome at the Hospital Above Thumbs up for healthy teeth!

Right ADF Indigenous Information and Liaison Officer, Bryan Andy, works on the Indigenous drug information website

Health Grants Paid 2008–09 Australian Drug Foundation Implementation of an Indigenous drug prevention strategy

$15,000

The Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) How can we deliver better health care services to remote Indigenous communities?

$21,000

The Children’s Hospital at Westmead Rainbow Serpent Tours

$34,248

Wimmera Hearing Society Inc. Purpose-Built Mobile Testing Unit

$10,000

$80,248 Total Health The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, NSW

Australian Drug Foundation, VIC

$34, 248 Rainbow Serpent Tours, Aboriginal Children’s Health program

$15,000 Implementation of an indigenous drug prevention strategy www.adf.org.au

www.chw.edu.au

Opening the door to better health

Cultural Sensitivity Key To Drug Harm Prevention

Top A warm welcome at the Hospital Above Thumbs up for healthy teeth!

Right ADF Indigenous Information and Liaison Officer, Bryan Andy, works on the Indigenous drug information website

Health Grants Paid 2008–09 Australian Drug Foundation Implementation of an Indigenous drug prevention strategy

$15,000

The Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) How can we deliver better health care services to remote Indigenous communities?

$21,000

The Children’s Hospital at Westmead Rainbow Serpent Tours

$34,248

Wimmera Hearing Society Inc. Purpose-Built Mobile Testing Unit

$10,000

$80,248 Total Health The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

Sustainability and maintenance of biodiversity have been central themes in the Foundation’s Environment Program for many years. Recognising the difficulty in protecting our biodiversity one species at a time, the Foundation encourages and supports programs that employ a ‘whole environment approach’ incorporating habitat maintenance and protection, invasive species control and broad community engagement. The Royal Zoological Society of South Australia’s Brush-Tailed Rockwallaby program (funded in 2008), has proven to be an excellent example of this approach, and we bring you an update in this report.

Another long-standing principle of the Foundation is encouraging grantees to utilise IPF funding to leverage other support. This year’s report highlights several examples of this, but one that particularly stands out is the grant that was made to Ballaarat Mechanics Institute (BMI) in 2006, which was paid this year after BMI’s dedicated supporters secured substantial State Government support to restore this fine, historic building and re-establish its role as a resource for the community.

The Foundation has reviewed its approach to funding in this sector with a view to larger, more strategic grants in the future. We look forward to announcing some exciting new opportunities in the next year.

Number of grants paid:

Value of grants paid:

$2,270,338

Percentage of total grants paid:

17.36%

Environment & Conservation

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

Number of grants paid:

Value of grants paid:

$2,270,338

Percentage of total grants paid:

17.36%

Environment & Conservation

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute, VIC

Royal Zoological Society of South Australia Inc., SA

$300,000 Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute Restoration Program

$100,000 As part of a commitment of $200,000 over two years Recovery of the critically endangered Victorian Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby www.adelaidezoo.com.au

Rising to the challenge

Update Wallabies bounce back

A $300,000 ‘challenge’ grant from The Ian Potter Foundation proved persuasive in helping to secure Victorian Government involvement in the Stage 2 restoration of The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute (BMI). The Institute celebrated its 150th Anniversary in 2009 and is Ballarat’s oldest cultural and adult educational institution. While the years have been hard on the bricks and mortar of the Institute, it remains widely recognised as the biggest and best living example of the 4000 or so such community-founded institutions that have existed at one time or another around the English-speaking world.

In 2007, the Foundation approved a request to assist the Victorian Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby Recovery Team in its fight to save that animal from extinction in the wild in south eastern Australia. With a combination of fascinating science, habitat regeneration and strong cross-border government and institutional collaboration, the Recovery Team produced a compelling argument for support. Two years later and over ten years since the removal of the last Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby from the Grampians National Park, this elusive marsupial nicknamed ‘the shadow’ has made an impressive comeback.

Work has recently begun on Stage 2 of a restoration program devised by BMI in the early part of this century to repair the wear and tear of the prior century. Primary focus of the works will be refurbishment and reconfiguration of the Old Mining Exchange (present library) and the Batten, Pound and former Committee Room spaces to create the Heritage & Reading Centre. Once completed, the restoration will allow public access to some areas of the building for the first time. The restoration will also ensure better access, conservation and protection of BMI’s heritage-listed collections.

In November 2008, IPF Program Manager Caitriona Fay, was on hand to assist in the release of two of the ten wallabies released back into the Grampians National Park. While their safe release provided much reason to celebrate, everyone agreed the day marked not the end but merely the beginning of an exciting period in the recovery of the wallaby. Equipped with radio transmitters, the fledgling population will be tagged and monitored closely. The next batch of wallabies for release is currently being ‘hardened’ at a facility in Dunkeld. The hardening process sees the wallabies fending for themselves for the first time, learning what to eat, how to navigate new environments and facing the ordeal of being potential prey for the first time. It is hoped that this new group of wallabies will be released in spring 2009.

The grand opening of the newly restored areas of the Institute will conclude nearly twelve months of sesquicentennial celebrations. The restoration of the building is a significant achievement for the countless number of volunteers and members involved with this project. Run almost entirely by volunteers, many thought the Institute would slowly fade away. The success of BMI in raising the necessary funds to protect and restore this institute is a reminder of the power of volunteers and ‘can-do’ nature of our regional communities. The project also shows the benefits of leveraging and partnership in getting the job done.

An additional grant of $100,000 from the Foundation in 2008 is helping the Recovery Team as it continues to build the captive population utilising a world first in cross-fostering which sees the Brush-tailed Rock-wallabies transferred into the pouch of other wallaby species. The cross-fostering allows the Brush-tailed Rock-wallabies to be reared until independence by the foster mother and frees the endangered mother to produce another young. It is hoped that this amazing science will help to secure a bright future for this unique animal.

Environment & Conservation Grants Paid 2008–09 Australian Catholic University Restoration of Central Hall Kimberly Foundation Kimberly Region Human and Environmental History Program

$550,000

The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute Restoration Program

$300,000

The Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne Australian Garden Project Right, from top to bottom Rediscovering history

$70,338

Royal Zoological Society of South Australia Inc. Recovery of the critically endangered Victorian Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby

New life awaits the old theatre

$1,250,000 $100,000

$2,270,338

The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute – a fine example

Total Environment & Conservation

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute, VIC

Royal Zoological Society of South Australia Inc., SA

$300,000 Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute Restoration Program

$100,000 As part of a commitment of $200,000 over two years Recovery of the critically endangered Victorian Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby www.adelaidezoo.com.au

Rising to the challenge

Update Wallabies bounce back

Environment & Conservation Grants Paid 2008–09 Australian Catholic University Restoration of Central Hall Kimberly Foundation Kimberly Region Human and Environmental History Program

$550,000

The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute Restoration Program

$300,000

The Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne Australian Garden Project Right, from top to bottom Rediscovering history

$70,338

Royal Zoological Society of South Australia Inc. Recovery of the critically endangered Victorian Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby

New life awaits the old theatre

$1,250,000 $100,000

$2,270,338

The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute – a fine example

Total Environment & Conservation

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

Investment in science has two main elements: supporting the scientists themselves and providing the infrastructure and equipment they need to do their job. IPFâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s funding spanned both these areas this year, providing funding for facilities at the new Sydney Institute of Marine Science (SIMS) and via our two ongoing science fellowship programs.

The Foundation is proud to continue its record of supporting vital scientific research, recognising its importance in informing how we live, legislate, sustain and protect the world we live in.

The Ian Potter Fellowship for Biodiversity Research at Museum Victoria received its second payment of $50,000 to allow early career researcher Adnan Moussalli (pictured top far right) to continue his research into the taxonomy and biogeography of cuttlefish. Adnan expects to present his initial findings to an international conference in November 2009. At Lizard Island Research Station, The Ian Potter Doctoral Fellowship Program continues into its second year with Fellow Dr Andrew Hoey furthering his research into the role of the Bluespine Unicornfish in the survival of the Great Barrier Reef and Alicia Crawley (pictured right, diving), The Ian Potter Doctoral Fellow 2009, working on ocean acidity research.

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008â&#x20AC;&#x201C;09

Number of grants paid:

Value of grants paid:

$370,000

Percentage of total grants paid:

2.83%

Science

The Foundation is proud to continue its record of supporting vital scientific research, recognising its importance in informing how we live, legislate, sustain and protect the world we live in.

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008â&#x20AC;&#x201C;09

Number of grants paid:

Value of grants paid:

$370,000

Percentage of total grants paid:

2.83%

Science

Sydney Institute of Marine Science, NSW $300,000 As part of a commitment of $600,000 over two years Research Aquarium Facility www.shims.org.au

From vision to visionary A little over two years ago Professor Frank Talbot, Chairman of the newly established Sydney Institute of Marine Science (SIMS) approached The Ian Potter Foundation with a vision: an unprecedented partnership in which four of New South Wales’ top universities would come together to pool resources to protect the unique Sydney and South East Australia marine environments. But to make this a reality, SIMS required more than a big idea.

While an exciting proposition for support, the Board of The Ian Potter Foundation was acutely aware that philanthropic support alone would not and could not provide SIMS with all the resources required to build the site into a world class research facility. With this in mind and following site visits from Foundation staff and Governors, the Foundation approved a challenge grant for SIMS in 2007 and agreed to match any NSW Government contribution up to the value of $600,000.

Aware of the Foundation’s commitment to the marine environment via The Ian Potter Centre for Tropical Marine Research, Professor Talbot considered the Foundation a strong potential partner. He argued that while Australia led the world in tropical research knowledge, very little was done to increase our nation’s capacity to protect our temperate water environments.

In January 2009, nearly two years after Professor Frank Talbot first discussed his vision for SIMS, the NSW Government agreed to match the Foundation’s grant of $600,000. In May 2009, noting the support SIMS had received from four leading universities, the NSW Government and The Ian Potter Foundation, the Federal Government provided the Institute with $19.5 million in funding to further enhance the facility and secure its future.

With the goodwill and financial commitment of Macquarie University, University of New South Wales, University of Sydney and University of Technology Sydney, it was easy to become excited by the vision presented by SIMS. The Federal Government provided four renovated historic buildings in the picturesque Chowder Bay on Sydney’s North Shore for SIMS to use as the bare bones of the research facility. Then it was up to SIMS to find the funding needed to fit it out and equip it for world class research.

While it took over two years to come to fruition, the SIMS story serves as a timely reminder as to what can be achieved when government, community and philanthropy come together in partnership. The period ahead for SIMS is exciting and this excitement is shared by all the partners involved.

Science Grants Paid 2008–09 Lizard Island Reef Research Foundation Post Doctoral Fellowships

$20,000

Museum Victoria The Ian Potter Fellowship for Biodiversity Research at Museum Victoria

$50,000

Sydney Institute of Marine Science Research Aquarium Facility

Clockwise from top Cuttlefish from Chowder Bay Pic credit: Erik Schlogl

$300,000

Eastern blue devil Pic credit: Erik Schlogl SIMS buildings looking across Chowder Bay

$370,000

Grey Nurse Shark Pic credit: Erik Schlogl Post-doctoral researcher working on oyster diseases at SIMS

Total Science

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

Sydney Institute of Marine Science, NSW $300,000 As part of a commitment of $600,000 over two years Research Aquarium Facility www.shims.org.au

Science Grants Paid 2008–09 Lizard Island Reef Research Foundation Post Doctoral Fellowships

$20,000

Museum Victoria The Ian Potter Fellowship for Biodiversity Research at Museum Victoria

$50,000

Sydney Institute of Marine Science Research Aquarium Facility

Clockwise from top Cuttlefish from Chowder Bay Pic credit: Erik Schlogl

$300,000

Eastern blue devil Pic credit: Erik Schlogl SIMS buildings looking across Chowder Bay

$370,000

Grey Nurse Shark Pic credit: Erik Schlogl Post-doctoral researcher working on oyster diseases at SIMS

Total Science

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

Supporting and promoting Australia’s place as a leader in world-class medical research has been a fundamental part of IPF’s funding for many years. Over the years, millions of dollars have been dedicated to helping to ensure that major institutions such as Florey Neuroscience Institutes and the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research had the infrastructure required to develop and maintain their innovative, international-standard work. This year the tradition continues through a grant to St Vincent’s Institute and the opportunity the Institute has, thanks to two extraordinarily talented young researchers, to make a major contribution to the knowledge, understanding and treatment of blood and bone cancers. Number of new grants approved: 4 Value of new grants approved:

800,000

Number of grants paid:

Value of grants paid:

$4,750,000

Percentage of total grants paid:

36.32%

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

Medical Research

800,000

Number of grants paid:

Value of grants paid:

$4,750,000

Percentage of total grants paid:

36.32%

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

Medical Research

St Vincent’s Institute of Medical Research (SVI), VIC

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, VIC

$500,000 The Blood and Bone Cancer Centre

$100,000 Establishment of the RMIT Flow Cytometry Research Facility

www.svi.org.au

Medical Research Grants Paid 2008–09

www.rmit.edu.au/medicalsciences/flowcytometry

Equipped for success

NEW SCOPE FOR RESEARCH

Drs Louise Purton and Carl Walkley returned to Australia from Harvard in 2008 to lead SVI’s new Stem Cell Regulation Unit. The Stem Cell Regulation Unit carries out research focused on two disease types: myeloproliferative syndromes (MPS) – a diverse group of blood disorders, which can develop into diseases such as leukaemia; and osteosarcoma – the most common primary malignant tumour of bone, which most commonly affects adolescents.

Support from the Foundation enabled the establishment of the RMIT Flow Cytometry Research Facility with the purchase of two state-of-the-art flow cytometers; including a high throughput, three laser instrument capable of simultaneously measuring cellular expression of up to 10 different biochemical markers per cell, at thousands of cells per second. This collaborative core facility has assisted the expansion of biomedical research at RMIT, and the successful establishment of the Health Innovations Research Institute on the Bundoora campus.

The work of Drs Purton and Walkley has overturned the accepted theory that the cause of all blood diseases lies within the blood cells. In two seminal papers in 2007, the researchers showed that defects in the bone marrow environment, where the blood cells reside as they mature, have the ability to make blood cells become pre-cancerous, and capable of progressing to diseases such as leukaemia. Unveiling the origins of these diseases gives the researchers a greater chance of devising ways to prevent and/or treat them. Drs Purton and Walkley’s current research is based on their novel observations that the bone marrow microenvironment plays an active role in inducing and sustaining haematopoietic disease. Part of the researchers’ great success is based on their ability to establish small animal models that accurately mimic human blood and bone disease. These models are invaluable in helping them to elucidate the causes of blood and bone cancer. This grant will assist with the purchase of a suite of equipment that will form the hub of the Institute’s new Blood and Bone Cancer Centre. The Centre will allow the researchers to analyse the development of blood and bone cancers and the effectiveness of potential disease treatments, allowing Drs Purton and Walkley to continue their groundbreaking research.

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

Opened in June 2009, the core facility has already been pivotal in forging and enhancing important biomedical research projects and has fostered research collaborations between different scientific disciplines. Two of these collaborations include researchers from the Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative Research Centre using flow cytometry to quantitatively assess the effects of sunscreen nanoparticles on immune function and researchers from the Health Innovations Research Institute assessing the ability of novel anti-cancer drugs to kill tumour cells while sparing healthy cells.

Austin Hospital Medical Research Foundation Establishing a Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LCMSMS) Core Facility at Austin Health Research Facility

$100,000

Children’s Medical Research Institute A superior Mass Spectrometry System for accelerated phosphoproteomics research

$100,000

Howard Florey Institute of Experimental Physiology and Medicine Formation of a new Australian Neuroscience Institute Additional funding for formation of the new Florey Neuroscience Institute

$2,000,000 $1,250,000

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology: Science, Engineering and Technology Establishment of a new RMIT Flow Cytometry Clinical Research Facility

$100,000

St Vincent’s Institute of Medical Research Towards The Bone and Blood Cancer Centre

$500,000

University of Melbourne: Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences Indigenous Eye Health Program

$200,000

Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research New Cancer Research facilities within the WEHI redevelopment

$500,000

$4,750,000 Total Medical Research

The availability of this state-of-the-art medical research facility has enhanced the scope of research at RMIT, and is a component of recently announced successful project grants from the National Health and Medical Research Council.

Below left Dr Carl Walkley and Dr Louise Purton lead the new Stem Cell Regulation Unit Below Dr Linden performs analysis of platelets in whole blood for up to eight markers of thrombotic disease simultaneously using a new three laser flow cytometer

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

St Vincent’s Institute of Medical Research (SVI), VIC

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, VIC

$500,000 The Blood and Bone Cancer Centre

$100,000 Establishment of the RMIT Flow Cytometry Research Facility

www.svi.org.au

Medical Research Grants Paid 2008–09

www.rmit.edu.au/medicalsciences/flowcytometry

Equipped for success

NEW SCOPE FOR RESEARCH

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

Austin Hospital Medical Research Foundation Establishing a Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LCMSMS) Core Facility at Austin Health Research Facility

$100,000

Children’s Medical Research Institute A superior Mass Spectrometry System for accelerated phosphoproteomics research

$100,000

Howard Florey Institute of Experimental Physiology and Medicine Formation of a new Australian Neuroscience Institute Additional funding for formation of the new Florey Neuroscience Institute

$2,000,000 $1,250,000

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology: Science, Engineering and Technology Establishment of a new RMIT Flow Cytometry Clinical Research Facility

$100,000

St Vincent’s Institute of Medical Research Towards The Bone and Blood Cancer Centre

$500,000

University of Melbourne: Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences Indigenous Eye Health Program

$200,000

Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research New Cancer Research facilities within the WEHI redevelopment

$500,000

$4,750,000 Total Medical Research

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

Recognition of the importance of the Arts to the development of Australia’s cultural landscape and heritage has long been a feature of the Foundation’s funding. More recently, we have come to recognise the important role that the Arts can play as a tool for bringing communities together – bridging cultural, social, generational or socio-economic differences, and contributing to the development of healthy, productive communities. This recognition is reflected in many of the Arts grants awarded by the Foundation this year. The grants made this year also illustrate our belief in the value of supporting initiatives which link the arts and education, given their capacity to increase knowledge and understanding of the Arts across all sectors of the community.

These initiatives can range from those involving training young people in arts-related business skills, to mentorships for emerging or mid-career artists. This is a vibrant, dynamic and exciting sector and one which we believe the whole community should be able to access, understand and enjoy. Number of new grants approved: 49 Value of new grants approved:

$2,153,107

Number of grants paid:

45*

Value of grants paid:

$2,046,345*

Percentage of total grants paid:

15.65%

*Includes The Ian Potter Cultural Trust

Arts

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

$2,153,107

Number of grants paid:

45*

Value of grants paid:

$2,046,345*

Percentage of total grants paid:

15.65%

*Includes The Ian Potter Cultural Trust

Arts

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

Country Arts (WA), WA

Big hART, TAS

North Queensland Ballet and Dance Company, QLD

Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum, VIC

$10,000 Out There – Regional Youth Arts Development Program

$34,400 Nyuntu Ngali – Creative Development Workshops

$10,000 Pathways to Dance Educational Resources

www.bighart.org

www.dancenorth.com.au

$28,105 Castlemaine Art Gallery Community Education Program

www.countryartswa.asn.au

Art to empower young West Australians The Out There program is designed to increase opportunities for young people in regional Western Australia to engage in arts projects. It is an initiative which has delivered solid results in previous host communities – developing participants’ skills, increasing their confidence, strengthening community relationships, and establishing structures that provide ongoing support for young people and the arts. Mullewa is an economically disadvantaged community of 1,200 people situated 464km north of Perth. The community suffers from high truancy rates and there are limited activities for young people. The Out There program is being introduced to the community in 2009. Twelve young people from the area will be invited to participate in a series of workshops which focus on developing performance, storytelling, and intergenerational sharing and knowledge exchange skills. They will work collaboratively in creative and self-determined ways, gaining experiences which would not otherwise be available to them. The workshops will culminate in the creation and performance of an original work at the Mid-West Arts Festival. The Foundation’s funding will be used to meet project management costs, including the appointment of a locally-based project co-ordinator, and to meet professional artists’ fees.

Right Group of Ernabella boys in car-dump searching for alloy mag rims for instrument-building Big hART workshops Below Country Arts excursion to Dog Hole to develop young people’s stories

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

www.castlemainegallery.com

Creative Development in the Central Desert

Paving the way to quality dance education

Big hART’s Nyuntu Ngali – Creative Development Workshops project is an arts skills-building program with the Pitjantjatjara community in Central Australia that ties in to the development of a new theatre piece called Nyuntu Ngali, or You, we two.

Each year, North Queensland Ballet and Dance Company, also known as DanceNorth, offers free contemporary dance workshops and performances to more than 500 high school students in regional Queensland through their Pathways to Dance program. The program is well-received but a clear opportunity existed to strengthen its impact through the provision of education resources for students and teachers, to complement what is seen and learnt in workshops and performances.

You, we two is set in 22nd Century Central Australia in a post-climate change, futuristic environment. It tells a moving story of survival in both English and Pitjantjatjara; interspersed with sand storytelling, choreography, video art, shadow play, weaving and a highly atmospheric musical score. The project comprises workshops in music, film, choreography, weaving, naïve image-making and instrument construction, and will build on the skills and experience of artists and musicians who participated in the successful Ngapartji Ngapartji performance and community development initiative conceived in 2004. The Ngapartji Ngapartji initiative has been running in Arrernte country in Alice Springs since early 2005 and has many layers, involving language learning, teaching and maintenance, community development, crime prevention, cross-cultural collaboration, creation of new literacy training models, as well as film, art and theatremaking. Nyuntu Ngali is a legacy project for those who participated in the earlier initiative, including young people and senior cultural advisers, and will also involve new participants from the community. You, we two is a co-production of Big hART and Windmill Performing Arts, to be performed at the Adelaide Festival Centre in September 2009.

This funding will enable DanceNorth to employ a parttime Education Officer to prepare and produce a set of education resources for the Pathways to Dance program. The resources will lead teachers and students through the workshop and live performance material to improve understanding, resulting in better quality, more enduring outcomes for the students.

Collections-based community education For many years, Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum (CAGAHM) has hosted school groups, but a gradual decline in visitation indicated a need to reinvigorate and improve the education program. As part of the process, CAGAHM considered how they might increase and widen their visitorship and engage more effectively with the wider community. In 2008, the Foundation funded an initial phase of research and development to enable the scope of the proposed suite of education and public programs to be defined, and to establish a demand for them. The pilot programs were met with great enthusiasm by local teachers, community educators and practising artists, and CAGAHM has now developed a far-reaching program of collections-based educational and community activities which will be delivered over the next twelve months to local schools and community groups by a dedicated Education Officer. It has been so successful that CAGAHM already has plans for further growth and development of its education and outreach programs in 2010 and 2011.

Right Year 10 creative writing students from Castlemaine Secondary College working in the gallery Below Pathways to Dance Workshop at St Margaret Mary’s College, Townsville

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

Country Arts (WA), WA

Big hART, TAS

North Queensland Ballet and Dance Company, QLD

Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum, VIC

$10,000 Out There – Regional Youth Arts Development Program

$34,400 Nyuntu Ngali – Creative Development Workshops

$10,000 Pathways to Dance Educational Resources

www.bighart.org

www.dancenorth.com.au

$28,105 Castlemaine Art Gallery Community Education Program

www.countryartswa.asn.au

Right Group of Ernabella boys in car-dump searching for alloy mag rims for instrument-building Big hART workshops Below Country Arts excursion to Dog Hole to develop young people’s stories

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

www.castlemainegallery.com

Creative Development in the Central Desert

Paving the way to quality dance education

Right Year 10 creative writing students from Castlemaine Secondary College working in the gallery Below Pathways to Dance Workshop at St Margaret Mary’s College, Townsville

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

InCite Youth Arts, NT

Somebody’s Daughter Theatre Inc., VIC

$10,000

$50,000 Every Child Every Chance – the creation of two multi-media training packages.

2009 Alice Springs Youth Aerosol Art Mentoring Project www.inciteya.org.au

www.somebodysdaughtertheatre.com

Aerosol Artistry

High time for HighWater

The vandalism of graffiti brings significant costs to society, both financially and in terms of increased fear of crime, annoyance and a lowering of the quality of life in our communities. Unwanted graffiti has been a significant issue in Alice Springs, so InCite Youth Arts developed a program that aims to provide a positive outlet for the creative potential of local young people. Having been successfully piloted over two years, the program offers young people the opportunity to create aerosol art works in pre-agreed public spaces, guided by mentors. It is hoped that the project will change wider community perceptions of the value of young people, and of this form of artistic expression.

Since 2001, Somebody’s Daughter Theatre has worked in collaboration with Upper Hume Community Health Service and the Department of Early Childhood and Development on a full-time creative arts-based education program for Albury/Wodonga teenagers called ‘HighWater Theatre’. HighWater Theatre is a unique, award-winning program where professional artists and post-release women (who are trainee artists) work with some of the most disengaged, high risk young people in the community to prevent drug use and improve teenage emotional and physical wellbeing. They also provide education and training for those who work with individuals experiencing drug, alcohol and emotional health issues.

A grant of $10,000 was awarded to enable Incite Youth Arts to provide emerging artists in Alice Springs with dedicated, legal spaces to create collaborative aerosol artworks. The young people will be mentored by an established aerosol artist, enabling them to learn new skills and techniques to advance their practice, and will be taught relevant health and safety principles to ensure that they are able to practise responsibly. Some participants will also be given the opportunity to train as mentors, so they may share what they have learnt with their peer group, establishing a local skills base and providing a long-term future for the initiative.

All of the 12–17 year-old participants are outside mainstream education with histories of extreme abuse and homelessness, and are considered difficult and at risk. The program’s success lies in its engagement of young people through intensive, long-term arts-led education and a supportive environment. The project has brought about positive change for participants, those who work with them and the general community. The outcomes include transforming opinions and enlightening people about disengaged youth and the issues they face, and ensuring that the young people realise they are not alone in their experiences.

Alice Springs Youth Aerosol Art Mentoring Project is complemented by others being jointly implemented by The Northern Territory Police and Alice Springs Town Council to promote the reduction of graffiti in Alice Springs.

Top Work in progress Above Mural complete Left A broken arm did not stop young local artist Billy Packham, spending his 18th birthday perfecting the two hand can technique!

Recognising the value of what had been learnt from the HighWater program, and in order to share their learnings with a wider audience, Somebody’s Daughter Theatre has devised two training packages as resources for teachers and workers in the field, students and young people themselves. Focusing on Homelessness and Education, each package includes a short film, written resource materials and classroom activities, supplemented by performances and workshops by Somebody’s Daughter Theatre and HighWater Theatre.

Top Performance of Crazy Jane Above right Performers Felicia and Lydia Right DVD cover

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

InCite Youth Arts, NT

Somebody’s Daughter Theatre Inc., VIC

$10,000

$50,000 Every Child Every Chance – the creation of two multi-media training packages.

2009 Alice Springs Youth Aerosol Art Mentoring Project www.inciteya.org.au

www.somebodysdaughtertheatre.com

Aerosol Artistry

High time for HighWater

Top Work in progress Above Mural complete Left A broken arm did not stop young local artist Billy Packham, spending his 18th birthday perfecting the two hand can technique!

Top Performance of Crazy Jane Above right Performers Felicia and Lydia Right DVD cover

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

The Australian Ballet School, VIC

La Mama Inc., VIC

Object – Australian Centre for Craft and Design, NSW

$164,500 as part of a commitment of $392,262 over four years,

$150,000 Towards purchase of La Mama Theatre

$20,000 Cultivate: Outreach Education Program

Resources for teaching at the Australian Ballet School

www.lamama.com.au

www.object.com.au

Raising the barre for ballet teachers

Melbourne theatre icon preserved

The Australian Ballet School (ABS) is the national centre for excellence in classical dance training in Australia. The pool of qualified teachers who understand the demanding rigours of elite training is very small. In 2007, this dilemma led to the establishment of an accredited course in Elite Ballet to help create a larger pool of appropriately-trained ballet teachers for the future, principally for The Australian Ballet School.

La Mama Theatre is an iconic Australian institution established by Betty Burstall in 1967 as a place where Australian actors, writers and directors could develop and create theatre. Betty had been inspired to establish La Mama after visiting the original La Mama Theatre and experiencing New York’s performing arts scene.

Understanding the Art and Science of Design

www.australianballetschool.com.au

The Vocational Graduate Certificate Course in Elite Ballet Instruction was initially offered on a part-time basis, and funding from the Foundation will enable it to be formally established as a full-time course at the school.

For the past 42 years this theatre has nurtured emerging artists, including many high profile Australians such as Cate Blanchett, David Williamson and Graeme Blundell. An opportunity to purchase the 125-year-old building that La Mama had been renting for 41 years arose in October 2007 due to the death of the owner Rose Del Monaco.

The ABS also offers dancers and trainers from high profile Australian and international companies and ballet schools the chance to participate in the course. The course opens up world-wide employment prospects to professional dancers providing them with career opportunities extending beyond their performance years. Current participants include former Principal Artists of the Australian Ballet, the English National Ballet, and Australian National Ballet School graduates.

Faced with the challenge of raising $1.7 million to purchase this National Trust and Heritage listed building, Liz Jones, the Artistic Director of La Mama for the past 33 years, implemented a formal fundraising strategy.

To ensure the stability and growth of The ABS’s training program, additional accredited dance programs are being created such as the Vocational Graduate Certificate for contemporary dance teachers and character dance teachers in 2009.

The final balance of $1.7m was reached with assistance from many foundations and trusts including The Ian Potter Foundation, generous individuals and a fundraiser at the Athenaeum Theatre. The Victorian State Government, the City of Melbourne and the Federal Government also made contributions towards the building’s purchase.

As part of a broader community access program, a skills development project is to be launched in 2009, providing training activities and workshops for studio dance teachers throughout Australia.

The first concern was in raising the deposit of $170,000 in five days. After media reports of the theatre’s plight, this was achieved with donations from individuals within the theatre and local Carlton communities.

The program addresses a significant need in Australia and funding will continue until December 2012 at which point it is expected to become self-sustaining.

Above Lisa Pavane, teaching at the highest level Right The iconic La Mama Theatre, Carlton. Photo credit: Zach Benn-Lawler, from La Mama Collection Far right Children from Bourke St Public School make their own echidnas at Menagerie: Contemporary Indigenous Sculpture

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

Building on the successful pilot of Cultivate in 2007, this funding will enable Object to continue, and deepen, its engagement with the local community in Surry Hills, Sydney. There is little accessible material about Design available to primary school students and communities, and this project will enhance Object’s capacity to demystify design and raise awareness of its role and impact across all areas of learning. The outreach program offers local primary school children 8–12 years old, and their teachers, the opportunity to engage with creativity and design through exhibitions and workshops at Object, and via walking tours through the local area. Development of generic design education kits to cover basic concepts such as ‘What is design?’, ‘What is innovation?’ and ‘How can design solve problems?’ are an integral part of the project and will be made available online for venue partners and teachers. Education kits will also be developed around Object exhibitions as well as Cultivate templates that can be used in conjunction with Object’s national Touring Exhibition Program, and throughout the year.

The Australian Ballet School, VIC

La Mama Inc., VIC

Object – Australian Centre for Craft and Design, NSW

$164,500 as part of a commitment of $392,262 over four years,

$150,000 Towards purchase of La Mama Theatre

$20,000 Cultivate: Outreach Education Program

Resources for teaching at the Australian Ballet School

www.lamama.com.au

www.object.com.au

Raising the barre for ballet teachers

Melbourne theatre icon preserved

Understanding the Art and Science of Design

www.australianballetschool.com.au

As part of a broader community access program, a skills development project is to be launched in 2009, providing training activities and workshops for studio dance teachers throughout Australia.

The program addresses a significant need in Australia and funding will continue until December 2012 at which point it is expected to become self-sustaining.

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

Arts Grants Paid 2008–09

Abbotsford Convent Foundation Arts Fund Towards the roofing of the Mercator building Arena Theatre Company The House of Dreaming The Australian Ballet School Increasing the resources for teaching in the Australian Ballet School

$100,000

Object – Australian Centre for Craft and Design Cultivate: Object’s Outreach Education Program

$20,000

$10,000

Opera Queensland ‘Moving Opera’ national expansion

$50,000

$164,500

Playbox Theatre Company Education Ticket Subsidy Program

$20,000

Australian Chamber Orchestra Pty Ltd Victorian Regional Education Program

$20,000

Playwriting Australia National Script Workshop

$25,000

Australian Music Centre Australian Music Centre – Education Project

$20,000

The Shopfront Theatre for Young People Co-op Ltd Superperfect

$14,000

Awesome Arts Australia Ltd 2009 Creative Challenge – The Open Book Project

$15,720

Big hART Inc. Nyuntu Ngali – Creative Development Workshops

$34,400

South East Regional Touring Opera Company Ltd Challenge Grant Regional Touring Program

Brain Injury Australia Inc. Head Case Exhibition

$6,000

St Mary’s House of Welcome The Welcome Wall

$10,000 $150,000 $8,540

Sydney Symphony Orchestra Holdings Pty Limited Sydney Sinfonia & Playerlink

$20,000

$10,000 $28,105

Sydney Youth Orchestra Association Sydney Youth Orchestra’s Regional Touring Program

$25,000

Chamber Music Australia Inc. Embracing Australia with Music

$30,000

Synergy Percussion Ltd Kodo and TaikOz in Concert 2009

$10,000

Chunky Move The Next Move

$10,000

Tamworth Regional Conservatorium of Music Inc. Orchestras Festival

$7,500

Company B Ltd Theatre Enrichment Program

$20,000

Tantrum Theatre Co-operative Ltd Tantrum Theatre’s Emerging Writers Program

$7,000

Country Arts (WA) Inc. Out There – Regional Youth Arts Development Program

$10,000

Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra TSO Australian Youth Orchestra Orchestral Career Development Project

$25,000

Cultural Infusion Ltd ‘Reprezent’ Where you’re from and Where you’re at!

$15,000

Tasmanian Theatre Company Ltd Second Echo Ensemble

$10,000

InCite Youth Arts 2009 Alice Springs Youth Aerosol Art Mentoring Project

$10,000

The University of Melbourne, University Library Acquisition, management and preservation of the Barry Tuckwell Archive

$70,000

West Australian Ballet Company Genesis

$10,000

Western Edge Youth Arts Inc. Classic Innovations – making new stories from old

$17,000

Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum Community Education and Public Programs Development – Initial Phase Community Education Program 2009

La Mama Inc. Towards the purchase of La Mama Theatre, Faraday St, Carlton La Trobe University: La Trobe University Museum of Art SUSTAINED: Artists and the environment

$150,000 $30,000

Melbourne Theatre Company Fit-out of Lawler Studio, MTC Theatre

$150,000

Monash University – Museum of Art Monash University Museum of Art relocation to Caulfield

$200,000

Music Broadcasting Society of VIC (3MBS-FM) 3MBS FM Radio and Music Education Program

$25,000

National Gallery of Victoria Russell Drysdale Photographic Collection Storage Project

$18,600

North Queensland Ballet and Dance Company Pathways to Dance Educational Resources

$10,000

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

Totals $

1,586,365

The Ian Potter Cultural Trust Payments from The Ian Potter Foundation for 2008/2009

$459,980

Total Cultural Trust $

459,980

$2,046,345 Total Arts

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

Arts Grants Paid 2008–09

$100,000

Object – Australian Centre for Craft and Design Cultivate: Object’s Outreach Education Program

$20,000

$10,000

Opera Queensland ‘Moving Opera’ national expansion

$50,000

$164,500

Playbox Theatre Company Education Ticket Subsidy Program

$20,000

Australian Chamber Orchestra Pty Ltd Victorian Regional Education Program

$20,000

Playwriting Australia National Script Workshop

$25,000

Australian Music Centre Australian Music Centre – Education Project

$20,000

The Shopfront Theatre for Young People Co-op Ltd Superperfect

$14,000

Awesome Arts Australia Ltd 2009 Creative Challenge – The Open Book Project

$15,720

Big hART Inc. Nyuntu Ngali – Creative Development Workshops

$34,400

South East Regional Touring Opera Company Ltd Challenge Grant Regional Touring Program

Brain Injury Australia Inc. Head Case Exhibition

$6,000

St Mary’s House of Welcome The Welcome Wall

$10,000 $150,000 $8,540

Sydney Symphony Orchestra Holdings Pty Limited Sydney Sinfonia & Playerlink

$20,000

$10,000 $28,105

Sydney Youth Orchestra Association Sydney Youth Orchestra’s Regional Touring Program

$25,000

Chamber Music Australia Inc. Embracing Australia with Music

$30,000

Synergy Percussion Ltd Kodo and TaikOz in Concert 2009

$10,000

Chunky Move The Next Move

$10,000

Tamworth Regional Conservatorium of Music Inc. Orchestras Festival

$7,500

Company B Ltd Theatre Enrichment Program

$20,000

Tantrum Theatre Co-operative Ltd Tantrum Theatre’s Emerging Writers Program

$7,000

Country Arts (WA) Inc. Out There – Regional Youth Arts Development Program

$10,000

Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra TSO Australian Youth Orchestra Orchestral Career Development Project

$25,000

Cultural Infusion Ltd ‘Reprezent’ Where you’re from and Where you’re at!

$15,000

Tasmanian Theatre Company Ltd Second Echo Ensemble

$10,000

InCite Youth Arts 2009 Alice Springs Youth Aerosol Art Mentoring Project

$10,000

The University of Melbourne, University Library Acquisition, management and preservation of the Barry Tuckwell Archive

$70,000

West Australian Ballet Company Genesis

$10,000

Western Edge Youth Arts Inc. Classic Innovations – making new stories from old

$17,000

Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum Community Education and Public Programs Development – Initial Phase Community Education Program 2009

La Mama Inc. Towards the purchase of La Mama Theatre, Faraday St, Carlton La Trobe University: La Trobe University Museum of Art SUSTAINED: Artists and the environment

$150,000 $30,000

Melbourne Theatre Company Fit-out of Lawler Studio, MTC Theatre

$150,000

Monash University – Museum of Art Monash University Museum of Art relocation to Caulfield

$200,000

Music Broadcasting Society of VIC (3MBS-FM) 3MBS FM Radio and Music Education Program

$25,000

National Gallery of Victoria Russell Drysdale Photographic Collection Storage Project

$18,600

North Queensland Ballet and Dance Company Pathways to Dance Educational Resources

$10,000

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

Totals $

1,586,365

The Ian Potter Cultural Trust Payments from The Ian Potter Foundation for 2008/2009

$459,980

Total Cultural Trust $

459,980

$2,046,345 Total Arts

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

The Travel Grants program gives early career individuals an opportunity to present findings of their research at international conferences. The program area is competitive and we are increasingly seeing a diversity of individuals representing many differing sectors of research. In 2008â&#x20AC;&#x201C;09, 25 individuals were awarded grants, generally of between $2,000 and $3,000, to travel to international destinations as varied as Rome, London and Montreal. Recipients consistently report being reinvigorated, challenged and inspired as a result of their travels. The program helps to take recipients a step closer to fulfilling their potential and assists them to use their knowledge to make important contributions to the Australian community.

Number of grants approved:

Value of grants approved:

$55,234

Number of grants paid:

Value of grants paid:

$56,857

Percentage of total grants paid:

0.43%

Travel

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008â&#x20AC;&#x201C;09

Number of grants approved:

Value of grants approved:

$55,234

Number of grants paid:

Value of grants paid:

$56,857

Percentage of total grants paid:

0.43%

Travel

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008â&#x20AC;&#x201C;09

Dr Barnaby Nelson

Dr Sarah Garnett

Dr Gaele Ducher

ORYGEN Youth Health Research Centre, VIC

The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, NSW

$1500 to attend the SOPSO Congress, Rome, Italy, February 2009

$2500 to attend the 2nd World Congress on Controversies to Consensus in Diabetes, Obesity and Hypertension, Barcelona, Spain, October 2008

School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Deakin University, VIC

The SOPSO congress is a major international psychiatry conference organised by the Italian Society for Psychopathology. Dr Nelson was invited to present his work to date on subjectivity in schizophrenia, a subject that he has been researching at ORYGEN for over 12 months. The research generated strong interest at the conference and resulted in Dr Nelson being invited to take a position as visiting researcher at the University of Rome to share his research and develop collaborative research projects around the subject. In addition to this and the networking and learning opportunities at the event, Dr Nelson reported, “not only was it a useful forum for presenting my own research work, but it also increased my awareness of related research activities in other international research centres.”

This conference was of direct relevance to Dr Garnett’s research into insulin resistance in children and adolescents, which seeks to establish an evidence-based program for the management of insulin resistance in adolescents. Attendance at the conference provided Dr Garnett with an international perspective to ensure that her research remains at the forefront of this area of endocrinology. Dr Garnett found the experience to be highly relevant, informative and reassuring that her work is important and will fill a gap in current knowledge and provide assistance to practitioners who manage diabetes in these young people.

$1500 to attend the 30th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research, Montreal, Canada, September 2008.

This meeting is the largest international conference on bone research and attracts over 5,000 delegates. For Dr Ducher, this trip provided the opportunity to further the development of two key collaborations she is working on with US Research groups on bone health and to disseminate the research findings of two major Deakin exercise-related research projects: the Tennis Study which uses MRI technology to examine bone health during growth and the LOOK (Lifestyle of our Kids) Project which is researching bone health in overweight children. The outcomes of the trip were significant for both Dr Ducher and the University, as the research was extremely well received and opportunities secured to further develop the research collaborations.

Below Dr Barnaby Nelson

Below Dr Ducher making an assessment of bone health using a small scanner (pQCT)

Below right Dr Sarah Garnett

Photographer James Lauritz, Deakin University

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

Dr Barnaby Nelson

Dr Sarah Garnett

Dr Gaele Ducher

ORYGEN Youth Health Research Centre, VIC

The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, NSW

$1500 to attend the SOPSO Congress, Rome, Italy, February 2009

$2500 to attend the 2nd World Congress on Controversies to Consensus in Diabetes, Obesity and Hypertension, Barcelona, Spain, October 2008

School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Deakin University, VIC

$1500 to attend the 30th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research, Montreal, Canada, September 2008.

Below Dr Barnaby Nelson

Below Dr Ducher making an assessment of bone health using a small scanner (pQCT)

Below right Dr Sarah Garnett

Photographer James Lauritz, Deakin University

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

Travel Grants Paid 2008–09

Baker Medical Research Institute Dr Audrey Koitka – To attend the 44th European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) Annual Meeting, Rome, Italy, September 2008

$2,600

Schizophrenia Research Institute Dr Tim Karl – Neuroscience Research Program – To attend the International Conference on Schizophrenia Research, San Diego, USA, March 2009

Children’s Cancer Institute Australia Dr Vanessa Hayes, Cancer Genetics/Genomics – To attend the Advances in Genome Biology and Technology (AGBT) Meeting, Florida, USA, February 2009

$2,500

The University of Melbourne Dr Giuliana Fuscaldo, School of Population Health – To attend the 9th World Congress of Bioethics, Rijeka, Croatia, September 2008

The Children’s Hospital at Westmead Dr Sarah Garnett – To attend the 2nd World Congress on Controversies to Consensus in Diabetes, Obesity and Hypertension, Barcelona, Spain, October 2008

$2,500

Deakin University Dr Gaele Ducher, School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences – To attend the 30th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research, Montreal, Canada, September 2008

$1,500

Green Skills Mr Basil Shur – To attend the 12th International Lakes Conference, Lake Trasimeno, Italy, September, 2008

$1,300

Griffith University Dr Evelin Tiralongo, School of Pharmacy – To attend the 7th Joint Meeting of AFERP, ASP, GA, PSE & SIF-Natural Products with pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, cosmetic and agrochemical interest, Athens, Greece, August 2008; to visit a collaborators laboratory (Prof Ulrike Lindequist, Institute for Pharmaceutical Biology, University of Greifswald); to establish a formal collaboration agreement between Griffith University and University of Greifswald and to give an invited lecture, Greifswald, Germany, August to September 2008 Dr Mark Coster, Eskitis Institute for Cell and Molecular Therapies – To attend the Gordon Research Conference on Heterocyclic Compounds, Rhode Island, USA, June 2009 La Trobe University Dr Clayton Butterly, School of Life Sciences – To attend Soils 2008 conference: Soil, the living skin of planet Earth, Palmerston North, New Zealand, December 2008 Dr Warren Paul, Department of Environmental Management and Ecology – To attend the 20th TIES (The International Environmetrics Society) Conference, Bologna, Italy, July 2009 Menzies School of Health Research Dr Rebecca Towers – To attend the 6th International Congress on Autoimmunity, Porto, Portugal, September 2008 Murdoch Children’s Research Institute Dr Jennifer McGinley – To attend the 17th Annual Meeting of the European Society of Movement Analysis of Adults and Children, Antalya, Turkey, September 2008 Ms Evelyn Muggli – To attend the XXI European Congress of Perinatal Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey, September 2008 Orygen Research Centre Dr Tina-Marie Profitt – To attend the 2009 International Congress on Schizophrenia Research (ICOSR), incorporating the International Congress – Emory University Cognition Satellite Meeting, San Diego, USA, March 2009

$2,800

$3,000

$2,500 $2,000

$2,500

Dr Sally Gras, School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute – To attend the International Genetically Engineering Machine competition and to visit leading laboratories that study synthetic biology, metabolic engineering and protein engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, USA, November 2008

$3,000

Dr Michelle Foster, Melbourne Law School – To attend the International Association of Refugee Law Judges 8th World Conference, Cape Town, South Africa, January 2009

$2,263

The University of Newcastle Dr Ning Gu, School of Architecture and Built Environment – To attend the ICCCBE-XII & INCITE 2008: Joint conference of the 12th International Conference on Computing in Civil and Building Engineering, and 2008 International Conference on Information Technology in Construction, Beijing, China, October 2008 University of New South Wales Dr Tjeerd Willem Boonstra, School of Psychiatry – To attend the BioMag 2008 International Conference on Biomagnetism, Royton Sapporo, Japan, August 2008

$1,500

$1,800 $2,250

The University of Queensland Dr Jennifer Seddon, School of Veterinary Science – To attend a workshop on Molecular Evolution, Ceský Krumlov, Czech Republic, January 2009

$3,500

Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research Dr Justin Boddey – To attend the EMBO Conference on protein translocation and targeting, Ste Maxime, France, October 2008

$2,454

$56,857

$2,500

Total Travel $2,440

$2,200

Dr Christopher Barnaby Nelson – To attend the SOPSO Congress, Rome, Italy, February 2009

$1,500

Dr Kelly Anne Allott – To attend the 2009 International Congress on Schizophrenia Research (ICOSR), incorporating the International Congress-Emory University Cognition Satellite Meeting, San Diego, USA, March 2009

$2,000

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

$2,000

Dr Kathryn Helen Smith, School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering – To attend the International Solvent Extraction Conference (ISEC2008), Tucson, Arizona, USA, September 2008

Dr Jane Ellen Carland, School of Medicine – To attend the Ligand-Gated Ion Channels 18th Neuropharmacology Conference, Washington DC, USA, November 2008 $1,750

$2,500

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

Travel Grants Paid 2008–09

Baker Medical Research Institute Dr Audrey Koitka – To attend the 44th European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) Annual Meeting, Rome, Italy, September 2008

$2,600

Schizophrenia Research Institute Dr Tim Karl – Neuroscience Research Program – To attend the International Conference on Schizophrenia Research, San Diego, USA, March 2009

Children’s Cancer Institute Australia Dr Vanessa Hayes, Cancer Genetics/Genomics – To attend the Advances in Genome Biology and Technology (AGBT) Meeting, Florida, USA, February 2009

$2,500

The University of Melbourne Dr Giuliana Fuscaldo, School of Population Health – To attend the 9th World Congress of Bioethics, Rijeka, Croatia, September 2008

The Children’s Hospital at Westmead Dr Sarah Garnett – To attend the 2nd World Congress on Controversies to Consensus in Diabetes, Obesity and Hypertension, Barcelona, Spain, October 2008

$2,500

$1,500

Green Skills Mr Basil Shur – To attend the 12th International Lakes Conference, Lake Trasimeno, Italy, September, 2008

$1,300

$2,800

$3,000

$2,500 $2,000

$2,500

$3,000

Dr Michelle Foster, Melbourne Law School – To attend the International Association of Refugee Law Judges 8th World Conference, Cape Town, South Africa, January 2009

$2,263

$1,500

$1,800 $2,250

The University of Queensland Dr Jennifer Seddon, School of Veterinary Science – To attend a workshop on Molecular Evolution, Ceský Krumlov, Czech Republic, January 2009

$3,500

Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research Dr Justin Boddey – To attend the EMBO Conference on protein translocation and targeting, Ste Maxime, France, October 2008

$2,454

$56,857

$2,500

Total Travel $2,440

$2,200

Dr Christopher Barnaby Nelson – To attend the SOPSO Congress, Rome, Italy, February 2009

$1,500

$2,000

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

$2,000

Dr Kathryn Helen Smith, School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering – To attend the International Solvent Extraction Conference (ISEC2008), Tucson, Arizona, USA, September 2008

Dr Jane Ellen Carland, School of Medicine – To attend the Ligand-Gated Ion Channels 18th Neuropharmacology Conference, Washington DC, USA, November 2008 $1,750

$2,500

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

Conference

The Conference Grants program is an important aspect of the Foundation’s commitment to excellence, particularly as it relates to exchanging and sharing knowledge. The program allows organisations to bring to this country keynote speakers of international renown. The speakers in turn lend their knowledge and expertise to their peers in Australia by presenting at symposia and conferences. This year two grants we approved for Conference. Number of grants approved:

Value of grants approved:

$14,360

Number of grants paid:

Value of grants paid:

$13,215

Percentage of total grants paid:

0.1%

School of Chemistry & Physics, The University of Adelaide

Melbourne School of Design, The University of Melbourne

$6000

$3360

To bring Professor Sir John Pendry as keynote speaker to the Australian Institute of Physics 18th National Congress University of Adelaide, Adelaide, December 2008

To bring Professor Hilde Heynen as keynote speaker to the symposium ‘Keeping the Past Public: The Conversation of Modern Places’, Melbourne, February 2009

The biennial conference of the Australian Institute of Physics (AIP) brings together many of Australia’s finest physicists for specialised discussions and a rare opportunity to network and update knowledge in this broad field of research. The Foundation assisted AIP to host distinguished physicist, Professor Sir John Pendry of Imperial College London to present a plenary talk about his work on negative refractive index materials and developing new and innovative photonics materials. This is an important field for Australian science. Professor Pendry’s address was very well received and stimulated much discussion amongst the delegates and some future collaborative work may result from the talk and visit.

This event was a major forum for discussion of conservation of twentieth-century cities and landscapes. Attracting academics and conservation practitioners from five countries, it was the culmination of three years of research by The University of Melbourne academics into the history of modern communities and their buildings across the nation. Funding from the Foundation helped the organisers to bring out Professor Hilde Heynen, a renowned architectural historian and theorist from Belgium, whose work documenting public sites in Belgium strongly complemented the work being done by the Australian researchers. Professor Heynen’s address entitled A study of public and collective spaces in Flanders 1958–1978 was very well received and considered central to the event’s overall success.

Right Professor Sir John Pendry at the AIP National Congress Far right Symposium: Keeping the Past Public Credit: Streamer Design & Communication

Conference Grants Paid 2008–09 Howard Florey Institutes Financial support for a Festchrift to honour Professor Frederick Mendelsohn

$5,000

The University of Adelaide Professor Roger Clay, School of Chemistry & Physics – To bring Professor Sir John Pendry as keynote speaker to the Australian Institute of Physics 18th National Congress, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, November 2008

$5,182

The University of Melbourne Dr Hannah Lewi, Melbourne School of Design – To bring Professor Hilde Heynen as keynote speaker to the symposium Keeping the Past Public: The Conversation of Modern Places, Melbourne, February 2009

$3,033

$13,215 Total Conference

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

Conference

Value of grants approved:

$14,360

Number of grants paid:

Value of grants paid:

$13,215

Percentage of total grants paid:

0.1%

School of Chemistry & Physics, The University of Adelaide

Melbourne School of Design, The University of Melbourne

$6000

$3360

To bring Professor Sir John Pendry as keynote speaker to the Australian Institute of Physics 18th National Congress University of Adelaide, Adelaide, December 2008

To bring Professor Hilde Heynen as keynote speaker to the symposium ‘Keeping the Past Public: The Conversation of Modern Places’, Melbourne, February 2009

Right Professor Sir John Pendry at the AIP National Congress Far right Symposium: Keeping the Past Public Credit: Streamer Design & Communication

Conference Grants Paid 2008–09 Howard Florey Institutes Financial support for a Festchrift to honour Professor Frederick Mendelsohn

$5,000

$5,182

$3,033

$13,215 Total Conference

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

The main measure of the IPF’s success as a philanthropic foundation is the impact and effectiveness of our grants. As evaluation is a core element of our approach to funding, we regularly assess past and current grants to ensure that programs are delivering against objectives and use this information to help guide future funding decisions. This year, assisted by the research undertaken by our Intern, Alice Levy, we conducted a comprehensive review of the Foundation’s Evaluation process, and over the next year, the Foundation will introduce improved evaluation procedures which also assist our commitment to knowledge-sharing and dissemination of information and ideas. For this years Report, we asked some of our past grantees to tell the story from their perspective and explain a little about how funding from The Ian Potter Foundation helped them to reach their goals and grow their organisations.

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

Review

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

Review

Community Wellbeing NO INTEREST LOANS www.goodshepvic.org.au

Access to credit – loans that fund the purchase of cars, houses and businesses – is a fundamental part of our economic system. Traditionally, it has been very difficult for people on low incomes to access credit, and as a result they are often unable to purchase essential household goods such as fridges and washing machines because they have not been able to save the purchase price. In 1981, Good Shepherd Youth and Family Service initiated an interestfree loan scheme to address this situation and enable women to purchase the goods they needed to be able to live independently. Throughout the 1980s, the interestfree loan program increased in size, and refined its principles and practices, attracting the attention of other welfare organisations that saw the value of no-interest loans for their clients.

Above NILS borrowers find that access to credit brings rewards on many levels

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

Recognising the potential of this form of microfinance to promote financial inclusion for people on low incomes, The Ian Potter Foundation took an active interest in the concept back in 1992. Initially the Foundation invited eight agencies to apply for grants to establish interest-free loan schemes, and granted them a total of $90,000 for this purpose. By January 2000, the Foundation had made grants totalling $377,000 to 27 organisations, and a review of the program was undertaken.

CASE STUDY Katrina’s fridge broke down and she couldn’t afford to replace it, so she applied for a NILS® loan. The repayment process was tailored to Katrina’s situation and made things easier for the family. The flexibility of NILS® meant that when she was late with one payment because her daughter was in hospital, Katrina could focus on her daughter’s health, not her loan.

The review found the agencies were keen to maintain the program and positive benefits it brought to their communities. It also emphasised the importance of agencies adhering to high standards of practice, such as those that were being developed by Good Shepherd Youth and Family Services’ No Interest Loan (NILS®) program.

Funding was then granted to Good Shepherd Youth and Family Services in 2001 to assist with the consolidation and clarification of the future directions of NILS, followed by a grant in 2002, of $80,000 to allow the employment of a National Coordinator of NILS programs. Meanwhile, the number of programs being initiated across Australia continued to grow, and between 2000 and 2009, IPF made a total of 32 grants valued at $651,000 to NILS programs, bringing the total granted to no interest loan schemes to over $1 million since 1992. With the advent of the National Australia Bank’s commitment to the capitalisation of the National NILS Network in 2006, which enabled NILS programs to expand their offerings to larger low-interest loans, and with grants from state governments, such as the $4.7million over four years from the Victorian State Government to expand and coordinate NILS schemes across that state, the no-interest and low-interest loan sector has gone from strength to strength, enabling hundreds of low-income Australians to make that first important purchase, and become active participants in the financial system. A Growing Concern Last year 5,500 No Interest Loans were written under the NILS® banner, totalling just over $4million. NILS® particularly target the gendered issue of financial exclusion: 72 per cent of NILS® borrowers are women.

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

In Partnership: Good Shepherd Youth and Family Services and The Ian Potter Foundation Good Shepherd Youth and Family Services have enjoyed a long standing, productive working relationship with The Ian Potter Foundation. In particular, the support provided for the No Interest Loan Scheme (NILS®) across Australia through the years has been instrumental in strengthening the program.

CASE STUDY Not having enough money to register her car meant that Rachel and her disabled daughter were effectively housebound. Receiving a NILS® loan and paying for her car registration reduced Rachel’s daily stress as she could take her daughter where she needed to go. Since paying off her loan, Rachel has gained confidence knowing she could gain credit in future.

Since 1992, when a grant was provided to an individual NILS program, this partnership has included funding for the national coordination of NILS; a commitment to researching the impact of NILS on families and individuals; and ongoing financial contributions to individual programs’ capital bases.

Created in 1980, NILS has grown across Australia and is delivered by community-based organisations. NILS small loans of $800–$2,000 (depending on individual program arrangements) have no interest or charges and are available to purchase essential household items. No interest or fees are charged, no collateral required and repossession will never occur. Built on the concept of circular community credit, NILS has a national default rate of 3% and NILS particularly targets the gendered issue of financial exclusion with 72% of borrowers being women. 35% of borrowers are aged 36–45 years; 48% of borrowers are sole parents; and 21% of borrowers identify as indigenous Australians. More recently, funding provided by The Ian Potter Foundation for research and the publishing of the report Small Loans, Big Change, has allowed the NILS story to be told more broadly. This ongoing partnership has been the foundation of the growth and strengthening the NILS network across Australia, with more than 280 programs; partnerships with state governments; and a $15 million capital commitment from the National Australia Bank. As told by Good Shepherd Youth and Family Services

Community Wellbeing NO INTEREST LOANS www.goodshepvic.org.au

Above NILS borrowers find that access to credit brings rewards on many levels

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

Arts MUSICA VIVA www.musicaviva.com.au

Access to quality arts education has been a long-standing priority for the Foundation’s Arts funding so Musica Viva’s innovative, creative approach to music education and its potential to engage and educate young people was of great interest from the outset, receiving the first of five grants for music education projects in 2001. In total, Musica Viva education programs have received five grants from the Foundation valued at $108,000. MUSIC TO THEIR EARS Online learning is really appealing to students. They enjoy it … they relate and learn better as it’s part of their everyday world. Primary School Teacher, South Australia

Top Primary school teachers in regional NSW enjoying a Musica Viva Professional Learning workshop Right Access to tools and information equals better opportunities for Music Teachers and students

Musica Viva’s education program commenced in 1981 with 56 ‘live’ performances presented at schools around NSW. In 2008, Musica Viva presented more than 2,000 music education activities to over 325,000 students and close to 2,000 teachers. Today, Musica Viva’s reach is far greater than these recorded figures because tens of thousands of students, teachers and musicians access our music education programs online. It is through the vision, commitment and financial support provided by The Ian Potter Foundation that this has been possible. In Australia, Musica Viva led the way in the development of quality online education resources, creating the innovative and award-winning website, Baroque On! In 1999, building on this platform, Musica Viva sought help from The Ian Potter Foundation to fund the creation and development of a unique website based on the music of Australian composer, Matthew Hindson.

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

Hands on Hindson was launched in 2003 and was an immediately popular site for secondary students around Australia because the program gave students an opportunity to examine music composition, the process and creative workings, and, the means to create their own compositions. The NSW Department of Education, enthralled by the online program, produced a ‘snapshot’ on their website illustrating how the site was being used by a NSW High School. Musica Viva presented professional learning workshops for secondary music teachers to explore how the Hands on Hindson website could be used in the classroom. In 2003, teachers attending the session and using the website were unanimous in their praise: “This was absolutely wonderful and inspiring.” “It was a great session on what can be a neglected area of the curriculum (technology).”

With additional support from IPF, Musica Viva expanded online offerings to middle-year students through the creation of an interactive website with a range of teaching activities such as listening and writing exercises, an audiovisual library of instruments as well as an innovative online composition tool. All of the activities continue to help students deepen their knowledge and skills in music.

VIVA ZONE Keeping pace with the needs of our online community and tapping into technological changes, the Viva Zone website was successfully developed by Musica Viva in collaboration with RickSure Pty Ltd and with funding from The Ian Potter Foundation in 2003. Thousands of students and teachers access the Viva Zone website each year and, six years on, the Viva Zone continues to deliver on its primary aim – providing an online music education environment for students in their middle years of schooling (Years 5–8). In 2004, Musica Viva developed The Viva Zone Masterclasses to provide professional development for teachers using the site and, with input from educators and musicians, to enhance features of the website. Today, governments around the world recognise the need to stimulate and support the use of information and communications technology (ICT) to improve standards and encourage new ways of teaching and learning. The Australian Federal and State governments have significantly enhanced school access to technology in recent years.

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

As well as increased access, the technology has improved, providing greater teaching and learning possibilities. The most significant development in recent years is the interactivity possible through delayed and real time web-based activity.

MUSIC REVOLUTION Musica Viva, a leader in the provision of quality music education resources, plans to be at the forefront of this next phase in the education revolution. To do so, it will collaborate with government and private enterprises which have ICT capability.

It is Musica Viva, however, that will bring to the collaboration a unique capability in terms of matching sound music pedagogy to the technological advances. As told by Musica Viva

Arts MUSICA VIVA www.musicaviva.com.au

Top Primary school teachers in regional NSW enjoying a Musica Viva Professional Learning workshop Right Access to tools and information equals better opportunities for Music Teachers and students

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

It is Musica Viva, however, that will bring to the collaboration a unique capability in terms of matching sound music pedagogy to the technological advances. As told by Musica Viva

Science provides training for numerous post-graduate students, and contributes to the development of our natural science exhibitions. We have been fortunate to secure funding from the Australian Research Council, The Ian Potter Foundation (refer to Science section of this report) and the European Union to support early career postdoctoral researchers to establish their careers focusing on genetic research into lizards, molluscs and crustaceans.

MUSEUM VICTORIA www.museumvictoria.com.au

In 2002, IPF made a grant of $250,000 to Museum Victoria to establish and equip Australia’s first DNA laboratory. The project was a strong fit against the Foundation’s Science and Education objectives and provided an opportunity to address the ongoing challenge to find high calibre, large scale initiatives in this area suited to philanthropic funding, rather than from government and industry. At the time, the Board stated that they hoped the project would enhance the Museum’s profile as a scientific and educational institution and strengthen its scientific base and capacity to obtain further competitive research grants. These hopes, it seems, have been largely realised.

This grant was fundamental to the ongoing success of Museum Victoria’s DNA research, and in disseminating information to the general public about genetic research.

HELP TO DEMYSTIFY DNA Above Melbourne Museum Winter School Holidays activities showing science researcher demonstrating DNA molecule to a young audience. Courtesy Museum Victoria. Photographer Rodney Start

In 2002, Museum Victoria was granted $250,000 by The Ian Potter Foundation to significantly develop its DNA research program, including the establishment of Australia’s first laboratory dedicated to the extraction and analysis of ancient DNA, the purchase of a MegaBACE DNA Sequencer, the development of mobile DNA Laboratories and the initiation of a Community Research and Education Program to ‘demystify’ DNA technology. This grant was fundamental to the ongoing success of Museum Victoria’s DNA research, and in disseminating information to the general public about genetic research.

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

The DNA Lab has allowed research staff and students based at Museum Victoria to conduct complex genetic analyses, resulting in numerous high impact publications and in securing external funding (such as Australian Research Council grants) to further our research. Museum Victoria’s DNA Lab plays a pivotal role in providing tools to conduct molecular research in evolution, phylogenetics, species identification, conservation and population genetics at Museum Victoria and studying specimens in our Natural Sciences Collection from insects and terrestrial vertebrates to marine fauna. The Lab facilitates collaboration on cutting-edge research projects both nationally and internationally,

Programs for the public involving equipment funded by The Ian Potter Foundation held at the Melbourne Museum during winter school holidays, have engaged audiences with demonstrations of DNA extraction. Hands-on activities for children and exhibits linking DNA analysis to the conservation of native animals such as lizards and frogs have brought to life the relevance of genetic research. Above Melbourne Museum Winter School Holidays activities showing DNA research technique to a young audience. Courtesy Museum Victoria. Photographer Rodney Start

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

Our DNA research program has a broader community benefit. For example, over the past two years we have been conducting genetic research into frog populations in the Kinglake region as part of an Australian Research Council Linkage project.

The analysis and comparison of genetic data from these frog populations obtained before and after the Black Saturday bushfires will provide us with the ability to assess the impact of the fires on the genetic diversity, population structure and migration rates of these animals. This project will provide local landowners, Landcare groups and Government Departments with information to assist with wildlife management and will provide a foundation for the long-term conservation of the local frog species. The generous grant from The Ian Potter Foundation for the development of the DNA lab has been a key element towards the success of our scientific research program and has been instrumental in consolidating Museum Victoria’s reputation for research excellence. As told by Museum Victoria

MUSEUM VICTORIA www.museumvictoria.com.au

This grant was fundamental to the ongoing success of Museum Victoria’s DNA research, and in disseminating information to the general public about genetic research.

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

Alec Prentice Sewell Gift TWEDDLE FAMILY SERVICES, VIC www.tweddle.org.au

In 2007, Tweddle Family Services requested a grant of $23,570 to help address the challenging issue of postnatal depression by introducing a new group to address the health needs of new mothers. Run by a clinical psychologist, the groups filled a much needed gap in the services in the area and offered the opportunities for a proven treatment model to be introduced. The results have brought significant benefits to many women and their families and the program is now a permanent part of the program offered by Tweddle. This was the best thing I could have done for myself, my marriage and my family.

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

GETTING AHEAD OF POSTNATAL DEPRESSION Postnatal depression affects 1 in 7 women. This means that as well as having the responsibility of caring for a new baby and adjusting to changes in their own lives, parents may feel isolated, sad, guilty, overwhelmed and/or worthless. They may also experience significant changes in appetite, energy levels, sleeping habits, memory, concentration and decision-making ability. At the time this funding was sought, psychological services were not included in the Medicare system and this meant that for many women psychological support was not an option because of the prohibitive costs.

The program is a twelve-week cognitive behavioural therapy program designed to help participants manage their mood and improve their ability to cope. The “Getting Ahead of Postnatal Depression Group Program” was developed by The Infant Clinic, a service arm of the Parent-Infant Research Institute, Austin Health. It has been scientifically evaluated and findings published. The findings show that this program significantly improves depression within the 12 weeks. This was the first time this program had been run in the west and at Tweddle Child and Family Health Service.

The funding provided by The Ian Potter Foundation enabled Tweddle to run three postnatal depression group programs.

The program was well attended with 15 clients being accepted into the group. All participants reported positive outcomes following attendance and both depression and anxiety levels were decreased at the end of the program.

Average Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale scores decreased from 17 at the beginning of the program to 7 at the end of the program. Average Beck Depression Inventory scores decreased from 26 at the beginning of the program to 11 at the end of the program. Average Beck Anxiety Inventory scores decreased from 17 at the beginning of the program to 8 at the end of the program.

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

On completion of the program one of our participants said: “Having just completed the postnatal group 12-week program, I can honestly say it’s definitely been one of the best things I’ve done. This has been my third episode of postnatal depression and definitely the worst ever. I was at my lowest point ever when I was fortunate enough to hear about this program … I know that the skills I have learnt in the Tweddle program I can use for the rest of my life. I strongly recommend that you continue offering this program, because I know how valuable it has been for me, and my husband as well. Not to mention how much better off my children are because their mum is better.

I am so grateful for this program, I will be highly recommending it.” We have now run a total of seven group programs and are about to commence another. We continue to get positive feedback from participants and their partners about how beneficial it has been to attend. The positive results have led to a commitment to continue the program as an integral part of the Tweddle parenting service. As told by Tweddle Family Services

Above Better outcomes for mother and child

Alec Prentice Sewell Gift TWEDDLE FAMILY SERVICES, VIC www.tweddle.org.au

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

The funding provided by The Ian Potter Foundation enabled Tweddle to run three postnatal depression group programs.

The Ian Potter Foundation 2008–09

Above Better outcomes for mother and child

The Ian Potter Foundation ABN 42 004 603 972 Level 3, 111 Collins Street Melbourne VIC 3000 Telephone 03 9650 3188 Facsimile 03 9650 7986 Email admin@ianpotter.org.au www.ianpotter.org.au