Category: Uncategorized

Australia, Uncategorized, Women in Business

Dont ask permission (or forgiveness)!

Pamela Sutton-Legaud Writer, Strategist, CEO

It’s International Women’s Day and I’m mad. No not that sort of mad… I’m assertive, vexed, inquisitive, willing to put the elephant in the corner on to the top of the table and point at it in an annoying way. In a word, I’m being unashamedly Woman and I’m not asking permision or forgiveness.

Sadly, there are so many women in the world who do not have the strength, financial capacity or forum to fight for their rights safely. Australian women have so much of that and yet…  two examples of it today of a sort of unspoken need to have men’s approval of our wants and needs: At an international women’s day breakfast, the (50:50 male female panel) discussed why women were ‘different’ how we can deliver a ‘softer’ side to the boardroom….! Am I in 1952? I heard a senior officer (male) from the Australian army talk on the radio about how he was going to Washington for IWD to talk about getting more women into the Australian armed forces. Was it only me who noticed the irony of the Australian Army NOT sending a women on this mission

“The strength of a woman is not measured by the impact that all her hardships in life have had on her; but by the extent of her refusal to allow those hardships to dictate her and who she becomes.” 
―    C. JoyBell C.

We’ve made huge strides forward; we’ve made change happen. But it is time – now more than ever – to take off the gloves and push in to spaces where we are not wanted, where we will be deliberately provacative by our mere presence and we stand and face what ever is thrown at us.

I wish all women a happy and inspiring International Women’s Day. Be proud of everything you and we have done and everything we will do. With or without permission.

Australia, Business Strategy, Corporate sponsorship, fundraising, Not for Profit Sector, partnerships, philanthropy, Strategic Planning, Uncategorized

Can $50million ever be a bad thing?

Pamela Sutton-Legaud Writer, Strategist, CEO

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Much has been made of a recent philanthropic gift of $50m to an Australian university to set up a scholarship fund. Quite right, you might say.

The donation secured Graham and Louise Tuckwell the honour of having made the largest philanthropic donation to an Australian university by individuals.

The couple funded 25 scholarships of $20,000 each per annum for up to 5 years.

An interesting question is whether the University would have set up the scholarships without this impressive and very generous donation – ie was the scholarship a strategic or donor driven decision? Many organisations struggle with these questions. Should we accept a large gift which we otherwise would not receive unless we tie the gift to the donor’s specific requirements? It is not suggested that in this case the university in question had this dilemma – but is there ever a time when $50m is a bad thing?

Most not-for-profit organisations can cite examples of where trying to deliver on a donor request in order to secure a large gift has cost them more than if they hadn’t accepted the funds in the first place.

When a business (and non profit or otherwise we are all businesses) tries to deliver solely what is of interest to the donor, time and resources are taken away from other strategic priorities. Staff can become disheartened when they see their core needs being unmet while other ‘less urgent’ projects taking priority.

How do we avoid these situations and put ourselves in the best possible position to accept a generous gift AND improve our capacity to deliver on our core values and deliverables? I would suggest 3 things:

1. Be willing to have a transparent and honest discussion with the potential donor about what will really help your organisation deliver on its mission. What do you really need to move the organisation forward and meet the supporter’s philanthropic objectives?

2. Have a plan around your vision – if you can’t share your strategic vision with potential supporters how can they fund your highest priorities? If you don’t know, neither will they. Create a strategic plan with room for growth – show how you would put their funds to the best possible use.

3. Be willing to say no. Or to be more positive, be willing to say ‘yes’ to the gifts that will push you and your organisation along on its journey. Yes, you must always be flexible and you should know where the line is.

I wish all organisations the very best of luck and good fortune in their fundraising and hope their planning is going well for the next financial year. May another multi-million donation be just around the corner. Make sure you’re ready to say ‘Yes’ to it.

Read more about the donation here at the excellent Fundraising & Philanthropy Magazine http://www.fpmagazine.com.au/50-million-donation-for-australian-national-university-316794/

Australia, Uncategorized

Happy Australia Day!

Pamela Sutton-Legaud Writer, Strategist, CEO

australian-flag-mapIt’s the day we celebrate Australia’s coming of age…Celebrated annually on 26 January, the date commemorates the arrival of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove, New South Wales in 1788 and the proclamation at that time of British sovereignty over the eastern seaboard of Australia. (Thanks Wikipedia)!

It’s also called ‘Invasion Day’ by many indigenous people who see it as not a day to celebrate but a day to commiserate.

Whatever your views, it is a beautiful, prosperous – for most – country where many have built successful, safe, satisfying lives. So. Happy Australia Day.

Not for Profit Sector, ubud Writers festival, Uncategorized, Writers

Ubud Writers’ Festival 2013 Dates

Pamela Sutton-Legaud Writer, Strategist, CEO

2013 marks an important year for UWRF as we get set to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of Southeast Asia’s most renowned literary event.

urf international_poetry_slamIn 2013, UWRF comes full circle returning to its original theme Through Darkness to Light/Habis Gelap Terbitlah Terang honouring Indonesia’s beloved women’s right pioneer RA. Kartini, Paying homage to Kartini the Festival focuses on women’s stories, women’s rights and education, heroes and visionaries, and embraces writers across all genres including travel writers, songwriters, playwrights, poets, comedians and graphic novelists.

‘To add to the excitement of celebrating our ten years, the Festival welcomes our new International Program Manager – Summa Durie who joins our existing programming team of Kadek Purnami – Community Development Manager, Wayan Juniartha – Indonesian Program Manager and Ida Bagus Putra Wira Adnyana – Program Coordinator. Also joining the UWRF team is Marketing Manager – Madeleine Smith. Both Summa and Madeleine have had immense experience in arts events and will bring an effervescent youthful spirit to our upcoming mammoth 10th Festival’, said Janet DeNeefe – Festival Director/Founder.

In breaking news – the dates of the 2013 UWRF have now changed to 11 – 15 October to avoid a clash with the upcoming APEC meeting, which is being held in Bali early October. Please make sure to update your diaries and calendars now with our new dates.

Whether you have been to every UWRF, have experienced the Festival once or twice, or have ever thought about attending – 2013 is the year to see you at the Festival, as they welcome the world’s most exciting writers, thinkers and artists to Ubud. www.ubudwritersfestval.com

fundraising, Melbourne Zoo, Not for Profit Sector, philanthropy, Uncategorized

Give Hugs this Christmas!

Pamela Sutton-Legaud Writer, Strategist, CEO

Will you make a charitable donation this Christmas? Are you foregoing gifts this year in favour of your favourite cause? Many people will and the trend is increasing. I’d like to think we all probably have more than enough ‘stuff’ and dont need much else so a gift to a charity instead of a new pair of socks sounds like fun! Lots of charities need our support at this time of year in particular.

Try www.oxfam.org, www.worldvision.org, www.redcross.org or www.zoo.org.au to name a few… or if you have to have a gift, perhaps consider visiting an elderly friend or neighbour and giving them a hug … I think that’s just as charitable and probably very welcome 🙂 Merry Christmas, Felice Navidad, Joyeaux Noel 🙂

Give a hug for christmas
Give a hug for christmas
Australia, fundraising, Melbourne, Melbourne Zoo, partnerships, Uncategorized

Monty Python Palin in Melbourne

Pamela Sutton-Legaud Writer, Strategist, CEO

Michael Palin – the ‘nice one’ from the English Monty Python series will visit Melbourne Zoo next week to be the guest speaker for our annual fundraiser. We’re all very excited – how could we not be if we’ve seen K-K-K-Ken in ‘A Fish Called Wanda’ ?! We hope he’ll enjoy what we have planned for him… meet the Meerkats, Browse the Butterflies…and eat fantastic food prepared by celebrity chefs… AND help raise a lot of money, we hope. A night to remember! Visit http://www.zoo.org.au/melbourne/whats-on/dine-on-the-wild-side

Uncategorized

Innovate or Whinge… which do you choose?

Pamela Sutton-Legaud Writer, Strategist, CEO

The Australian Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, is calling for the Australian economy to look more firmly to its Asian neighbours for it’s future with the release of an Asian White Paper. With recommendations from refocusing our school courses to include more Asian languages to motivating business boards to consider markets beyond Australia’s borders. And what is the response from business and schools? ‘but we can’t do it without money’. It makes me sad. Why can’t we respond to innovation in ways other than whinging: ‘but i need more money?’

5 ways to make change happen that don’t cost (much) to consider :

1. Review your strategic plan – is a stronger involvement with Asia good for your business? Have you even considered how you could do business with Asia? Do you know how you would fare competitively with Asian companies targeting ‘your’ market? What is your USP? When was your last planning session?

2. Review your customers – who are you already doing business with who has strong links with Asia? How could you build this business? Which countries offer the most potential?

3. Get your management team together -ask them what they could do differently? They might surprise you. How could they look at ‘business as usual’ and make it more usual to include an Asian focus.

4. Look to your board: who is on your board (or not) who could assist your growth in the Asian market. Who is holding you back? Do you need a ‘reshuffle’?

5. Remove dead wood: which markets, customers or sectors are you holding onto because ‘you’ve always done it that way’. Leave room for new ideas, new markets, new customers, new money!

Once you done all or some of these actions, then you can really see what money you need. And it doesn’t necessarily need to come from the government – which ever side of the political fence they’re on.

Business Strategy, partnerships, Uncategorized, Women in Business

Power and Women

Pamela Sutton-Legaud Writer, Strategist, CEO

Are you a woman ready to take over the world? If so, now is your time.

In a speech in Peru, Secretary of State to the US Hillary Clinton talked about women and economic growth and states that restrictions on women’s economic participation are costing the world massive amounts of economic growth and income in every region of the world. You can read her speech here.
The question I ask is how do we harness women’s power? How do we work together to encourage more collaboration, recognition and support for the economic and human powerhouse that is represented by the women of the world?
In a Special Report produced exclusively for The Wall Street Journal
Executive Task Force for Women In The Economy 2011, Unlocking the full potential of
women in the U.S. economy,  it was recognised that women have been a growing factor in the success of the U.S. economy since the 1970s. The additional productive power of women entering the workforce since then accounts for about a quarter of current GDP.
But the full potential of women in the workforce has not yet been tapped. Now, it is critically important to do so: According to McKinsey’s the U.S. struggles to sustain GDP growth rates, it needs to bring more women into the workforce and fully deploy high-skilled women to drive growth through productivity improvements.
How do we leverage this fantastic resource? As a crude analogy, imagine all women represent a massive oil reserve, or huge coal deposits. I dont think we’d be left in the ground! We have huge, hidden, untapped potential. Let’s join together to leverage the hell out of us! And along the way, maybe take back the world.

Uncategorized

Kicking off in Ubud…

Pamela Sutton-Legaud Writer, Strategist, CEO

It’s all happening in Bali at the Ubud Writers’ Festival. A fantastic lineup of speakers, workshops and special events.

I’ll be attending for the first time this year and I am SO excited. A chance to experience a completely different culture, enjoy beautiful weather and be around great talent. What could be better?

If you are going to be there, or you have some recommendations about Ubud and or Bali, please drop me a comment or a quick line. I’d love to hear your Ubud stories.

Ubud Writers Festival