The Ian Potter Foundation

Creating Lasting Change for Australia’s Children On 15 November 2024, leaders from community, philanthropy and government came together on Kaurna Country in Adelaide for the 2024 Investment Dialogue for Australia’s Children roundtable. Hosted at The Living Kaurna Cultural Centre, this gathering focused on listening to community voices and identifying ways to improve wellbeing and reduce intergenerational disadvantage for children, young people, and families across Australia. The Executive Convenor for the Investment Dialogue Simon Factor shared: “Uniquely placed in bringing together philanthropy, government and community, the Investment Dialogue is creating the space for ambitious conversations which are often difficult to have or too quickly get sidelined. “We have the opportunity to amplify each other’s strengths, partner on innovation and better coordinate investments. This is translating into significant commitments to work with community to create the conditions for intergenerational change and tangible outcomes for children and families.” Reflecting on their progress, participants reinforced their commitment to the Working Together Agreement and a shared mission to foster genuine, impactful change. Here are some highlights: 🔹 Strengthening Partnerships: A new Strategic Framework will guide work across three key portfolios—place, early years, and young people—ensuring alignment with government policy and supporting inclusive, flexible collaboration. The Investment Dialogue welcomed new philanthropic members and is inviting state and territory governments to collaborate in 2025. 🔹 Backing Community-Led Change: By 2030, supporting up to 50 communities in leading local, place-based change to achieve tangible outcomes for children, young people and their families. This collaboration will also include partnering with three communities with established place-based approaches to co-design innovation zones that address barriers limiting a community’s ability to deliver change. 🔹 Supporting Early Childhood Development: A dedicated Early Years Working Group will develop and embed integrated early childhood development approaches, including a focus on First Nations led models. The partnership will also co-design an approach to collect better, strengths-based data on children’s sense of belonging, identity and wellbeing. 🔹 Outcomes Fund: Establish the IDAC Social Impact Investment and Advisory Working Group to collaborate on projects under the Government’s $100 million Outcomes Fund. 🔹 Shaping Our Youth Portfolio: Scope a portfolio of work to support young people to thrive, which will be brought to the 2025 Roundtable. The road ahead is ambitious, but by working together, we can create tangible, lasting change. Find out more: https://lnkd.in/gGVh_S8h Amanda Rishworth Jim Chalmers Department of Social Services (DSS) Commonwealth Treasury Prue Warrilow Christina Rosato

This morning, we had the pleasure of welcoming Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth and Treasurer Jim Chalmers to Our Place at the Carlton Learning Precinct to announce that the Australian Government was joining with five leading philanthropic foundations to establish PLACE as a national institution focused on the adoption and impact of place-based initiatives around Australia. Minister Rishworth and Treasurer Chalmers both spoke passionately about their support for local communities sharing decision-making and action to reduce concentrated and inter-generational disadvantage. PLACE will support hundreds of local communities and place-based initiatives around Australia to do just that. We are an independent not-for-profit organisation governed by an innovative community accountability model. We will have four initial priorities, each with a dedicated First Nations focus. These are (1) Entrenched socio-economic barriers, (2) Early years childhood development, (3) Employment support programs, and (4) Australia's energy transition to net zero. Thank you also to Paul Ramsay Foundation (PRF), Minderoo Foundation, Dusseldorp Forum, The Ian Potter Foundation and Bryan Foundation for being part of this exciting initiative. Thanks also to the families, children, and representatives from other organisations who joined us to discuss their local community in Carlton and a variety of other place-based initiatives around Australia. PRF CEO Kristy Muir spoke on behalf of the philanthropic funders about why an organisation like PLACE was needed. “Place-based approaches recognise that complex social problems cannot be solved through traditional service-based program delivery models – we need to listen to local communities and follow their lead for evidence-based solutions so people and places can thrive.” Our Interim CEO Luke Craven also spoke passionately about the impact place-based initiatives are having in local communities and what will be possible with an organisation dedicated to growing the sector and driving innovation and evidence. “We can see the power of place-based approaches from the inner-city and suburbs to regional centres and remote communities." “Local communities understand their challenges and the support they need to create change. Good place-based approaches unite communities with government and other stakeholders around a shared understanding of complex problems and a shared commitment to action." Find out more at www.placeaustralia.org and sign up for updates to stay in touch. We will reach out to existing initiatives and practitioners around the country as we establish PLACE and work towards getting up and running in early 2025.

If you get to Melbourne make sure you catch the incredible show at Australian Centre for Contemporary Art by the Tennant Creek Brio. Here's our Chair, Jimmy Frank Jupurrurla in his favourite Wilya Janta t-shirt opening the show (https://lnkd.in/gYuN_9gn).

🚨 Only TWO WEEKS left to enter the 2024 SIMNA Awards 🏆 This is a gentle nudge to remind you that you have only two weeks left to submit your entry for the 2024 SIMNA Awards. The entry deadline is 5:00 PM AEDT on Friday 11 October, so if you've been thinking about applying, now is the time to get started!   The SIMNA Awards are an excellent opportunity to stand out and gain recognition for your commitment to social impact measurement.   Remember, there are four award categories this year: ⭐ Excellence in Social Impact Measurement ⭐ Innovative Design in Social Impact Measurement ⭐ Outstanding Collaboration in Social Impact Measurement ⭐ Social Impact Measurement in Funding, Investment and Grantmaking   Once you're ready to apply, follow these three steps: ✅ Review our category descriptions on the SIMNA website and if you’re still not sure which category is the best fit, please reach out 👉 https://lnkd.in/g34bQ5p4 ✅ Check out this blog post for our top tips to make your application stand out from the pack 👉 https://lnkd.in/gA32uHxZ ✅ Start your application today – don't wait until the last minute! 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gcdTBMsM   We can't wait to receive your entry for the 2024 SIMNA Awards. Remember, the deadline is 5:00 PM AEDT on Friday 11 October, so act quickly! #SocialImpact | #ImpactMeasurement | #SocialValue | #AwardApplication

Core funding is the backbone of innovation and growth in the social enterprise sector, and we’re grateful to have had the support of The Ian Potter Foundation along our journey. Check out this insightful discussion with Dr Alberto Furlan, where we reflect on how the Foundation's support has helped us drive impact at scale. A huge thank you to The Ian Potter Foundation and all our partners who believe in the mission! https://lnkd.in/gjqN7ccD