Housekeeping - 5 Things You have learnt this Year.

We have been delighted by the response we received the call for “5 Things I’ve learnt this Year.” Unfortunately we could not give everyone a prize but below are the three winners with some pearls of wisdom and lessons for all.

Robert Taylor of National Theatre – Winner

1. Governments at all levels & other companies will not volunteer information about discounts or fee waivers to you, even if they know you are a not-for-profit.
You have to ask. And you can save a lot.
2. Grants & Donations can come from organisations where you "technically" dont qualify for support, if they think you are doing a great job. Keep the information flow going.
3. Just because they have said "no" for 10 years doesnt mean they wont say "yes" in the eleventh.
And vice versa.
4. Keep clear about why your group is unique and important. If you dont know why not simply close?
5. Pay your bills promptly when you can – it gives you breathing space when you can’t.

Michael Vyse of National Parks Association of NSW – Winner

1. If you dont wear a suit to a seminar full of "suits" you are the person that other seminar goers want to talk to.
2. When you are after a venue/restaurant for an event for free – call early, call the most expensive and have a Patron that the owner is dying to meet.
3. The over 70’s dont like coming to events after 6pm
4. Bequests come from the most unexpected places
5. Politeness, consideration and a little bit of effort toward each indivdual supporter leads to large rewards for the organisation.

Jenny Gledhill – Winner

1. I have learned that you can organise and run a State conference in a small rural town for 130 delegates
2. I have learned that you can do your first ever uni course when you are over 50
3. I have learned that commitment, patience and persistence pays off, even it does take several years to achieve the desired outcome
4. I have learned that a smile or laugh is infectious
5. I have learned to live by my own convictions and not allow others to influence me to change my mind.

Kim Holcroft of Multiple Sclerosis Society of Queensland
1. Don’t be attached to the outcome of a situation. Whatever happens will be the best outcome for all concerned in the long term even though it may not seem like it at the time.
2. Do fun things on week nights. Don’t just save the fun for the weekend. It makes the working week seem like something to get through and you end up wishing the time away.
3. Embrace change. You’ll learn and grow – the only way to do this is through change.
4. Like yourself. And if you find something you don’t like about yourself – change it.
5. Surround yourself with a life that you want and love – all the people, the job, the family, the home, the friends – YOU DESERVE IT!!

Marion Leach of Peel Volunteer Resource Centre WA
1. I can chat on a weekly radio segment without feeling in a panic about it for days beforehand.
2. Working as a team really can achieve fantastic results.
3. I’ll never be able to go back to full-time paid work after a year of part-time enjoyment
4. It’s taken 24 years of working in the non-profit sector to finally work with the Manager that the text books write about.
5. Supporting volunteers and volunteer agencies, provides an opportunity to add something new and better to our own practices everyday.

Gabrielle Kay
1. how to influence political lprocesses
2. how valueable trust is
3. the willingness of people to help get make good ideas happen
4. in a busy world, the importance of documenting all conversations
5. network, network, network – Australia is a small world and people and times come around quite soon

Rosemary Gaetjens
1. Nothing in life can replace a child’s unconditional love.
2. Being sick is sometimes good for the soul. It provides us a necessary time for slowing down and reflect on life, meaning and reality. It has given me the ability to let go of a lot of unnecessary stresses and relax a lot more. I now have more time for family and have let go of people who drained me of my energy. I laugh a lot more now than I did 12 months ago.
3. Being a grandmother is much more fun than being a mother. I have learnt to play again.
4. Giving up trying to prove that I need to be more than I can be both at work and at home. I have learnt that being a "super woman" does not mean putting yourself under stress to prove that you are as good or better than everyone else – for me being a "super woman" now means that I am a person who everyone wants to be with simply because I am good company, because I am just happy to be who I am.
5. Giving back to my community through being involved as a board member of an organisation I feel passionate about has been extremely rewarding. I am making new friends and finding that I am valued for my insight and skills in a new and different arena. Accepting new challenges at this stage in my life has been stimulating, invigorating and extremely good for the soul.

Joanne Luciani of Mental Illness Fellowship Victoria
1. I undertook a Charity Challenge to Everest Base Camp this year to raise money for Mental Illness Fellowship and learnt that I’m a tough old bird.
2. I also learnt that you can trust people to help you in times of stress and need, you just need to ask for help and it is usually given willingly.
3. I learnt that people can be so very generous if and when you ask them.
4. I learnt that important things in life don’t have a $ sign in front of them.
5. I learnt that funds can come from the most surprising of sources – keep everyone informed and talk to them and sometimes the ask is made by our supporters rather than by the charity.

Robyn Lee
1. Never say never.
2. It is hard to be a boss and see it from the employee’s side at the same time.
3. You can have a good subconscious reason for delaying some things.
4. The ‘Thorpie Factor'(that extra bit at the end) will kick in when it has to, to get you over the line.
5. Good management decisions can still be quick decisions.

Rachel K of Brisbane Domestic Violence Advocacy Service
1. Not to go to Coles with your toilet-training toddler without taking her to the toilet first.
2. Applying fake tan immediately before a night out when it’s raining is not always a good look.
3. That the majority of people doing their Christmas shopping will be rude, take your carpark and have forgotten the true meaning of Christmas – but it doesn’t mean you have to – so smile at them anyway!
4. That life is too short to not say how you feel.
5. That when your child throws a tantrum – join them & throw an even bigger one!

Michael Taarnby of St Vincent de Paul Society
1. Only actions and thoughts are controllable!
2. What you resist – persists! Focus on what you want, not on what you don’t want.
3. The power of the spoken word will only be unleashed once you have set a specific goal.
4. Your specific goal needs to excite your team. The “same old same old” will not motivate anyone to try anything different. The goal should generate nervous energy as to how it can be achieved. This is a separate dynamic to setting of a goal which defines the end point.
5. Your team must unite behind the goal, and submit itself to whoever/whatever authority that can direct it to the goal.

David Sharp
1. All about being a co-executor of a will (speaks for itself),
2. better lobbying abilities/ skills,
3. how J. Utzon extended the Sydney Opera House
4. How Picasso used Dora Maar as an interpretation of WW II,
5. What drug toxicity is (accidental overdose of Tegratol one Sat morning, shit!).

Bruce Argyle of Intercapital Fundraising
1. The importance of looking at and knowing your values and ‘drivers.’
2. As displayed in ‘An Inconvenient Truth’, climate change is a huge issue.
3. Melbourne is a great place to live and work
4. Integrity and trust are so important in relationships
5. The value of taking time to reflect!

Mike Zervos of The Alannah and Madeline Foundation
1. Growing a moustache in November can make a huge difference to fundraising! As the only male employee (at present) in AMF why didn’t I think of it!
2. Aussies continue to be very generous and caring.
3. The events of 2006 will be “the good old days” for us in the future so cherish every moment and have fun.
4. Fairy tales do come true. HRH Princess Mary is wonderful (she visited a school using our Better Buddies anti-bullying Framework)
5. Australian can make a difference around the world. As a result of HRH visit, the Better Buddies Framework will be introduced to schools in Denmark.

Leonie Gale of Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife
1. The Government doesn’t always know best – they need our help with the details.
2. If you want something to work tell everyone you know what it is that you want – it helps it to happen.
3. Whenever the CEO leaves the office, money falls into our laps and the computer system breaks down.
4. Environment is now on everybody’s radar.