HAYLEY PANETTA
Partnerships and Philanthropy at Minderoo Foundation
Awarded a BankWest Foundation / Governance Institute scholarship for a Certificate in Not-for-Profit Governance, 2016
What sort of work does your organisation do?
The Minderoo Foundation was founded by Andrew and Nicola Forrest in 2001 and was originally known as the Australian Children’s Trust. The Foundation’s work was based on the mandate to give a hand up, not a hand out and that ethos remains today. Since establishment the Foundation has supported over 250 initiatives across Australia and internationally in pursuit of a range of causes including education, ending slavery, research, indigenous disadvantage, disaster response and the arts.
Describe a typical day's work.
- Liaising with a variety of stakeholders to determine alignment on strategic priorities and partnerships
- Management of the direct implementation of projects as well as the management of grant partners
- Advocacy activities (speech writing, social media)
- Conducting due diligence and research on new areas of focus
What are some of the key learnings from the Certificate in Not-for-Profit Governance?
- Most important for me was the provision of ‘plain language’ synthesis of key governance and compliance materials accompanies by practical case studies.
- The accompanying documentation was of high quality and will act as an ongoing resource for me.
How has it impacted / changed / benefited your role and your organisation as a whole?
I feel more confident in all matters related to governance and compliance. I understand better the macro environment in which our organisation exists and also the more complex areas of our organisation’s structure.
How did you come to be working in the not-for-profit sector?
Was initially seconded from the corporate sector and then stayed within philanthropy.
What do you feel is most needed to sustain and build the impact of the not-for-profit sector?
Capacity building in terms of technical skills and more broadly in leadership is critical to an effective NFP sector. The fact that ASF provides courses that are utilised by the corporate sector delivers an important message to NFPs – we are just as (if not more) accountable to have professional and effective governance and compliance systems within our businesses. Leadership continues to be an ongoing area for capacity building in all sectors. For NFPs where salaries may be lower and hours longer, it is important NFP employees are equipped to sustain their roles.
What is something interesting / unique / unusual about you?
I work within one of Australia’s largest foundations within a relatively small team. Our stretch targets and shared responsibility mentality means access to scholarships like those provided by ASF are critical to future development.
Click here to read about other ASF scholars.
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