Dear Mr Ramsbottom 

It gives me great pleasure to write in thanks for awarding Ms Wendy Lewis of Guides Australia (Victorian Branch) a scholarship in the June 2006 round.

Wendy has joined the Centre of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies (CPNS) at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Semester 2 2006 to study the BS39 Graduate Certificate in Business (Philanthropy & Nonprofit Studies).

Your generous funding of a student at the CPNS is a great investment in the nonprofit sector, as it is our mission “to bring to the community the benefits of teaching, research, technology and service relevant to philanthropic and nonprofit communities”.

For further information on the CPNS I have included some brochures on our course which you are welcome to distribute.

We welcome any further assistance from your organisation and thank you again for your support of our postgraduate study.

Yours sincerely

Professor Myles McGregor-Lowndes OAM
Director
Centre of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies

Charities, associations and not-for-profit groups including the RSPCA, Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, Sanctuary Refugee Foundation, The Cerebral Palsy League, The Australian College of Educators, Guides Australia and the Royal District Nursing Service Foundation of SA are today celebrating as they receive news of assistance for further training and education in form of a scholarship.

Leading provider of software solutions and support to the not-for-profit sector Advanced Solutions International has announced recipients of the ASI SMART Company Scholarship Fund.

The Fund is open to professionals wanting to undertake study that is directly relevant to their work in the not-for-profit sector with training and education opportunities available across Australia and New Zealand. The Fund received applications requesting over $60,000 in funding in the June round and the panel faced some challenging decisions in making the final selections.

“Our commitment to the not-for-profit sector is clear,” says ASI Managing Director Paul Ramsbottom. “In the context of our ‘Learn, Share, Grow’ philosophy these scholarships demonstrate our vision to see a strengthened sector. We’ve been overwhelmed by the interest in the scholarships and it’s very exciting to see that our grants will help an individual, but will also have an important impact across the sector.”

Among the recipients is Tracey Brown, Foundation Business Manager, The Royal District Nursing Service (RDNS) Foundation of SA, who will be attending the Fundraising Institute of Australia’s Madison Down Under conference thanks to her grant. “The RDNS provides essential community nursing care to patients in their homes with up to 500,000 visits per year,” says Ms Brown. “The Foundation supports the work of the RDNS by raising funds for the fleet of 200 cars which travel over 3 million kms per year. The grant from the ASI SMART Company Scholarship Fund will assist greatly in obtaining extra skills which will be used to manage fundraising appeals and special events.”

ASI has announced the granting of 12 scholarships with a total value of $11,000. The fund operates on a quarterly basis with the next round closing in September.

I am writing to personally thank you and the other members of ASI’s management team for awarding me a scholarship to the FIA Madison Down Under Conference which will be held on 5-8 August 2006 in South Australia.

Without this scholarship, I would not have been able to attend MDU this year so I thank ASI for their generosity and commitment to the professional development of fundraisers through their ‘SMART Company’ Scholarship Fund.  It is wonderful to see a company placing so much importance on raising standards and training of those working in the fundraising profession.

I am particularly excited about participating in the Bequests Track as one of my responsibilities in this position is to establish, implement and manage a bequests program for Edith Cowan University.  I am confident this course will improve my knowledge, skills and expertise in the area of bequests/planned giving and provide the greatest opportunity for ECU’s bequests program to be successful.

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Yours sincerely

Melissa Cummins
Fundraising Coordinator

Pam Whetnall
RSCPA SA

Firstly I would like to thank ASI for awarding myself a scholarship to complete the FIA Skills 2 course.  I found the course both stimulating and rewarding.

During the course I learnt to review Mission and Case Statements for their strengths and weaknesses and to construct an appropriate Mission and Case Statement.  I learnt how to write an effective marketing plan and to develop donor profiles and to use these profiles to identify opportunities and upgrade each donor.  I learnt what resources can be used to conduct Market Research and how it can be used to increase our donor base and help us understand the donors.

I learnt the value of effective leadership and the necessity of professional leadership skills and the opportunities to improve customer service.  I learnt to create an effective direct mail package relevant to my current employer and to draft promotional material.  I learnt about the critical points to consider when talking to the media and producing media releases.

I gained knowledge of the Code of Practice that fundraising is covered by and an understanding of the State and Federal legislation relating to charities and fundraising.

In Special Events I learnt about the role they can play to increase brand awareness and act as a fundraiser.  Through devising a plan for a Special Event I learnt what questions need to be asked before an event can be considered, these included understanding the reason for holding the event and understanding the desired outcome.  We learnt to consider the budgeting for events and the overall strategies needed to hold events of different sizes.

An important lesson that I learnt in participating in these courses is that the FIA is a very open community that believes in the growth and development of it’s members.  It has provided me with the opportunity to meet other members, discuss fundraising and share ideas.  Through this course I have made many contacts and believe that this will help my development as a fundraiser.

I am writing to thank ASI for providing me with a scholarship to the forthcoming FIA Madison Down Under fundraising conference.

I am delighted to have this valuable opportunity for professional advancement.  MDU has a great reputation, and I have long wished to attend.

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Yours sincerely

Cheryl Hill
Executive Director
FAME
www.fame.org.au

The Fund received applications requesting over $60,000 in funding in our June round and the panel faced some challenging decisions in making the final selections. We are pleased to confirm a total of 12 Scholarships were awarded with a total value of $11,000. A further $9,000 will now be made available for the remainder of 2006 (September and December rounds).

The Scholarship recipients are as follows:

Part A – Fully Funded Education Scholarships

Cheryl Hill - Foundation for Australia’s Most Endangered Species
FIA Madison Down Under

Melissa Cummins - Edith Cowan University
FIA Madison Down Under (part scholarship)

Trish Roath - Kildonan Child and Family Services
FIA Madison Down Under (part scholarship)

Mark Hallam - Sanctuary Refugee Foundation
FIA Skills 1

Pamela Whetnall - RSPCA South Australia
FIA Skills 2

Danielle Hogan - Growcom
NFPN Membership Roadshow

Part B – Education Subsidies for ASI Customers

Tracey Brown - Royal District Nursing Service Foundation of SA
FIA Madison Down Under

Robert Needham - The Cerebral Palsy League of Queensland
FIA Madison Down Under

Michelle Jewels - Mary Potter Foundation
FIA Diploma of Fundraising Management

Wendy Lewis - Guides Australia (Victoria Branch)
QUT Graduate Certificate in Business – Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies

Part C – Education Grants for ASI Customers

Janaki De Silva - The Australian College of Educators
Associations Forum National Conference and Workshop

Cherie Whitty - Royal Australian College of General Practitioners
ACPM Certificate IV in Project Management