The Not-for-profit Agenda (Webinar)

A special guest with her finger on the pulse of one of the biggest issues facing Australia – migration – will headline Community Directors’ next quarterly news webinar. 

The Not-for-profit Agenda, next airing at 12.30pm AEDT on Thursday, October 29, is the free one-hour lunchtime show for not-for-profit leaders broadcast online via Zoom. 

Hosted by Community Directors journalist Matthew Schulz, the next episode will feature Violet Roumeliotis, the chief executive of Settlement Services International (SSI), a powerhouse organisation that supports more than 56,000 people a year.  

SSI began as a Sydney-based refugee support organisation, but over the past 25 years it has expanded to become a national not-for-profit with the purpose of creating a more inclusive society through a range of services. 

Roumeliotis is an astute operator who has grown SSI from a mid-sized organisation into a large operation with many program areas, a strong revenue base and more than 1200 workers. Roumeliotis is also a vocal sector advocate, recently calling on the government to stop treating the not-for-profit sector as “second-class citizens” and to convene a national migration summit. She’s the vice-president of the sector’s service peak body, the Australian Council of Social Service, holds a long list of other appointments and is the recipient of many awards, including Telstra Australian Business Woman of the Year in 2017. 

Alongside a live Q&A with Roumeliotis, the October episode will feature video reports from: 

• Maree Sidey of Philanthropy Australia on how community organisations can adjust their fundraising strategies to take advantage of generosity 

• Dylan Smith from Community Foundations Australia on the billion-dollar community-driven funding reboot for the not-for-profit sector 

• Jess Scully of the RadicalXchange Foundation about the opportunities for not-for-profits to take charge of the AI revolution 

• Melissa Smith, chief executive of She Gives, on the growing power of women in giving 

• Nathaniel Diong, chief executive of Future Minds Network, on how the new generation of philanthropists thinks 

• David Michell from the Tough Guy Book Club on the club’s mission to put “real decent conversations” for men back into pubs 

• Rachel Power, Deloitte economist, on research that shows social enterprises how to prove they’re helping people to get jobs.