National Volunteering Week takes place from 13-17 May and highlights the contribution Australians make to the community. Lyndsey McKee from United Way, one of ING DIRECT’s community partners, talks about the impact made by corporate volunteers and the growing trend for drawing upon specialist skills to make a difference. When United Way first started organising …read more
In conjunction with National Volunteering week this week Doug Taylor, CEO – United Way Australia, writes here about 5 strategies corporations from across the world have successfully used to transform their volunteer programs. I’m lucky enough to be able to have some fairly frank conversations with corporate leaders about their volunteer programs. While most of them would suggest …read more
United Way Australia along with Centre for Social Impact’s Director Andrew Young launched United Way Australia’s first Community Impact Report : ‘Collaborating for change: Our Journey so far’ at UBS’s Sydney office last Thursday to an audience of over 40 participants from the corporate, trust and foundations, government and community sectors. “In the last 20 …read more
Jenny Riley, Community Impact Manager for United Way Australia reflects on designing and writing United Way Australia’s first Community Impact Annual Report. In putting together United Way Australia’s first Annual Community Impact Report, we had a blank slate and the opportunity to apply some of the best practices across the sector. Here are some …read more
Measurement is the new black in the social and philanthropic sectors. These sectors are abuzz with research papers, consultancies and conferences all rightly dedicated to doing better at ascertaining and quantifying social impact. At United Way we strongly support these endeavours and have been global innovators in introducing outcome measurement as far back as the …read more
As posted recently on ProBono this Opinion piece by Doug Taylor explores the potential of an Abbott Government’s Business Community Partnership group and what a new agenda that deepens and broadens business and community partnerships could achieve. To simply replicate the agenda of John Howard’s Corporate Community Partnerships initiative with its focus on research papers and …read more
When most people think of champions, they think of athletes, local heroes and sporting stars, but at United Way champions to us are the dedicated individuals, working within our corporate partners, who go are committed to making a positive impact in the community. The champions we know manage to do their 9-5 jobs as well …read more
With all of the shenanigans that have been going on in Canberra in recent times you could easily be excused for ‘switching off’ at the mere mention of any of our political leaders. This is totally understandable but also a shame because sometimes we can throw the baby out with the bathwater. Take for example …read more
As recently posted by Philanthropy Australia, our CEO Doug Taylor looks to explore the question “Is philanthropy in Australia creating a mono-cultural sector that unintentionally excludes others who may genuinely want to ‘give back’?” I have thought for a while that philanthropy in Australia is all a bit too nice and virtuous. If you look at the Philanthropic …read more
Last Thursday the first Australian child signed up to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library; the creation of country music sensation, Dolly Parton, and the cornerstone for United Way Australia’s early literacy strategy, ReadLearnSucceed. Charlie was one of eight children from Acacia Ridge (about 25km from the Brisbane CBD) who signed up for the program on the day. This small, …read more
In this fifth blog on corporate volunteering, we discuss the impact the last ten years of our unskilled team volunteering program has had on ourselves, United Way Australia, and how we have used this to deepen our engagement with our corporate partners, their employees and our communities, to create greater impact for all these stakeholders. …read more
When United Way first started organising corporate team volunteering projects back in 2003 it was about showing workplace giving donors the work our community partners were doing and helping them in other ways through our unskilled team volunteering program. This unskilled team volunteering program has grown to support over 60 community partners across Australia in 2012. …read more
In this third blog reflecting on the impact of ten years of United Way’s Corporate Connect team volunteering, we examine the impact for the businesses supporting their employees to volunteer. With another 195 Corporate Connect team volunteering projects succesfully completed in 2012 we were keen to understand the impact of this program for the businesses …read more
Many corporate leaders feel that having achieved a level of success in their career, there is a strong desire to give back, to contribute to the growth and enrichment of their corporation and their community, but don’t know exactly where to start. Mentoring programs come in a range of shapes and sizes and are a …read more
What happens when you challenge four school Principals, six senior corporate executives and two Department of Education representatives to increase the number of students who finish high school and then transition into further education or employment? In 2011, as part of our Community Impact agenda United Way Australia established a coalition of representatives from business, …read more
In this series of blogs we share what we’ve learnt about the impact of corporate volunteering on three key stakeholders: employees as volunteers, the businesses that supports their employees to volunteer and our partner community organisations. In the final blog I’ll explore how United Way has responded to increase employee and corporate engagement in community …read more
United Way is celebrating the 10th anniversary of our Corporate Connect® team volunteering program this year. Along the way we’ve learnt a few things that we think are worth sharing. In a series of blogs I’ll explore the impact of corporate volunteering on three key stakeholders: employees as volunteers, the businesses that support their employees …read more
Further to our post last week on the expansion of United Way (UW) in the Asia Pacific region, the article linked below gives you more insight in to the global United Way movement. United Way Worldwide (UWW) is committed to working with international corporations to bring together two powerful elements – that of Business Strategy & Social Impact. UWW …read more
Drawing on his experience of working locally, in Asia and North America over the last 5 years, Doug Taylor shares with you the most commonly asked questions the best corporate leaders are asking about their community impact programs and suggests them as questions to ask at the start of 2013. Corporate Community Impact is in …read more
As corporations in Australia are becoming more strategic in how they use their employee engagement and community programs to create social and business outcomes – the conversation is increasingly turning to how this can be leveraged within other markets in the region. A key driver to investment in corporate responsibility is the realisation by business …read more
View our recent video of Hayley Tanti, Careers Advisor, Plumpton High School presenting to United Way’s Community Champions Network on the benefits young people find corporate volunteering brings as they begin to transition from school to work. Corporate Volunteering helping young people transition to employment
Corporate supported volunteering is encouraging more people to volunteer for the first time and to do more to make a larger contribution to our local communities. In 2011, United Way’s partnership with 300 corporate organisations enabled over 3,400 volunteers to support 18,000 people in need. As part of International Volunteering Day – a United Nations …read more
On Universal Children’s Day (20 November 2012), Doug Taylor, CEO of United Way Australia was asked to discuss why reading to children under 5 years is one of the best investment opportunities on offer. To read the full blog please visit http://blog.ingdirect.com.au/2012/11/19/an-investment-guaranteed-to-give-a-high-return-and-lasting-legacy/ We have an instinctive belief that the children who succeed in life are the …read more
“I think we all have these deep desires to make an impact, to make a difference, to live a life outside ourselves, and what you guys do in breaking that down in terms of how we can make a difference is priceless, so thank you.” This year in Sydney we have been busy building and …read more
In a recent conversation with Martin Stewart-Weeks, director of the Australian Social Innovation Exchange (ASIX), he reflected on what is necessary for serious social impact, that is, a system modification with long-term positive social change. We talked about a 3-way relationship between ‘sherpas’, the right conditions for innovation, and scale. A key driver to expanding …read more
Pictures and Community Conversations speaking more than 1,000 words Last week community members met up at the Artspace Gallery in Woolloomooloo to view an exhibition of photos taken by local residents and to share a conversation on the area’s rich history and diversity. The photo project, also known as Show Us Your Woolloomooloo, aimed to …read more
There is a significant research base indicating early years literacy is linked to high school completion, better life opportunities and better health. Between the 12th-14th September, 90 delegates attended the 3rd Annual Early Years Literacy conference hosted by Paint the Town REaD in Canberra. Paint the Town REaD (PTTR) is an early literacy community scheme …read more
If you weighed all the books in your library, would they be heavier than an elephant? If you stacked them all in a pile, would they be higher than the school roof? Finding out the answers to these questions are just some of the fun activities children around Australia will be participating in as part …read more
Australia has the local resources and leadership in many communities to do the work of building the common good, but do we have the blueprint to create lasting change and the resolve to be accountable for our progress? Read Doug Taylor’s piece here on Pro Bono Australia.
We’ve just analysed our survey results for the first six months and ‘giving back to the community’ remains the number one reason that corporate volunteers nominate for volunteering (36% of volunteers). This is closely followed by ‘volunteering as a team’ (29%), and ‘being supported by my company (17%). It’s not just the community that benefits …read more
The challenges facing communities today seem almost overwhelming – and are too big for any single organisation to solve; too big even for the non-profit sector to solve without engaging private enterprise and government as partners. There is no single “silver bullet”; instead, a strong cross-sector infrastructure is needed to support collaboration, guide evidence-based decision-making, …read more
On this day in 1887, a Denver woman, a priest, a rabbi and a minister came together to improve their community. Today those actions have grown into United Way – the world’s largest privately-supported not for profit. United Way Australia is proud to be one of nearly 1,800 United Ways in 41 countries and territories …read more
The final opportunity to view the flood art work of Goodna State School is in the Collector’s Cafe area of the Queensland Museum for the next 3 weeks. The artworks were made in the first few weeks of school in 2011, by children at the Goodna State School. Fuji Xerox Australia and United Way Australia organised …read more
Voices for the Common Good - The World Speaks out on Opportunity is based on more than 120 community conversations in a dozen countries. In these conversations, everyday people from all walks of life talked about their aspirations for their communities, the challenges they see in creating opportunity, and what it will take to make real progress …read more
As a prelude to National Volunteering Week, United Way Australia, with the support of AMP Foundation, successfully launched our Partners for Impact Program on Wednesday May 9th. Partners for Impact is a year-long peer development program. We’ve paired up corporate and community leaders, who work on initiatives to develop the capacity of the community organisations …read more
We are pleased to give you an update on an award our Homelessness Coalition has secured through the efforts of our colleagues… Platform 70 (the $2.8m grant made by the State Government to house 70 Rough Sleepers in Woolloomooloo) won the Leading Innovation Award at the Australasian Housing Institute’s Professional Excellence in Housing Awards last Thursday …read more
We are very excited to release “Voices for the Common Good: The World Speaks out on Opportunity”. This report is based on more than 120 community conversations in a dozen countries. In these conversations, everyday people from all walks of life talked about their aspirations for their communities, the challenges they see in creating opportunity, …read more
Doug Taylor reflects on Steve Lawrence’s impact as a mentor, leader and social innovator The first time I encountered Steve was at the Social Entrepreneurs Conference in 2000. He stood out as someone who spoke passionately about the urgency for finding new ways to improve people’s lives. The last time I spoke to Steve was …read more
Much has been written about the business case and the social case for corporate volunteering. Typically, these cases have been defined using the survey results of CSR managers and NGO leaders. Rarely, had the perspectives of corporate volunteers been explored. The experience for the corporate volunteers is key for United Way in starting a volunteering …read more
It’s hard to think of an Academic as a rock star, but that’s how Mark Kramer, Co-Founder and Managing Director of FSG, was received at the Global Conference for United Way Worldwide in Nashville last month. Perhaps it was because we were in the US Country Music capital (Dolly Parton made an appearance as well, …read more
Our Community Impact work in Melbourne is focused on improving the lives of young people in the outer south-eastern region of the city. This is a region where statistics show high levels of concentrated disadvantage and social exclusion that carries over through the generations. In a series of community conversations and a ‘Search for Solutions Seminar’ …read more
On Wednesday 18 April we held our forum on ‘Collaboration for Social Innovation’ at the Weave Arts Centre as part of the Australian Social Innovation Exchange (ASIX) Social Changemaker’s Festival. It was a great event and the all the more memorable in torrential rain in a facility with a tin roof! We had fantastic input …read more
Do Your Best Awards “It is not about being the best, it’s about doing your best.” These are the words that Reg Corney, Acting Principal, at Claymore Public School, said to infants and primary students at their Term 1 Celebration Assembly, as he wheeled out five bikes to award to those students that teachers had agreed …read more
Three years ago Victoria experienced one of the worst natural disasters in its history – Black Saturday. This disaster impacted significantly on individuals, family and community members in many and varying ways. At the time of this third anniversary of the disaster, people are in very different places when reflecting on the events that took …read more
On February 22, United Way Australia, in conjunction with United Way Worldwide, will participate in a revolutionary eight-day global giving campaign spanning more than 60 countries around the world. “Everyone Gives” expects to be the most extensive and inclusive global giving event ever attempted, benefiting more than 200 non-profits around the globe. What do you …read more
Normally I would say that it only seems like yesterday that it was January 2011, however this time around January 2011 seems like a long time ago. If I were sitting where I am now, this time last year, then I would literally be over my head in brown water and so would thousands of …read more
Tanya Plibersek, the Minister for Social Inclusion and Minister for Human Services, yesterday launched the National Volunteering Strategy at the Volunteering Australia Conference. The development of this strategy is the culmination of consultation and research overseen by Minister Plibersek and previously, Senator Ursula Stephens. A key element to the consultation was a National Volunteering Strategy …read more
Sometimes I think that businesses leave their brains in the office. Sounds a little harsh but so often I see businesses with the best of intentions, not apply their business brains to their work in the community. Business leaders know that they operate in a dynamic world in which the market is ever-changing with new competitors launching new …read more