Philanthropy Australia Board Matrix
The Philanthropy Australia Board works hard to optimise Board composition for effective leadership and governance. To this end, a skills, experience and diversity matrix was established to help understand the strengths of and gaps within the current Board, so we can ensure the Board is representative of the broader community and contemporary philanthropy.
Board Skills Matrix
CATEGORY | ITEM | BOARD BACKGROUND & DIVERSITY | ||
Yes | Somewhat | Gap | ||
Skills / Expertise | Philanthropy | |||
Finance | ||||
Strategic | ||||
Governance | ||||
Governance relations (policy and process) | ||||
PR / Communications | ||||
Information technology | ||||
Policy and research (structuring philanthropic trusts) | ||||
Board roles | ||||
NFP leadership | ||||
Background | Trusts and foundations | |||
Corporate foundations | ||||
Private Ancillary Funds (PAFs) | ||||
Community foundations | ||||
Individual philanthropists | ||||
National organisations | ||||
Intergenerational organisations | ||||
Diversity | Age - mixed-age profile* | |||
Gender - 40% minimum** | ||||
Non-English-speaking background | ||||
Indigenous*** | ||||
State representation | ||||
Personal Attributes | Broad perspectives (life experiences) | |||
Good communicator | ||||
Active contributor to Board | ||||
Ambassador (representational role) |
2021 Board election
The current Board would like to encourage nominations from members with the following skills, experience and profiles:
Skills and experience
Profile
In addition, Board Members need contemporary and future-focused understanding of current practices and the potential for philanthropy.
Eligibility
To be eligible for appointment to the Board of Philanthropy Australia, a nominee must:
be a Member*, or a representative of a Member; and
not be disqualified from managing a corporation under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) or from being a responsible entity under the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission Act 2012 (Cth).
*A Member from Active, Engaged, Impact and New Gen membership levels has full voting rights and can be elected to the Board (a Member from the Connected level of membership does not have voting rights and can't be elected to the Board). Clause 12.1 (d) of the Constitution states that “Each director must be a member or representative of a member, at the time of appointment or election, and the majority of directors must be Funders or representatives of Funders.”
Please note that Members whose rights have been suspended are not eligible to be nominated, nor to nominate others.
Criteria
Philanthropy Australia has a skills, experience and diversity matrix to help understand the strengths of, and assess the gaps in, the current Board composition. The Board is keen to ensure the mix of Directors is representative of the broader community, maximises good governance and that the total composition strengthens and enhances its effectiveness. The Board therefore asks that nominators and candidates review the skills matrix and that nominations address the desired skills, experience and characteristics highlighted.
The Philanthropy Australia Board Charter and other related governance documents can be found here.
Nominations
To nominate for a Board position, please:
Please submit all nominations for a Board position by 5.00pm 14th February 2021 to the AGM Secretary, Nicolas Crowhurst via email (ncrowhurst@collaboratusgroup.com) or via post (which MUST be received by Friday 12th February 2021):
Philanthropy Australia
Attn: Nicolas Crowhurst
Level 2, 55 Collins Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
Download the 2021 Director Nomination form here.
Nominees are encouraged to speak with the Board Co-chairs, Ann Johnson and Amanda Miller, as well as current Directors or the CEO to assist with questions, background or any other information that might be helpful. Please call the Melbourne office on 03 9662 9299 if you would like to discuss a nomination.
As per the Constitution, if there are more nominatins for Board positions than vacancies, nominations will go to a vote of Members held by ballot, the details of which will e sent to Members on 23 February 2021. This vote will be conducted by Philanthropy Australia's appointed returning officer and AGM Secretary, Nicolas Crowhurst.
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