J Parsonage
Partnerships Executive
Starlight Children’s Foundation
successfully completed FIA Skills 2, October 2011, Brisbane

Thank you for the opportunity to attend FIA Skills 2 in Brisbane with an ASI Scholarship. By attending this course, I have taken away the below benefits and key learnings.

Attending Skills 2 provided an opportunity to:

• Learn from a range of exceptional leaders in the sector and establish industry connections interstate (normally based in NSW).
• Develop a broad fundraising knowledge base to enhance my career within the sector.
• Identify gaps in my skill set prompting focus to secure further development in these areas.

Completion of Skills 2 deepened my understanding of:

• The importance of business planning and development of mission, vision and case statements (enhanced through the practical team assignment)
• How other organisations operate and ideas for streamlining processes for better ROI
• How mass and managed fundraising strategies interact to build a successful integrated campaign
• The FIA mentoring program and its benefits
• The increasing influence of technology and social media
• Trust and Foundation fundraising and the essentials of a successful application
• Direct marketing techniques and importance of brand and campaign positioning

Completion of Skills 2 now enables me to:

• Step back from day-to-day operations and review my performance to ensure I am delivering the most effective fundraising methods to achieve the objectives of my role and maximise fundraising opportunities for Starlight.
• Contribute new skills to the Starlight Partnerships program
• Pursue my interest for further professional development by becoming an FIA member, participating in the FIA Mentoring program and completion of Skills 3.

Thank you for your financial support. The group of attendees represented a great blend of organisations and I thoroughly enjoyed working and learning from each attendee. I would not have had access to this training without your support.

A Hurst
Office Manager
Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society (AARES)
attended the NiUG (iMIS User Group) Asia Pacific Discovery Conference, October 2011, Launceston

The Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society (AARES), an independent, not-for-profit association of persons and organisations interested in agricultural, resource and environmental economics, purchased the iMIS software around 12 months ago.

As the Society’s Central Office Manager, and with the assistance of some vital out-sourced expertise, I was given the task of getting the system up and running.  ASI hosts our new website through which membership subscriptions are made, and we are currently accepting online registrations for our annual conference in February next year.  To further improve the service we can offer our members, we are also currently developing a Community Forum.

In order to further develop our knowledge and understanding of the iMIS software program, the AARES Executive agreed to support my attendance at the NiUG Discovery Conference in Launceston in October 2011, which was subsequently funded by this scholarship.

The conference provided an opportunity to meet with other iMIS users, to hear their stories, to learn about the latest developments in the software, and to discover iMIS-friendly add-ons to make the iMIS experience a more fullfilling, experience for the operators, such as myself, and the clients, such as our members.  Also, importantly, it gave me a much clearer idea of what I don’t know and therefore where to concentrate focus and resources over the next 12 months.  It also provided me with a greater understanding of where to go for help, and resources available within the iMIS community.

With the skills I have learned over the past year in general, and through the Discovery Conference in particular, I feel better placed to be able to train other members of the AARES team in the operation of this software.

I am very grateful to the ASI SMART Company Scholarship Fund for the generous support I received which enabled me to attend the Discovery Conference - and I am already looking forward to the next one.

K Williamson
Fundraising & Events Manager
Down Syndrome Victoria
successfully completed FIA Skills 2 – Building on the Foundations of Fundraising, July 2011, Melbourne

Thank you for the opportunity to attend this course.  I had completed Skills 1 in a previous fundraising role but was feeling the need for a bit more direction with my new role which is a different sector and presents challenges I have not had experience with previously.

During the course we covered many valuable skills that will enhance my ability to further develop the fundraising program for Down Syndrome Victoria. Key areas of focus included:
• Mission & Case Statements
• Prospect Researching
• Marketing, Communication & Fundraising
• Strategic Planning for Fundraising
• Direct Response
• EFundraising
• Donor Management
• Fundraising with Institutions (Grants)

Some areas I found extremely beneficial were particularly around Donor Management and Strategic Planning. Our organisation has acquired iMIS this year and while it is in its infant stages of getting the data right – I can see the huge potential for implementing a direct mail program as we move forward with cleaning up our data. I am also involved in an evolution of structure within the organisation and am now given many responsibilities around planning and strategy.

Another area that was covered was eFundraising which is a big area of focus for Down Syndrome Victoria. Best practice tips, pitfalls to avoid and discussions around social networking tools were all covered and very useful.

The opportunity to network with other Fundraising professionals was also really good and provided sharing of ideas and experiences that were beneficial.

An extensive workbook was provided as part of the course and I have found myself referencing it quite a bit since completing the course.

Thank you for assisting our organisation with the scholarship to cover the cost of attending the course.

S Nathani
Executive Officer
Inner North Community Foundation
attended FIA Madison Down Under 2011

The Inner North Community Foundation was established in 2007, and thanks to the support of one generous corporate donor and sponsor, has not to date had to raise funds to cover operating costs or to run its philanthropic programs.

In 2010 the Inner North Community Foundation was the first Victorian community foundation to benefit from the Victorian state government’s Community Foundations Initiative, which challenged the organisation to raise $100,000 so as to benefit from a 2 for 1 matching grant (ie on successfully raising the funds, another $200,000 was contributed by the government).

While the Inner North Community Foundation did raise the funds and met the challenge, no strategic fundraising plan was in place for the organisation.

Participation at Madison Down Under in the A – Z Donor Direct stream was a fabulous opportunity for me and the Inner North Community Foundation, as the organisation has realised that it is now time to develop a fundraising strategy to enable greater engagement with the community, and for me to learn more about how to do this and acquire the necessary tools  to do this.

Participating in Madison Down Under has added to my understanding of what can be done, even on a small scale, and how to create links and meaningful relationships with potential donors so that we can build something together.

The four days of intensive discussion and information about direct marketing, telemarketing, donor packs, the appropriate length of letters , and how to tag and categorise within a database were a sparking point for me.

I have now been able to write a comprehensive annual fundraising plan which will be put to our board for adoption. This will give us the space to trial out and test what I have learned, and to evaluate and assess where we are at and what we can achieve within our resources.

Thank you for the opportunity to participate.  It was great professional development for me personally, and I know it will add great value to our organisation.

The Scholarship Review Panel for the December 2011 Round consists of:

• Paul Ramsbottom - ASI Managing Director (and Chairman of the Fund)
• Julie Willett - ASI HR/Facilities Director
• Ian Wilcock - ASI Business Development Manager (on rotation)

The funding round closes on Monday 12 December 2011 (as the 10th falls on a Saturday).

The ASI SMART Company Scholarship Fund’s final round of funding for 2011 closes soon.  If you’re eager to undertake some professional development in the new year now is the time to apply for financial assistance through the fund.

The fund offers financial assistance exclusively to staff working in Not-For-Profit organisations in the Asia-Pacific region to undertake professional development - attend a training course, conference or workshop.  Over the past six years more than 100 individuals have benefitted.

There is a broad range of fully funded and part funding opportunities on offer.   Apply in this round for the Associations Forum CEO Symposium (Part B) and the FIA Conference 2012 (Part C).

Applications close on Monday 12 December 2011 (as the 10th falls on a Saturday).   Apply at www.advsol.com/ap/scholarship.

For more information contact ASI on +61 3 9869 7509.  Be sure to check the eligiblity criteria on our website at www.advsol.com/ap/scholarship before applying.

ASI is pleased to announce the recipients for the September 2011 round of funding for the ASI SMART Company Scholarship Fund.  Five individuals were awarded scholarships in September.

Part A
Janyne Parsonage, Starlight Children’s Foundation - Australia (NSW)
FIA Skills 2

Corinne Ross, Careflight Rescue (QLD)
FIA Skills 2

Vienna Young, Heart Foundation – WA
FIA Skills 1

Berlinda Fortin, Compassion Australia (NSW)
FIA Skills 1

Part B
no scholarships awarded

Part C
Annie Hurst, Australian Agricultural & Resource Economics Society (ACT)
NiUG Asia Pacific Discovery Conference

Congratulations to all recipients.