Third Sector News

Australia’s literacy gap is deeply tied to geographic disparity.

Currently, 70% of students in major metropolitan schools meet or exceed expected reading standards, compared with just 23% of students in very remote areas.

This educational deficit correlates closely with entrenched social disadvantage and mirrors a broader global crisis, one projected to result in a $21 trillion loss in lifetime earnings.

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Who gets recognised as a philanthropist shapes perceptions of who can lead and give.

Women hold about 60% of CEO positions among AFR Philanthropy 50 foundations where leadership data is publicly available, while women make up 81% of participants in Australia’s collective giving groups.

Still, a gap remains between women’s influence and their public visibility.

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Visibility is the missing lever in growing Australian giving Women are playing a significant role in Australian philanthropy, from leading foundations to shaping the growth of collective giving.

Traditional legacy fundraising relies heavily on age demographics. Safewill data provides an alternative metric for targeting: geographic relocation.

Will-writing in regional areas such as Kingscliff increased by 285% year on year. Major life transitions trigger estate planning. Concurrently, humanitarian and equality causes experienced a 19% increase in bequests.

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What Australians’ wills reveal about giving Beyond geography, the data points to a shift in how Australians think about what a will is for.

Community-sector professionals often describe their work in broad terms such as “managed stakeholders” or “delivered community outcomes”. This can leave their decisions, judgement and influence out of view.

The key is to show the leadership inside the work, using clear examples and plain language.

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When capability language hides community-sector leadership Applicants do not need to replace natural language with phrases such as “leveraged strategic stakeholder engagement”.

Are organisational compliance measures actively hindering the relationships required for child protection?

Jarrod Wheatley said that the Australian not-for-profit sector claims to value relationships, yet designs systems around short funding cycles, rotating staff, and strict professional distance.

Success is currently measured by completed records rather than the presence of enduring, safe adults in a child's life. He challenges sector leaders to conduct a paperwork purpose audit to determine if processes improve care or merely manage institutional risk.

Read the full Q&A: https://tinyurl.com/4vvymkmf

Family violence prevention IS child health policy.

New research involving more than 684,000 women and children strengthens the case for more connected responses across family violence, health, housing and community services.

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New research: preventing violence against women could also save children's lives Violence against women can have serious consequences for the health and survival of their children.

The evidence exists. The recommendations exist. Yet services continue to report months-long waits and children being turned away.

The next test is implementation and whether systems can move from recognising children as victim-survivors to being designed around their needs.

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Twenty actions, six areas, one message: children can't wait any longer Australia isn't short on evidence about what works for children experiencing violence. It's short on follow-through.

Children only get one childhood, but Australia still has different child protection systems, policies and priorities across jurisdictions.

What would change if prevention, stability and long-term well-being became a truly national commitment?

Read more from Renee Leigh of Adopt Change here:

Australia needs a national commitment to every child The importance of ensuring every child protection decision is guided by both child safety and the evidence about what helps children thrive.

Australia is making a significant investment in , but sector leaders are already looking beyond the headline numbers.

With more than 40,000 young people presenting alone to homelessness services each year, the challenge is not only funding what works, but scaling it.

Youth foyers are showing strong results. What comes next matters.

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Youth housing lands major investment, but advocates say it’s only the start An investment through the Housing Australia Future Fund's Crisis and Transitional Program will build new homes for young people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

How do you decide you've done enough for the day when the problem hasn't gone away?

This is the daily reality for NFP leaders, where purpose stops protecting people and starts consuming them.

An honest read by Shae Allen about what drives burnout in our sector. Not workload. Identity. Guilt. The weight of carrying systemic problems as personal responsibility.

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The Weight of Purpose: What happens when leaders begin carrying systemic problems as personal responsibility There is a powerful idea embedded in purpose-driven work: that meaning sustains us. Purpose can be extraordinarily sustaining.