The fund offers a broad range of pre-approved courses and grant opportunities. The current funding round closes on Thursday 10 June 2010 so be sure to get your application in now. 

Fully funded scholarships (Part A) are available for:
•    FIA Madison Down Under
•    FIA & FINZ Skills 1,2,3
•    Associations Forum Workshops
•    American Society of Association Executives Web Based Courses
•    Association of Fundraising Professionals Web Conferences; and
•    Association for Healthcare Philanthropy Virtual Learning Series.

Additionally, subsidies (Part B) are also available for:
•    Diploma of Fundraising Management
•    Company Directors Course
•    QUT’s Graduate Certificate in Business - Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies; and
•    UQ’s Leadership in the Not for Profit Sector course

Applications close on Thursday 10 June 2010.  Apply at www.advsol.com/ap/scholarship.

For more information go to www.advsol.com/ap/scholarship or contact ASI on +61 3 9869 7503.  Be sure to check the eligiblity criteria at www.advsol.com/ap/scholarship before applying.

Paul Ramsbottom - ASI Managing Director (and Chairman of the Fund)
Julie Willett - ASI HR/Facilities Director
Nola Schembri - ASI Senior Technical Consultant (on rotation)

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

The standard of applications was excellent yet again. The Fund is pleased to be able to assist six recipients from across Australia.

Recipients included:

PART A

Jennie Holdom, CatholicCare Hunter-Manning
FIA Skills 1

Nina Kovach, Asthma Foundation NSW
FIA Skills 2

Nicky Saville, Melbourne City Mission
FIA Skills 1

PART B

Patricia Murdock, Victoria Farmers Federation
Company Directors Course

PART C

Eve Jani, Bush Heritage Australia
Diploma of Project Management

Jo-Ann Whalley, Murdoch University
The 3rd Global Philanthropic Fundraising School for Higher Education

The next round closes on 10 June 2010 and is the only round you can apply for Madison Down Under scholarships.

Congratulations to the following Scholarship recipients:

Part A – Fully Funded Education Scholarships

Amy Amato, Wildlife Victoria
FIA Skills 1

Cathy Holland, Hear & Say Centre
FIA Skills 2

Luke Williams, The Crusader Union of Australia
FIA Skills 1

Stefania Rochford, Australia Zoo Wildlife Warriors
FIA Skills 1
   
Part B – Education Subsidies for ASI Customers

no scholarships awarded

Part C – Education Grants for ASI Customers

Liz Balogh, Bush Heritage Australia
Major Gift Fundraising (Artful Fundraising)

Maris Haryadi, Gymnastics Australia
NiUG Discovery Conference (NiUG Asia-Pacific)

Jazz Tyrril-Smart, Australian Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine Association
Diploma of Marketing (Southbank Institute of Technology)

We thank all the applicants for taking the time to prepare their applications.  Applicants - successful in this round or not - are encouraged to consider applying again in future funding rounds (annually in December, March, June and September).

First of all, I would like to thank you kindly for the support and opportunity to gain valuable training through the ASI ‘SMART Company’ Scholarship Fund.  I was recently able to attend the FIA Skills 1 training course on a fully-funded scholarship and am incredibly grateful for that opportunity.

My employer, Earthwatch Australia, is a not-for-profit environmental research organisation that has very little or no budget for training.  The opportunity to attend this course has been of great benefit to my role as well as being perfectly timed in the current and future direction of Earthwatch Australia.

Being quite new to the fundraising sector and with no prior experience, I have taken on a role that will present many challenges and I personally will enjoy those challenges!  Suffice to say however I must be actively obtaining training, new skills and increased knowledge in the fundraising realm to conquer those challenges successfully.  Attending the Skills 1 course has given me a valuable platform upon which to build this new set of skills and understanding.

Skills 1 I believe was quite different to other fundraising seminars and short training sessions I have attended to date.  I felt that the networking opportunities were more sound and useful, purely by spending three days with the same people rather than a fly by for half a day.

Starting from scratch and working through the fundamentals and principles of fundraising, as was the course schedule, has given me confidence that I am heading in the right direction with what I have picked up during my short time in this field.  However, what the presenters, whom were all highly respected people, brought to us each day through their incredible amount of experience, knowledge and wisdom was invaluable.

The group exercise on the final day in which we made a presentation to a mock Board on the development of a 3 year fundraising strategy based on all we had learnt in the preceding three days was very worthwhile.  It will contribute highly to the requirements of my role internally and was a fantastic learning experience.

With the aid of further funding from the ASI ‘SMART Company’ Scholarship Fund, I will also be attending the FIA Skills 2 through your kind generosity and again your Board’s support of my endeavours in this field.

For that I am truly grateful, as is my employer, Earthwatch Australia.  Our vision and strategy from here into the future is set on growth.  We have an incredible team working together right now, with myself being an integral part of that team.  For me to have the opportunity to take on this training and with the intention to complete all three stages of Skills 123, it takes a lot of pressure off our small organisation.  It will in fact inject a whole lot more into the future of our organisation and achieving our mission of engaging people worldwide in scientific field research and education to promote the understanding necessary for a sustainable environment.

Once again I thank you for this opportunity and for your support through the ASI ‘SMART Company’ Scholarship Fund.

From conversations with past participants of Madison Down Under my expectations of what I wanted to achieve a Madison Down Under were high. Madison Down Under delivered all that it promised and more! I have worked in the Not for Profit sector for over 6 years and attend many conferences and seminars within the fundraising sector, Madison Down Under was most definitely the most beneficial and worthwhile professional development program that I have participated in. Madison Down Under was an extremely beneficial use of my time. 

The facilitators and guest speakers provide great insight, with the value added of many years of experience in Bequests and Donor Giving. There were ample opportunities for discussion which my group embraced with passion. Track 5 – The Gift That Goes on.. had participants from a variety of organizations (small to large) across the sector, bringing with them a range of experiences and ideas.

Madison Down Under delivered in providing me with the opportunity to not only develop key elements of a program in the areas of Bequests to benefit Very Special Kids now and into the future but to also develop strategic relationships within the fundraising industry.

Being a residential program there were ample opportunities to network across the entire not for profit industry, with likeminded individuals who draw on a broad range of experiences. I have already facilitated communication with my new contacts and am attending a web2 seminar care of one of those contacts.

The sessions were inspiring and provided an opportunity to build a realistic plan of action to fit with the resources that you have available at your organisation – whether you are a one man band or an organization with 4 bequest officers – every participant walked away with new inspiration and ideas.

One the final day each member of my group spoke enthusiastically about what they would implement on return to their organisations and this included me. I believe that I am now adequately resourced with a clear direction to develop and implement a successful financially viable Bequest program for Very Special Kids. I am enthusiastic about moving the Very Special Kids Bequest Program from passive to active within the next 6 months.

MDU Tracks is an excellent way to stay on track professionally in your organisation and personally within your profession.

Sincere thanks to all at ASI for providing me with this opportunity. I am looking forward to next year already – even if I have to invest in it personally!

      
In July 2009, I was awarded an ASI ‘SMART Company’ Scholarship to complete a Fundraising Institute Australia – Skills 1 – the Foundations of Fundraising course.

The course was a fantastic opportunity and learning experience for me.  It taught me about the legalities and the practicalities of fundraising including ethics and legislation and database management, as well as the strategies of fundraising such as relationship management, donor-centred fundraising, marketing and communications, direct marketing and special events.

However the greatest value of the course was in the practical and networking component.  As an assessment for the course we were to present a fundraising strategy with a team of 5 other attendees to a foundation and the hypothetical board of the foundation.  This was hard work in utilizing all the strategies and skills that we had just learnt, however it allowed us to consider the strategies in the context of a real life situation in regards to what would be successful and the cost benefit ratio for each strategy.

Additionally it was great to meet peers and potential mentors in the fundraising sector.  The opportunity to network will allow me to share ideas with others in the sector and also to learn from their experiences.  It may also provide opportunities for Carers Victoria to partner with other non-profits in our sector.

Carers Victoria represents and supports unpaid family carers who care for someone with a disability, mental illness, chronic condition or who is frail aged.  There are 2.6 million carers in Australia who by caring in an unpaid capacity save over 30.5 billion dollars.  Carers can derive a lot from their caring experience, however caring does have financial and emotional impacts, with many carers unable to work due to their caring obligations and many carers experiencing low levels of health and wellbeing.

I am passionate about supporting and representing carers in our community and thank you for providing me with the opportunity to learn so that I can better contribute to our cause.  I have already begun to use my new skills!