MCFs MacroMelbourne Call to Action
12 September 2007 at 4:53 pm
Melbourne Community Foundation (MCF) has launched its philanthropic “call to action” urging corporate and private donors to leap in and grab a project to help make Melbourne a liveable city for all.
MCF Chair Marion Webster says Stage Two of the MacroMelbourne initiative offers a hands-on approach to those wanting and willing to make a difference.
Delivered in a ready-to-use document, the initiative offers a number of strategic projects, identified to address emerging issues around disadvantage in Melbourne.
Webster describes it as a blueprint for how business, staff and individuals can become involved in helping to shape our future.
The MacroMelbourne initiative was undertaken in collaboration with the Committee for Melbourne, Melbourne Cares, Pro Bono Australia, the Victorian Local Government Association, the Victorian Council of Social Service, RMIT, Deakin University and the Victorian Government.
It started by looking at the available evidence in relation to disadvantage in Melbourne; the extent to which it is already a divided city and how growth may exacerbate this divide.
MCF MacroMelbourne chair and founder of Pro Bono Australia, Karen Mahlab says Stage Two moves forward by delivering projects to address five action areas that fundamentally impact on disadvantage.
These areas focus on placed-based strategies – looking at Melbourne’s most disadvantaged suburbs, both inner and on the fringe, education and employment opportunities for young people, housing affordability, the digital divide – connectivity and access, and monitoring trends to better understand disadvantage over the coming decades.
Mahlab says each project is explained clearly and simply –
what’s needed in terms of cash commitment or in-kind assistance or professional expertise and how to get involved immediately.
She says MCF sees this as a form of preventative philanthropy.
Leading agencies have been asked to deliver projects that address issues in the five strategic areas. However projects can be customised to accommodate support from corporate and private donors.
Melbourne Community Foundation was established in 1997 to help individuals and organisations distribute philanthropic funds to address emerging social issues. It currently has more than $30 million under management and more than 100 sub-funds.
MacroMelbourne, A Liveable City for All Its People can be downloaded at www.communityfoundation.org.au
