About The Australian Scholarships Fund (ABN 38 626 377 893):

Our Fund is endorsed by the Australian Taxation Office to operate as a Deductible Gift Recipient Fund to provide scholarships for education and training to staff and directors of Australian not-for-profit (NFP) organisations and charities.

We have been working to build the capacity of leaders through the delivery of scholarships and professional development opportunities for over 14 years.   In that time more than 5,000 people from a wide range of for-purpose organisations have benefited from programs worth a total of $17.2 million.   

We are the largest provider of free and subsidised training opportunities in the sector and the focal point in multiple networks of educators, executives, funders and alumni, who partner with us for the ultimate good of the community. 

Why are we collecting funds?

Our surveys and research have told us that leaders in the for-purpose sector have difficulty affording high-quality professional developing opportunities with 90% of our recipients reporting they would not have been able to access training without a scholarship.  The demand for scholarships is four applications to every one place available.  

We need your support to deliver more.

The need:

The Productivity Commission reviewed the Australian not-for-profit (NFP) sector and identified the lack of key competencies as a major obstacle for its long-term viability. Its seminal report in 2010 recommends increasing the scale and quality of governance, leadership, and management capacity of not-for-profit organisations (NFPs) so they can sustain and maximise their contribution to society. Many NFPs simply do not have the capacity to fund professional education and development for their people. Yet with deepening constraints on funding, the changes in the regulatory environment and the misguided expectations from funders and the public to not invest in "administration costs", NFPs and charities need access to education and training more than ever before.

We are the only organisation in Australia solely dedicated to providing affordable access to education and training for leaders in the NFP sector.