An Independent Philanthropic Trust Helen’s Legacy to Victoria, Australia

1. An Independent Philanthropic Trust Helen’s Legacy to Victoria, Australia

2. TRUST • Established in 1951 • Initial corpus of £275,000 – current value $100 million • Grants of between $5-$7 million per year • Total grants to date of over $65 million • Support Victorian Charitable Institutions • Web address: www.hmstrust.org.au

3. TRUST PRIORITY AREAS • Aged Persons Care and Support • Arts, Culture and Heritage • Community Support • Disabled Care and Support • Employment and Vocational Training • Environment • Health and Medical Research

4. TRUST MANAGE – ENGAGE – COLLABORATE MODEL OF GRANTMAKING • Manage: • manage process of grantmaking ie; respond to applications received • Engage: • with those seeking support • enhance understanding of the issues to foster more strategic grantmaking focus • Collaborate: • developing Trust’s insight and understanding • the issues • the sectors which are involved • the evidence base which does or should exist • gap or opportunity that needs to be articulated, defined and scoped • aspiration: contribute to systemic change and better outcomes across the community

5. TRUST GIFT RELATIONSHIP • Relationship along a continuum ResponsiveStrategic CHARITY CREATIVE Manage Engage Collaborate

6. Focus For Today: Strategic End of Spectrum Collaboration: The True Power of Strategic Partnerships

7. CREATIVE PHILANTHROPY(strategic, venture) “Foundations, can if they choose, think the unthinkable, ignoring disciplinary and professional boundaries. They can take risks, consider approaches others say can’t possibly work – and they can fail with no terminal consequences… Foundations are free to be imaginative and creative, working across sectoral, organisational, professional and disciplinary boundaries…” (Diana Leat, London School of Economics)

8. CREATIVE PHILANTHROPY “Creative foundations exist in complex and constantly changing social, political, economic, legal and organisational environments that impinge on, constrain, subvert, and support courses of action. Knowledge, authority, compliance, resources and so on are limited, and for that reason…..linkages and networks are often crucial in getting things done.” (Helmut Anheier and Diana Leat Creative Philanthropy (2006)

9. CREATIVE PHILANTHROPY • Heart of all networks: partnerships • Increasingly not-for-profits, governments, corporates and other stakeholders are looking to partnerships to solve community problems • Trust’s role: institution builder and mediator(Anheier and Leat – Creative Philanthropy) • Institution builder: activate existing or potential coalition of individuals and organisations to implement a program networked across sectors and regions • Mediator: place emphasis on the collection, analysis, sharing of information and knowledge across different project sites and sectors • Key focus of HMS Trust: further develop its understanding of partnerships, to foster collaboration and networks

10. CREATIVE PHILANTHROPY Trust – As Partner • No single voice can provide solution to persistent and intractable problems • Answer ? – deeper understanding of collaboration between sectors • Respect for expertise of stakeholders in the community • Supporting leadership initiatives and strategic thinking, within and between sectors • Developed number of partnerships with not-for-profits, government and corporates

11. COLLABORATION – STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP Not-for Profit • Support initiatives across the spectrum • 20% charitable, 50% engaged, 30% collaborations • Receive hundreds of applications each year • Essential because: intelligence gathering • Priorities • Emerging trends • Identification of areas of need • Context • Innovation • Solutions • Important Construct Of This Relationship - Trust Is Not The Expert

12. COLLABORATION – STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP Philanthropy and Government • HMST: seeks to build relationships and build partnerships with all levels of government • Many other Trusts and Foundations don’t engage ie; philanthropy is not an alternative to Government • Important in terms of: • gathering intelligence about priorities • providing insight in regard to sustainability • Knowing where the $’s are, understanding the budgetary process • facilitating development of collaborations and projects

13. Not-for-profit Not-for-profit Govt Govt COLLABORATION – STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP Case Study: Office of Youth – Macpherson Smith Trust Mentoring Initiative • MOU • Key objectives/partnership: support delivery of youth mentoring programs through funding six state-wide regional coordination projects • 3 funded by Office of Youth • 3 funded by HMS Trust • Evaluation funded by Trust • Over a 2 year period • Independent body – jointly selected planning – design completion • Overseen by Reference Group membership (Trust, Office for Youth, 2 not-for-profits - Victorian Youth Mentoring Alliance and one other)

14. COLLABORATION – STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP Corporate Social Responsibility • Whole of community responsibility to tackle disadvantage and exclusion • Extent to which this is accepted? • Example: pathways to employment • Case Studies: • Melbourne Cares – working to enable business, communities, government to work together to sustainably improve the quality of life for the people of Melbourne, in particular those in need • Dairy Industry

15. COLLABORATION – STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP Not-for-profit Government Corporates Community

16. COLLABORATION – STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP Collaboration: True power of strategic partnerships • Trust – ‘honest broker’ • Focus: support development of networks which foster collaborations • Non-politically aligned • Role of Philanthropy: • Scope the projects: what is the hook? • Challenge the existing mindset • Provoke debate – question underlying assumptions • Identify the evidence gaps • Mediate the solution • Support the influence strategy • Advocacy – where does it fit?

17. COLLABORATION – STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP Case Study: Agora Think Tank ‘Building inclusive communities is not somebody’s job, it’s everybody’s…….’ • Collaboration between not-for-profit, business and government sectors • Looking to address issues of disadvantage in new and different ways • Initial lens: economic participation of socially-disadvantaged young people and their families through workforce engagement • Four funding partners: Melbourne Citymission, Trust, Department for Victorian Communities, Ernst & Young

18. Case Study: Agora Think Tank (cont’d) 5 working groups: * plus conference COLLABORATION – STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP

19. COLLABORATION – STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP Case Study: Agora Think Tank (cont’d) Agora questions • What are the learnings-to-date about new ways of working? • Whether and how innovations are emerging? • How a more preventative approach to social problems could be instituted? • What successful approaches could be scaled up and how? • What are the pre-conditions for constructive government, business and not-for-profits sectors working together? • Analysis is being made of aspirations, capabilities, expectations and challenges for cross-sector partnerships.

20. COLLABORATION – STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP Case Study: Agora Think Tank (cont’d) ‘Leaders, Ideas & Partnerships’ Agora Think Tank’s 2nd Conference 14 June 2007 at Zinc, Federation Square Conference will: • Celebrate existing cross-sector • Understand how such partnerships work • Learn how to generate new partnerships • Make corporate social responsibility work for you

21. Factors that impact on success of cross-sector partnerships: (Cross-Sector Partnerships in a Crime Prevention Context…..Regina Hill, Effective Consulting Pty Ltd) • Partnership Structure • Breadth vs Depth (Focus) • Balance breadth and complexity of partnership with capability of partners to deliver including: • Scope of program • Number of partners • Focus of activity • Geographic spread • Partner Selection • What do partners want to get out of the partnership • What are they prepared to contribute to the partnership • What role are they prepared to play in the partnership • How will they engage in the partnership

22. Partnership Structure (cont’d) • Partnership Design • Design partnership to take account of the partners different objectives and operational styles (ways of working): • Focus on areas of alignment/common interest • Manage differences • Be clear on decision-making and operating processes (particularly important when needing to work within the political and bureaucratic requirements of Government) • Ensure that participants have requisite authority to make and deliver on commitments

23. Partnership Structure (cont’d) • Coordination Framework • Set up and resource a clear coordination framework (taking account of partners’ different operational styles) • Strong Leadership • Need to have a clear Lead Agency/Owner/Champion

24. Partnership Set Up • Platform for Collaboration • Establish or build it • Consultation • Engage at early stage • Critical for: • Identifying and connecting with key stakeholders • Understanding the issue • Framing the project

25. Partnership Set Up (cont’d) • Planning • Where partner interests are aligned and where they are not • How things should be structured to: • Deliver on the objectives of the partnership • Manage differing partner interests/ways of working • How things should be implemented: • Funding and resourcing constraints • The need for partners to learn how to work together • The need to engage the community/community institutions and networks

26. Partnership Set Up (cont’d) • Documentation • Clearly document partnership objectives and ways of working, articulating rules of engagement, explicitly recognise and address cultural differences between cross sector partners • Invest in the partnership • Need to invest in the development (design, resourcing and operation) of the partnership in its own right – not just the programs that it operates

27. Partnership Set Up (cont’d) • Leverage of Existing Networks • Benefit from leveraging existing local and/or industry networks to access potential partners • Achievement of Critical Mass • Need to establish critical mass to support the effective implementation of partnership programs: • Achieve economies of scale • Access sufficient participants and service providers to support effective program implementation

28. Partnership Set Up (cont’d) • Education • Need to educate Corporate and Community Partners to understand ‘territory’ within which partners are working • Provision of Opportunities to Trial • Build relationship with Corporate Partners by exposing them to opportunities to engage gradually and encouraging them to move from lower to higher levels of engagement opportunities based on positive trial experience/experience to manage perceived risk

29. Partnership Set Up (cont’d) • Management of Stretch (Under Promise and Over Deliver) • Need to manage the ‘stress’ that the partnership places on the partner resources to make sure that partners can sustain the commitments that they make • Adequate Funding • Fund partnership and program activity adequately • Medium/Long Term Commitment • Need to be able to make a sufficiently long commitment to the partnership and the program to be able to work through the set up and pilot operation phase

30. Not for profit Government Corporates Community Future Challenges • Partnership Structure: Strong Leadership • Need to have a clear Lead Agency / Owner / Champion Government • Role of Philanthropy? • Leadership – who? • Challenges • Solution • Collaboration Leadership Models • Construct of Project