Annual report 2014 2015

Annual Report

2014 2015

Linkwest: supporting community, neighbourhood and learning centres to develop vibrant, inclusive and connected communities in Western Australia -1-

Contents President’s Report ..................................................................................3 CEO’s Report .........................................................................................4 Treasurer’s Report ..................................................................................5 Financials ...............................................................................................6 Projects..................................................................................................10 Membership 2014 – 2015......................................................................11 Training and Professional Development................................................12 Technology............................................................................................13 Member Centre Engagement................................................................14 Staying in Touch...In Person..................................................................15 Linkwest Resources..............................................................................15 CEO Sleepout........................................................................................16 Matchmaking Centres with Potential Committee Members...................16 Linkwest in the Spotlight........................................................................16 ANHCA Public Fund – DGR..................................................................16 Partnerships..........................................................................................17 Linkwest Representing its Members......................................................18 Life Outside the Linkwest Office............................................................18 A Pictorial Overview of Linkwest............................................................19

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About Linkwest

President's Report As a peak body largely funded by Government, Linkwest has over the last twelve months shown a remarkable capacity to respond to change.

In addition to delivering on our existing contracts, we have been very astute at reading the changing financial environment and proactively seeking alternative funding sources to continue to support Community, Neighbourhood and Learning Centres throughout Western Australia. As our CEO outlines in her report, Linkwest has secured some significant grants that respond to community need.

Linkwest recognises the importance of working with centres, and I personally have witnessed the valuable work they do. They are at the heart of local communities and really make a difference to the lives of people that they serve. They bring people together to connect, learn and contribute in their local community through social, educational, recreational and support activities, using a unique community development approach that is about doing with, rather than doing for. The approach is about enabling communities to identify and address their own needs; and it starts from the assumption that communities have existing strengths and assets that make them part of the solution.

We use this same enabling approach at Linkwest to build on people strengths. Four members of the Board, including myself, have just completed our first year in leading and governing Linkwest, and so we have each been on our own individual learning journey as newly elected office bearers. Having four stable Board Members in Virginia Aden, Toni Angelevski, Andre Foulon, and Jodi Lendrum and competent and reliable staff, our job has been made much easier. Their strengths have enabled us to grow.

However like the many management committees and boards who Linkwest supports, as a board we also understand the importance of undertaking our own development to ensure we perform to a best practice standard in governance. This has seen each of us personally undertake the Linkwest Effective Governance Training Online, which I highly recommend.

Together, we have also reviewed the skills, knowledge, experience and diversity of the Board members and improved our Board processes. We seek to model the services Linkwest offers to support building organisational and community capacity.

I must also state my respect, appreciation and thanks for the work of our CEO Jane Chilcott.

Jane has been instrumental in supporting me in my role as President, she has linked our very skilled people into a focussed and capable team.

Linkwest has clearly demonstrated itself to be proactive and responsive to change; while at the same time it has met or exceeded the performance standards required of the organisation. Against the possibility that Government may be seeking to endorse fewer and bigger organisations in the future, I can confidently say that Linkwest has certainly made the case in establishing the value of having an organisation that seeks to build strong communities.

Dr. Nicky Howe

President, Linkwest 2014 – 2015

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Linkwest is the Peak Body for Community, Neighbourhood and Learning Centres in Western Australia.

Linkwest offers a range of services to its members including: training and networking opportunities, resources, information advice and guidance, funding opportunities, marketing tools, and advice and assistance in areas such as Centre Governance, policies, and mediation. Linkwest also advocates for its members with Federal, State and Local government and helps to inform policy development within the State and Federal Government through the National Peak Body, ANHCA.

Governance Linkwest is managed by a Board drawn from member Centres and Associate members.

The Board, which meets regularly throughout the year, is responsible for the strategic direction of the organisation.

Patron In 2008, Dr Carmen Lawrence – retired Australian politician and former Premier of Western Australia – accepted the invitation to become the patron of Linkwest and to this day continues to be an advocate for the Community, Neighbourhood and Learning Centre movement in Western Australia.

Operations Linkwest staff are responsible for the day-to-day activities of the organisation and the development of resources and training opportunities for Linkwest member Centres.

They are chosen not only for their qualifications, skills and experience in community development and adult and community education, but for their dedication to the advancement of Community, Neighbourhood and Learning Centres in WA, in particular small community-managed NFPs.

Linkwest Board

The elected representatives for the 2014–2015 Linkwest Board were: Office Bearers

CEO's Report

President – Dr. Nicky Howe, Southcare Inc.

Linkwest has emerged into the spotlight as a respected and sought after expert in the community services field

Vice President – Virginia Aden, Sudbury Community House Treasurer – Toni Angelevski, Associate Member Secretary – Jodi Lendrum, Loftus Community Centre General Members Cheryle Brown, Nannup Community Resource Centre Maria Cavill, William Langford Community House Andre Foulon, Manjimup Family Centre Inc. Cate Rocchi, Associate Member Linkwest Patron Dr. Carmen Lawrence

Linkwest Staff In 2014–2015, those on the Linkwest staff team were: Chief Executive Officer, Jane Chilcott Centre Development Manager, Rebecca Davies Sector Development Projects Manager, Mihaela Nicolescu Evaluation Project Manager, Annika Schmidt (July - June) Projects Manager, Wynne Chow (June) Marketing and Office Manager, Jane Billham Finance Officer, Judy Summers Administration Officer, Helen Norris (June) Casual Administration Assistants, Aline Cohen Thomas Windsor

2015 marks Linkwest’s thirty third year of working for the WA Community, Neighbourhood and Learning Centre sector. Being in your thirties is often viewed as a turning point – as one moves from being youthful and carefree, to having a more mature outlook. While anyone who has visited the Linkwest offices can attest, our staff rarely take themselves too seriously. However, in a business and professional sense they have been fundamental in taking Linkwest to a new level of maturity. And with this change, Linkwest has emerged into the spotlight as a respected and sought after leader in the community services field.

Linkwest’s opinion and comment is increasingly sought on issues affecting the community sector, and our award winning work in Results Based Accountability has provided us with guest speaker and workshop presenter opportunities at conferences and forums both locally and interstate.

Increased visibility has brought Linkwest to the attention of agencies and other not-for-profits, and a number of mutually beneficial partnerships have been forged: with the Association of Western Australian Community Resource Centres for providing operational support and advice to the network of 95 Community Resource Centres in Western Australia; with Southcare Inc to encourage young professionals to the community sector via the Emerging Leader’s Programme; and with ConnectGroups, with whom we will be delivering the Into the Spotlight conference, happening in August of 2015.

That Linkwest is viewed as a professional and reliable entity is reinforced by our securing of some quite significant grants, including: $199,476 to facilitate help for those affected by problem gambling in Western Australia; an additional $120,000 to continue our work in Results Based Accountability; and $100,000 to build the governance capacity of small and medium not-for-profit organisations.

Ensuring Centres remain sustainable and viable in an uncertain environment remains at the core of our activities, and throughout the year the entire Linkwest team has worked tirelessly providing training, support, advocacy and resources to our members. Navigating the increasingly complex waters of financial, HR/IR and regulatory body compliance has been reflected in the number of member requests for support. Over the past year we have received 554 requests for support (19 high level or complex), up 13% on 2013 – 14.

All of the above has been achieved with a staff of just six and a volunteer board of dedicated professionals and Centre representatives. I would like to thank each and every one of this Linkwest team for their contribution over the past twelve months. The concerted effort has brought dividends, and with Linkwest’s increased visibility in the sector we look forward to assisting our members shine the spotlight on their great work in 2015 – 16 and beyond.

Jane Chilcott

CEO, Linkwest 2014 – 2015

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Treasurer's Report With funding continuing to become harder to source and the economic conditions getting tougher, I believe the need for Linkwest’s services and support in the community is needed now more than ever.

It is with great pleasure that I provide you with my treasurer’s report for the year ended 30 June 2015.

With funding continuing to become harder to source and the economic conditions getting tougher, I believe the need for Linkwest’s services and support in the community is needed now more than ever.

Overall, our revenue has decreased from last year. This is primarily attributed to reductions in grant income (a decrease of 11%). On a positive note, our operating income including our services to members and membership has continued to grow and I would like to thank our members for using more of our great services that we have on offer to achieve this.

On the expenses side, we have managed to proceed in a conservative manner and keep our outflows in check. Overall, our expenditure for the year was down by 20% from the prior year.

The pool of funds available in the sector is diminishing and from all reports, it will continue to do so.

This theme is continually echoed from both our State and Federal governments. With so much negative news in the media, I am pleased to announce that we have managed to finish the year with a surplus result of $53,593.

I would like to say a big thank you to Jane Chilcott our CEO and Judy Summers our Finance Officer for all of their hard work throughout the year and for making my role as treasurer run seamlessly. Thank you also to our Linkwest President, Dr Nicky Howe and the members of the Board, for their support and encouragement. I am certain that the dedicated team at Linkwest will continue with joy and enthusiasm to strive for excellence in delivering our services to both you our members and the community at large.

Toni Angelevski

Treasurer, Linkwest 2014 – 2015

Linkwest AGM The 2014 Linkwest AGM was held at The Rise in Maylands on Thursday 23 October 2014.

Forty two (42) members attended and eight (8) Board members were elected, with Dr. Nicky Howe from Southcare Inc. commencing her first term as President and Virginia Aden from Sudbury Community House commencing her first term as Vice-President.

Associate Member and chartered accountant, Toni Angelevski, accepted his second term in the role of Treasurer, and Jodi Lendrum, Manager of Loftus Community Centre Association her second term as Secretary.

The full Linkwest Board for 2014 – 2015 is listed on page 4 of this report.

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Financials

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Projects Over the past twelve months Linkwest has either applied for and been awarded grant monies, or has been approached directly by Government agencies, to provide a wide and varied range of projects.

Teaching to Learn – ACE Women taking the Lead Linkwest was awarded a grant of $5,000 for the ACE Women Taking the Lead programme.

The programme, delivered at four Linkwest member Centres, offered women the opportunity to develop their facilitation / tutoring skills through specially designed six hour training, and to develop and deliver a workshop at their Centre. The participants were taught the principles of teaching in a holistic way and were provided with practical and theoretical tools needed to embark on a tutoring / facilitation career, as well as a chance to deepen their knowledge through teaching.

“At the course, I enjoyed the facilitator who explained everything thoroughly and was extremely professional but fun also. It was great meeting the other course participants. Interacting with them and learning from them was deeply invigorating, with skills shared and life experiences explored.”

Teaching to Learn participant, Northcliffe Family and Community Centre

Our ACE Community - Beyond Gambling In May 2015, Linkwest was awarded grant monies of $199,476 to facilitate help for those affected by problem gambling in Western Australia.

About 115,000 Australians are classified as problem gamblers with a further 280,000 people at moderate risk and many families, from all walks of life, need urgent community support.

Problem gambling causes a wide range of issues including marital and family breakdown, homelessness, suicide, job loss and bankruptcy.

This grant will enable Linkwest to work with eight community centres throughout the state that are dealing with the fallout from issues caused by gambling in our community. These Centres will run 30 Days 30 Ways community workshops, which will offer alternatives to social gambling and opportunities to bring communities together in creative ways.

Linkwest’s Our Ace Community – Beyond Gambling project will include community workshops, an awareness raising campaign and training for frontline staff.

Linkwest is proud to be delivering the project in partnership with ConnectGroups, Centrecare, the WA Association for Mental Health, and Relationships Australia WA.

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The CRC Project In April 2015, the Department of Regional Development appointed Linkwest to be the provider of operational support and advice to the network of 95 Community Resource Centres in Western Australia.

The CRC Project is for a two-year period, and during that time Linkwest will provide CRCs with targeted support in the following areas: •

First year: human resources education and support in partnership with Jobs Australia.

•

Second year: governance and operational capacity building support for CRCs.

•

Video-conferencing delivery management, in partnership with BeingThere for the duration of the project.

•

A CRC Support Manager as a point of contact and to manage the project.

•

The project entitles CRCs up to two (2) hours per year of telephone advice and support from Linkwest.

Measuring Impact Training and Consultancy Programme Following on from the success of the pilot Result Based Accountability (RBA) programme, Linkwest secured $120,000 funding to continue to assist organisations to adopt an RBA approach, and as such launched a Measuring Impact Training and Consultancy Programme in September of 2014.

This programme offered a range of options: full or half day RBA workshops, a two hour introduction to performance accountability, two day in-depth training for RBA ‘Champions’ and three levels of consultancy packages (Gold, Silver and Bronze).

Both members and non-members took advantage of these opportunities: •

13 x RBA consultancy packages (11 Gold and 2 Silver)

•

3 x half day RBA workshops (15 participants)

Membership 2014 – 2015 Full - 76 Reciprocal - 4

Associate - 30 Life - 7

New Members 2014 – 2015

FaCS – Capacity Building Project In June 2015, Linkwest was awarded $100,000 by the Department of Finance’s Funding and Contracting Services (FaCS) Unit for the purpose of building the governance capacity of small and medium not-for-profit organisations in order to improve their long term sustainability.

Linkwest will use its existing expertise and resources in the field of governance as the starting point to deliver governance workshops to NFP organisations in regional and remote areas.

The training will be promoted and delivered through Linkwest’s regional members and the network of Community Resource Centres.

For those organisations where travel for in-person delivery is not feasible due to cost and time constraints, Linkwest will utilise the Westlink Satellite Television Service or BeingThere Video-conferencing – available as part of Linkwest’s CRC Project (see above) – to offer the training remotely.

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Full

New Box Learning Marilla House Community Centre Southcare Inc.

Associate Individual Jennifer Chaplyn Seemar Riyat Carol Thomas

Associate Organisational

Brunswick Junction CRC Child and Parent Centre Westminster City of Bayswater Gingin CRC Regional Development Agency (RDA) – Wheatbelt Sikh Association of WA

Training and Professional Development Pot of Gold Professional Development Day

In October, Linkwest held a full day of training and professional development at The Rise in Maylands.

The Pot of Gold day featured valuable training and information in areas designed to help bring funding into Centres and NFP organisations (via a Successful Grant Writing workshop), and how to manage those funds wisely and in accordance with current legislation (through the Understanding Your Balance Sheet workshop). The day also featured a keynote speech from Virginia Aden, CEO of Sudbury Community House.

Networking events Network meetings provide Linkwest Full members an opportunity to connect with other Centres in their area.

Five networking meetings were held throughout the year - two in the metropolitan area, one in the southwest, and two dedicated to unfunded centres. For those unable to attend in person, there was the facility to virtually attend via our GoToMeeting platform.

Linkwest on the Road Over the past year, Linkwest staff have been on the road (and sometimes on a plane!) in the metro area, up north, down south, and in the Wheatbelt holding training and networking sessions at our member Centres. This training – conducted in response to member requests and needs – focused predominantly on the areas of governance and of fundraising.

Effective Governance Online Training Following the success of Linkwest’s comprehensive suite of Governance-related courses and one-day governance training at member centres during 2013-14, it was decided to make this very important training available online. As a result, Linkwest’s Effective Governance Online training was launched in October during the Pot of Gold professional development day. The self-paced training comprises eleven modules covering specific aspects of governance and can be completed either individually or as a group. Recognising that time is both valuable and limited, the modules were all designed to be completed in between 30 minutes and an hour.

Since the launch, 12 Centres have taken the opportunity to undertake this online training.

$$$ Where to Go and How to Get It When thinking funding in the community sector, Lotterywest and government agencies such as the Department of Local Government and Communities are often the first and foremost to be considered. $$$ Where to Go and How to Get It was developed by Linkwest to give participants a practical look at the various funding alternatives - philanthropy, government grants, and corporate sponsorship/partnerships - available to NFP organisations.

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Technology Linkwest continued to uptake and integrate new technologies into its operations.

Capability of Linkwest’s Customer Relationship Management system extended Two new modules were added to our extensive Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system. An online store allows members and website visitors to browse our extensive resource library and directly purchase those resources that attract a fee.

This includes an eDownload facility which enables those who utilise our new PayPal payment option to receive resources in electronic format immediately.

Thanks to the conference module, we are able to offer online registrations for our biennial 3 day conference, happening in August 2015. This is a first for both us and our members, and we are pleased to report that both staff and our members have navigated the new process with a minimum of fuss!

BeingThere Video-Conferencing Service As part of the CRC Project (see page 11) we have access to BeingThere’s Video-Conferencing service.

This facility will be used primarily for holding meetings and conducting training with CRCs via video link. The system allows us to connect with up to 12 CRCs at any one time, with up to 25 connections by arrangement. The sessions can also be recorded so those not present during the training can also benefit. The cost-savings this brings in terms of travel, accommodation and staff time are quite substantial.

Infographics Linkwest’s subscription to Piktochart – an online infographic creation application – brings an added visual element to many of our resources, and can often simplify what can be difficult concepts to explain in pure text form. As an example, we have included the infographic created to explain ‘What Linkwest Does’, which historically, many outsiders to the organisation have struggled to understand. It can be found on the following page.

Quiz making software Many of the modules in our online Effective Governance course contain quizzes designed to check participants’ understanding of the material. iSpring Quizmaker has added a professional element to the way we present these quizzes and has the benefit of offering immediate results and feedback.

Our first foray into Television Broadcasting On 29 May, Linkwest CEO Jane Chilcott (centre) joined with Seattle-based community development expert Jim Diers (left) and Director of Community Development at Brockman Community House, Gaurav Chawla (right) to record our very first television production, “Do Something”.

Filmed at the Westlink Studios in West Perth, “Do Something” gets to the heart of community in Western Australia by asking the question “What is Community?” It includes some very heart-warming answers to this question by children involved in a handful of our member Centres.

“Do Something” was aired across the Westlink satellite network during May / June and it remains available for viewing via the Linkwest YouTube Channel, Linkwest335.

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Member Centre Engagement Over the past twelve months, 96% of Linkwest’s 76 member Centres engaged with us in at least one of the following ways:

• • • •

Participated in training Requested support Participated in a project Downloaded a resource

Fig 1. Centre Engagement: Overall

Training Forty five (45) Linkwest member Centres paticipated in training conducted

by Linkwest. Training was offered over a range of topics, including governance, funding, strategic planning and Results Based Accountability.

The three types of training with the greatest uptake are illustrated in Fig.2.

Network meetings ranked high in the list, demonstrating the importance placed on peer-to-peer contact and support by our members.

Support

Fig 2. Training Participation

The type of support requested by our members is wide and varied, covering areas such as capacity building (centre programming and community learning), centre management, planning and development, conflict resolution, financial management, governance and industrial relations / human resources.

Sixty eight (68) centres sought some sort of support over the past year.

As shown in Fig. 4, support was most frequently requested in the areas of Governance (33), Capacity Building (23) and IR/HR issues (13).

Fig 3. Support

Projects Over the past year, member Centres had the opportunity to participate in six Linkwest-led projects, including Results Based Accountability, The Beyond Gambling Programme and ACE Women - Taking the Lead.

Twenty seven (27) centres – or nearly 36% of our membership – participated in at least one of these projects.

Resources Linkwest’s online resource library has provided members the opportunity to not only browse and purchase our paid resources, but directly access and download those resources we provide for free.

As shown in Fig. 6, during 2014-15, 45% (34) of our member Centres made use of this self-service facility, downloading at least one resource.

Fig 4. Top Three Support Areas

Fig 5. Project Participation

Fig 6. Resource Downloads

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Staying in Touch...in Person

Linkwest Resources

With Linkwest member Centres spread across what are often vast distances, much of our communication is, by necessity, undertaken by phone, by mail and email, and by other digital means, such as virtual meetings and video-conferencing.

During 2014–15, Linkwest added a number of new resources to its impressive suite:

Nothing, however, beats good old fashioned face-to face contact. And nothing tells us more about a Centre’s challenges and successes than by actually witnessing them first-hand. That’s why, whenever the opportunity has allowed, Linkwest staff have arranged to visit a Centre, put a face to a name and see the Centre’s community in action. These visits have unearthed some real gems of programmes and initiatives, which we have been sharing on our Facebook page on an ongoing basis.

Online Self-Paced Learning Effective Governance Online • Creating and maintaining a strong committee • Principles of governance • Roles and responsibilities • Legal responsibilities • Meetings • Risk management • Financial management • Working with people • Dealing with conflict • Strategic planning • Policies

An example is South Lake Ottey Family and Neighbourhood Centre’s “Cooking for the Community” initiative. This programme has been running for five years and is run by South Metropolitan Personnel (SMP). SMP help people with disability achieve their personal life goals by facilitating greater access to the community and the development of their life, work and independent living skills. The South Lake Ottey free community lunch provides a chance for SMP’s clients to learn essential life skills and is a wonderful opportunity for the community to get together.

On the other side of the river, we were blown away by Bayswater Family Centre’s early childhood service, which was awarded the WA Childhood Service of the year in 2012. Down south, Hudson Road Family Centre boasts a fabulous creative play area (pictured right).

Governance Management Committee Handbook (revised version) Assuring the Financial Position of your Centre

Director General gains first hand view of Centre life In May, Linkwest member centres Sudbury Community House and Roleystone Neighbourhood Family Centre hosted Department of Local Government and Communities (DLGC) WA Director General, Jennifer Mathews; Executive Director, Scott Hollingsworth; and Manager Community Funding, Helen McGinty.

Linkwest was instrumental in arranging these visits, recognising the value to be gained from having a first-hand view of the work being done at DLGC-funded community centres and meeting some of the people who ‘make the magic happen’.

ANHCA Public Fund explained How to read a balance sheet Staff hiring process Tips to win that grant Measuring your success Templates

At Roleystone Neighbourhood and Family Centre the DLGC party learned of the great breadth of programmes and activities offered to the local community, their involvement in establishing both the local Men’s Shed and Community Garden, and their responsiveness to community needs e.g. in meeting the increasing demand for Playgroups in their area.

Sudbury Community House in Mirrabooka impressed with their long day care childcare centre - currently in the midst of having a new kitchen being installed - and a pre-employment skills programme being run in partnership with Masters Home Improvement.

Fact Sheets

Committee calendar Evaluation form Neighbourhood House Week promotional materials Tutor toolkit YouTube Videos Do Something!

– getting to the heart of community in Western Australia (L-R) Scott Hollingsworth and Jennifer Mathews (DLGC), Virginia Aden (Sudbury CH), Jane Chilcott (Linkwest), and Helen McGinty (DLGC) at Sudbury Community House.

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Jane’s CEO Sleepout In mid-June, Linkwest CEO Jane Chilcott, gained a brief insight into the realities of living on the streets via her participation in the 2015 CEO SleepOut. Jane’s decision to participate stemmed from her distress at the sheer number of young people and women she sees sleeping rough every time she visits the Perth CBD at night. This observation highlights what is a common misconception: that the homeless are mainly middle-aged or older men. In fact, most homeless people (60%) are under 35, and 44% are women.

Fundraising was a vital aspect of the CEO’s participation, and Jane raised an impressive $1671 which will go directly to the helping the homeless in WA.

L- R: Linkwest CEO, Jane Chilcott and ConnectGroups CEO, Antonella Segre, prepare for a night of sleeping rough at the 2015 CEO Sleepout.

Matchmaking Centres with potential committee members Maintaining a committee that not only meets constitutional requirements in terms of committee members, meeting frequency etc., can be difficult at the best of times. Add in the requirement of seeking a committee member with a particular skill set, for example, that of a treasurer, or someone with knowledge and expertise in advocacy, and sometimes the search can seem endless.

To assist member Centres to develop and maintain effective committees, our Centre Development Manager has placed an ongoing committee recruitment request on the Institute of Company Directors Board Matching Service. When an expression of interest is made, Linkwest facilitates the introduction by passing on the potential board member’s details to suitable Centres. From there is it up to the Centre and the potential board member to decide if they are a ‘good match’.

Linkwest in the Spotlight Increasingly, Linkwest is being approached to provide expert comment on issues concerning the community sector, or to participate in conferences and forums in a presenter capacity.

Over the past year, Linkwest has been featured in the following ways: •

The OMI Families Learning Together project, detailed in Linkwest’s 2013-14 Annual Report, was featured in the September 2014 edition of Adult Learning Australia’s Quest magazine.

•

In October, Linkwest CEO Jane Chilcott, and Evaluation Project Manager Annika Schmidt were invited to participate in the Funding and Contracting Services (FaCS) staff exchange programme. The exchange was subsequently featured in the FaCS monthly bulletin.

•

In November, at the inaugural SIMNA Impact Measurement Awards ceremony, Linkwest was announced as runner-up in the category of Excellence in Collaboration in Social Impact Measurement.

•

In March, Jane Chilcott made her radio debut on Radio Fremantle to talk all things Linkwest and Community Centres.

•

Also in March, Sector Development Manager Rebecca Davies, and Evaluation Project Manager Annika Schmidt, delivered a workshop and participated in a panel at the Measuring Impact Conference in Sydney.

•

In May, Rebecca and Annika delivered a Demonstrating Social Impact presentation to MBA and Social Impact Graduate Certificate students at the University of Western Australia.

ANHCA Public Fund – DGR

The national peak body for Community, Neighbourhood & Learning Centres (CNLCs) – the Australian Neighbourhood Houses and Centres Association Inc (ANHCA) – of which Linkwest is the WA representative, has established a mechanism to provide a national fund which enables CNLCs, through ANHCA, to: •

Take donations for which the donor or philanthropic body wishes to claim a tax deduction

•

Apply for grants provided by philanthropic bodies and foundations which require DGR (deductible gift recipient) status.

In essence, this means that Centres no longer need to have DGR status in their own right to apply for funds from philanthropic trusts/foundations and to receive tax deductible donations. Instead, Centres can use the ANHCA Public Fund for DGR as a vehicle to accept tax deductible donations ($100 or over) or apply for grants from philanthropic foundations/trusts and corporations requiring DGR tax status.

This greatly expands the fundraising possibilities for our Centres and in turn increases the positive impact they can have on their community.

Linkwest is now a member of the ANHCA Public Fund, which means that we are able to accept tax deductible donations of $100 or more.

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Partnerships While Linkwest can and does achieve much, we understand that we can achieve more by working in partnership with others. We seek partnerships based on shared vision and values, and work collaboratively with a diverse range of organisations.

Linkwest currently has the following active partnerships:

Association of Western Australian Community Resource Centres (AWACRC) The AWACRC is the equivalent of Linkwest, being the Peak Body for Community Resource Centres (CRCs) in WA. With the many similarities between the two sectors it was easy to see that it was in the interests of both the AWACRC and Linkwest members to work together. This arrangement was formalised in April 2015, when the Department of Regional Development appointed Linkwest to be the provider of operational support and advice to the network of 95 CRCs in Western Australia.

Details of The CRC Project are included on page 11.

ConnectGroups ConnectGroups is the Peak Body for Self Help and Support Groups (SHSGs) in WA, providing practical assistance to both new and established SHSGs to support their effective management and role in the community.

ConnectGroups is partnering with Linkwest for the upcoming Into the Spotlight Conference, scheduled for August 2015.

With an overlap of the training and development needs of both target audiences, and with many Linkwest member centres providing the base from which SHSGs provide their services, it was an easy decision to combine the two events.

Emerging Leaders Programme There were two new faces at Linkwest’s March Board meeting.

Laura Koh and Karen Wellington – both part of the Emerging Leaders Programme – attended the Board meeting in an observational capacity, and took full advantage of the rare opportunity for non-Board members to see governance in action.

Linkwest is a proud partner in the Engaging Leaders Programme, which empowers participants with the knowledge and skills to step onto Boards and Committees within the aged care sector and broader community.

The Programme is an initiative headed by Dr Nicky Howe at Southcare – also the Linkwest President – and is designed to encourage young professionals to sit on community boards and take part in the strategic planning process.

Young people are untapped resources of new ideas, fresh thinking and community understanding who could significantly help find solutions to the increasingly difficult challenges of the community sector.

L-R: Karen Wellington - Emerging Leader, Cate Rocchi - Linkwest Board, Laura Koh - Emerging Leader, Jane Chilcott - Linkwest CEO, Dr Nicky Howe - Linkwest President

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Linkwest Representing its Members Linkwest staff represents its members on the following committees: •

WA Peaks Forum

•

WA Peaks Policy and Sector Development Forum

•

Community Services Learning Network

•

South West Metropolitan Partnership Forum

•

Australian Neighbourhood Houses & Centres Association (ANHCA)

•

Adult Learning Australia (ALA)

Life outside the Linkwest Office Every once in a while, the Linkwest staff down tools for a few hours to explore life beyond the office walls.

Staff make their mark on pottery All those who work in the often cash-strapped community sector develop the ability to be very creative with very little. Linkwest staff are no different, putting this skill to use on a frequent basis.

In September, staff had the opportunity to flex their creative muscles in a different way, with an afternoon spent wielding paintbrushes at Make Your Mark Pottery. The following week our masterpieces were returned to us, glazed and fired, a selection of which are pictured (left).

Walking with the Giants In February, after a short bus ride into the City, Linkwest staff were walking with the Giants, along with the tens of thousands of others who had also made the trek into Perth to witness the French spectacle. And spectacular it was, as well as being a shining example of just what can be achieved when a small group of people think big and then take the action to make it happen. Which is a lot like our member Centres, and the reason Linkwest staff keep doing what we do!

Cheer-squadding for Mihaela at the Hungerford awards In March, Linkwest staff were thrilled to attend the T.A.G. Hungerford Award Ceremony at the Fremantle Arts Centre to cheer on our colleague Mihaela, who was shortlisted as one of five finalists from a pool of over sixty submissions. Administered by Writing WA, the prize is awarded to an unpublished manuscript by a previously unpublished Western Australian author.

University of Wollongong graduate, Madelaine Dickie, took top honours on this occasion with her manuscript Troppo, but we couldn't be prouder of Mihaela (pictured left with Brad Pettitt, Mayor of Fremantle), who won hands-down in terms of audience reaction to readings from the finalists' manuscripts.

Staff Qualifications Two of our staff gained new qualifications in 2014 – 15: Jane Chilcott – Cranlana Executive Colloquium Mihaela Nicolescu – Certificate IV in Training and Assessment

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A Pictorial Overview of Linkwest

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Linkwest is a member of:

We are proudly supported by:

Linkwest The Peak Body for Community, Neighbourhood and Learning Centres in WA. ABN: 51 172 714 842 a: Suite 3, 37 Hampden Rd Nedlands WA 6009 t: (08) 9485 8929 / 1800 818 991 f: (08) 6389 0377 e: office@linkwest.asn.au w: linkwest.asn.au facebook: facebook.com/linkwest twitter: @LinkwestTeam -- 20 20 --