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(L-R) The Ian Potter Foundation's CEO Craig Connelly, and Governors Charles Goode (Chair), Sir James Gobbo and Professor Richard Larkins attending the opening of The Ian Potter Centre for Performing Arts at Monash University.
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MESSAGE FROM THE CEO
Charting the course
Welcome to our first newsletter for 2019. The Board of The Ian Potter Foundation met recently and approved a range of exciting projects across many program areas. Details of many of these grants can be found below in the Grants Round Up.
At this meeting, the Board also considered proposed new funding guidelines that will ensure our future grantmaking remains firmly linked to the four elements of the Foundation’s vision for a vibrant, healthy, fair and sustainable Australia.
After careful consideration, the Board decided that further work was needed to ensure these revised funding guidelines will be robust and truly catalytic. So, over the next few months, our team will continue to explore the best ways in which the Foundation can engage with the NFP sector to achieve the greatest impact. I anticipate that by the end of September 2019 we will be able to share the details of these revised funding guidelines that will be the foundation of our grantmaking in the years ahead.
In the meantime, we remain focused on ensuring the good work of our many grantees is leveraged as effectively as possible in a myriad of ways.
Indeed, this was the case with the $2.5m major grant made by The Ian Potter Foundation in December 2018 supporting Wintringham to develop specialist housing for the aged homeless in Shepparton, Victoria. This grant was leveraged to gain funding support from the Victorian state government and recently the Federal Government allocated $5m additional funding in support of aged care services to be made available on the same site.
In 2017, HammondCare also received a grant of $2.5m from the Foundation towards the development of their Sydney inner-city project which will provide housing and services for elderly homeless people. However, unlike Wintringham, HammondCare is yet to secure state government funding support. Therefore, I was pleased to see HammondCare CEO Stephen Judd challenge the NSW State government to provide $5m in funding towards this $20m project. This an appropriate level of support from the NSW state government for a much-needed project that will benefit some of the most vulnerable people in our society.
The Foundation has also recently invested a substantial amount in conjunction with The Myer Foundation and Sidney Myer Fund to generate a comprehensive report analysing the ways in which philanthropic investment might best be directed to ensure the future sustainability of Australia’s freshwater resources. This is an example of the foundations investing funds up-front to plan for success in our future grantmaking. I hope to be able to report further on this exciting initiative later this year.
These are just two examples of the ways in which The Ian Potter Foundation is seeking to support the not-for-profit sector, our grantees and the community to ensure that our efforts remain focused on delivering our vision for a vibrant, fair, healthy and sustainable Australia – for all Australians.
Craig Connelly
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A Civic Crew, part of the Civic Disability Services employment program to be awarded a recent Health & Disability grant.
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GRANTS ROUND UP
$5.5 million across 25 grants
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The latest funding round saw 25 grants totalling $5,541,808 awarded. The majority of these grants were made to not-for-profit organisations working in the Arts and Health & Disability sectors. However, there were several out of round grants made in other areas such as Education and Medical Research resulting from invited applications.
Find out more about all this round's grantees on our blog or see the complete list in our Grants Database.
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PROGRAM AREAS
Funding objectives under review
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Image: Ulysses butterflies (Papilio ulysses) in CSIRO’s Australian National Insect Collection, Canberra. © CSIRO.
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Ongoing strategic review of all funding objectives
As outlined in the CEO's message above, over the next few months our management team will be working with the Board to hone the Foundation’s funding objectives across all program areas.
We expect to be able to announce the full details of revised funding guidelines in late September 2019.
What does this mean for grantseekers?
The Arts program will be open in Round One 2020 as indicated on our website. However, details on when other funding areas will be open for applications in 2020 will be advised in late September 2019.
Check the Funding Rounds page on our website for further updates in September 2019.
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Travel, International Learning & Development programs close
Over the past 12 months, the Travel and International learning Development program areas have been closed while undergoing a review.
This review has now been completed and the Board have decided to permanently close both the Travel and International Learning & Development program areas.
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IN THE NEWS
Protecting the most vulnerable
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Interview with Dr Stephen Judd, CEO of HammondCare and Bryan Lipmann, CEO of Wintringham on Channel 7's Sunrise.
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HammondCare and Wintringham join forces on Sunrise
Over the last two years, the Foundation has made several major grants which focus on homelessness. Both HammondCare and Wintringham have received grants of $2.5m each towards their initiatives to address homelessness for the elderly who have particular needs and are most vulnerable.
Based in Victoria, Wintringham has received support from philanthropy and the Victorian State Government. Yet, while HammondCare has also received philanthropic, as well as local and Federal government funding, it has not received any funding from the NSW state government towards its new centre in Darlinghurst.
Recently, HammondCare CEO Stephen Judd was joined by Wintringham CEO Bryan Lipman on Channel 7's Sunrise program to shed light on the need for specialist accommodation and services for the elderly experiencing homelessness.
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James Cook University embarks on rainforest rescue mission
Climate change is not only affecting unique ecosystems such as the Great Barrier Reef; it is also impacting delicate tropical rainforest systems and plant species. In response, botanists at the Australian Tropical Herbarium at James Cook University are now racing to collect rare native species to guard against extinction.
This rescue mission caught the attention of WIN News in Cairns and also received national coverage on the ABC.
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SECTOR ENGAGEMENT
Understanding the landscape
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Over the last few months, Research & Evaluation Manager, Dr Squirrel Main (pictured), has written several articles on the Foundation's current grantmaking practice as well as examining future trends. Two recent articles by Dr Main may be of particular interest to those working in philanthropy.
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The Future of Evaluation: Surveying the US Landscape
In late 2018, Dr Squirrel Main travelled to the USA to attend the American Evaluation Association Annual Conference.
During this trip, she attended the Foundation Evaluation Directors’ Meeting where she was able to exchange ideas with 20 peers in the US philanthropic sector. Dr Main has shared her learnings and reflections from this knowledge sharing opportunity in a blog post on the Foundation's website.
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How Sustainable Development Goals can Focus Outcomes Measurement
This article by Dr Main was been recently published by Glasspockets as part their Road to 100 & Beyond series which features the foundations that have publicly participated in the Who Has GlassPockets? self-assessment. GlassPockets is an initiative of the Foundation Center in the US which encourages transparency in the philanthropic sector.
In the article, Dr Main explains how The Ian Potter Foundation is encouraging its grantees to learn more about the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with a view to using SDGs as part of their outcomes measurement. This not only assists grantees in increasing the sophistication of their measurements, but it also means grantmakers can better compare outcomes across grants.
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Governors of The Ian Potter Foundation c. 1979. (L-R) Dr Thomas Hurley, Professor Sir Sydney Sunderland, Mr Roy McArthur, Sir Ian Potter, Sir Roger Darvall, Sir Ian Wark with Florey scientists.
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Vale Dr Thomas Hurley AO OBE
The Governors and staff of the Foundation were deeply saddened by the recent passing of Dr Thomas Hurley AO OBE. Dr Hurley was Governor of the Foundation from 1978 to 2014. He remains the Foundation’s longest serving Governor.
As a senior medical practitioner at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, committee member of NHMRC and board member of Walter and Eliza Hall Institute (among many other appointments), Dr Hurley brought a wealth of knowledge, experience and contacts to the Foundation. These were a great asset in the Foundation’s ability to make informed decisions about major medical research and health grants.
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Grantee news
What makes Kimberley rock art so unique?
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In this video, Professor Peter Veth, the inaugural Ian Potter Chair in Rock Art at the University of Western Australia, speaks about the work being done to document and preserve rock art in the Kimberley region.
This region's rock art is unique due to its scale and the continuous relationship the local Indigenous communities’ maintain with these sites and their associated mythologies.
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Grantee news
Only the best will do
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This video by Steinway Australia beautifully showcases the now completed Ian Potter Southbank Centre, the new home for the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music.
Further details about this impressive building can be found in this Limelight article from March 2019.
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Grantee news
Taronga Institute achieves 6-star green rating
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Congratulations to the Taronga Institute of Science and Learning on attaining the six-star environmental rating from the Green Building Council of Australia.
Green Star assesses the sustainable design, construction and operation of buildings, with six stars being the highest possible rating.
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Staff News
Welcome Nina and Sharon
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Earlier this year, we welcomed two new staff members.
Nina Beer (left) joined the Ian Potter Foundation in January 2019 in the role of Communications Officer. Nina's background includes internal communications in the higher education sector and launching a community arts collective.
Sharon Crombie joined the Finance team earlier this year as Finance Officer.
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