Fulbright Delivers Two Inaugural NFP Scholarships
21 March 2013 at 8:32 pm
In what has been described as a world first, two Australians have been awarded inaugural Fulbright Scholarships for the Not for Profit sector.
The two recipients of the Fulbright Professional Scholarships in Non-Profit Leadership, sponsored by Origin Foundation and supported by Australian Scholarships Foundation are Dr Tessa Boyd-Caine and Andrew Tyndale.
Dr Boyd-Caine is the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS), the peak body of the community services and welfare sector.
Through her Fulbright, Dr Boyd-Caine will go to New York and Washington DC for four months to research issues around how Not for Profit organisations can strengthen and lead the trust and confidence in which this sector is held. While in the U.S. Dr Boyd-Caine will investigate the work of the Foundation Center, an organisation instrumental to building openness within the American non-profit sector, and its partnership with the National Center for Charitable Statistics.
Andrew Tyndale, who is Director and Founder of Grace Mutual Limited, will go to The Milken Institute in the U.S. for four months and will further his research in social investment. Grace Mutual Ltd is a Not for Profit organisation that was formed to generate financial solutions for other NFP organisations, principally around capital and assets.
Tyndale considers that social investment is a new field in which commercial investment is directed to investments, which generate good social outcome. These may include community enterprise, employment, or environmental or social inclusion.
The basis of Andrew Tyndale’s research “Innovations in Social Finance” will be on methods to attract wholesale capital into the infrastructure necessary to deliver social services such as aged care, disability accommodation, housing affordability plus education and health. It is estimated that more than $100 billion is needed in Australia over the next 5 years for aged care and housing alone.
The Origin Foundation says that due to the outstanding caliber of applicants, it made the bold commitment to fund two individual winners to receive the inaugural Fulbright Scholarships.
Sean Barrett, Head of Origin Foundation, said the quality of applications for the Fulbright Scholarship were exemplary, making it impossible to choose just one candidate out of an astounding variety of applicants.
“The program applications were of such a high quality we had no choice but to award two scholarships, exceeding Origin Foundation’s initial commitment to provide funding for one scholarship annually.”
An individual scholarship benefit is valued up to $40,000 for research and professional development in the U.S.
The Origin Foundation has generously funded this scholarship opportunity for 2013-2017.
The prestigious Fulbright program is the largest educational scholarship of its kind, created by U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright and the U.S. Government in 1946. Aimed at promoting mutual understanding through educational exchange, it operates between the U.S. and 155 countries.
In Australia, the scholarships are funded by the Australian and U.S. Governments and corporate partners and administered by the Australian-American Fulbright Commission in Canberra.
Australian Scholarships Foundation (ASF) says it is committed to strengthening the Australian NFP sector through education and training opportunities for NFP board members, staff and volunteers.
Andrew Tyndale and Dr Boyd-Caine are two of 26 talented Australians to be recognised as a Fulbright Scholar in 2013. They were presented with their prestigious Fulbright Scholarships by Minister Chris Bowen and the U.S. Ambassador, Jeffrey Bleich, at the 2013 Fulbright Presentation Dinner at Parliament House in Canberra.
Applications for 2014 Fulbright Scholarships for Australians open on 20 May 2013, visit www.fulbright.com.au
