Partnership to Support NFPs in Digital Age

A new Australian-US partnership is set to raise Not for Profit awareness of the risks, challenges and opportunities associated with operating in the digital age.

Philanthropic trust manager Perpetual Private has secured a three-year partnership with the Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society in the US to provide Not for Profits and philanthropists in Australia access to Stanford’s Digital Civil Society Lab – a research and policy program examining the way private resources can be used for public benefit in the digital age.

Perpetual Private’s national manager of philanthropy Caitriona Fay said Not for Profits and philanthropists are still coming to terms with what operating in a digital world means for how they work with communities.

“This includes how we raise and donate funds for public benefit, how we capture, hold and use data, and what that means for privacy, through to the role of markets and social businesses in our economy,” Fay said.

“It’s important to ensure the individuals and organisations in this sector are responding to what the digital age means for society.”

Fay said work with Stanford’s lab would help build awareness of digital data governance and management, provide ready-to-use resources for organisations, build distribution and implementation partnerships, create scholarly collaborations, and engage organisations and associations in developing and supporting digital policies.

 “Perpetual will be working with the Australian Scholarships Foundation and Stanford Foundation Australia to provide Australian leaders with an opportunity to feed into this globally significant piece of research and build their capability both in Australia and through Stanford’s Institute of Nonprofit Management in Palo Alto,” she said.

“The partnership will also include practical workshops for philanthropists, social innovators and NFP boards and leaders focusing on issues from digital philanthropy through to Not for Profit leadership in the digital age. The program will also see 10 Not for Profit leaders from across Australia spending time in Palo Alto at Stanford’s Nonprofit Management Institute.”

Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society executive director, Kim Meredith, said that having worked with major organisations in the philanthropic and Not for Profit sectors across the globe, the centre had seen the importance and value that a sound understanding of the digital landscape can provide.

“We look forward to working with Perpetual, and their partners in Australia to help raise the bar in this field, and connect with Australia’s Not for Profit leaders. Additionally, Digital Civil Society is inherently global. This important partnership will build knowledge and resources that will benefit us all,” Meredith said.