From the Chapter President … Claire Grlj

I hope it’s been a great start to the 2023 year for all our Members. It has certainly been a change to be able to hit the ground running and continue uninterrupted!

A warm welcome to our newest Members and Institutions. All of our Members are invited to engage in another fantastic year of PD across the Special Interest Group SIG and Networking sessions, organisational Webinars, mentoring opportunities and of course this year’s Chapter Summit at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre on Thursday 27 and Friday 28 July. 

The Summit Committee has created a program of sessions and speakers carefully curated across the Advancement pillars, which means our Members will access quality Professional Development content. Further, we have scheduled a good mix of business and social networking, along with showcasing industry providers with products and services that can help solve some of the needs within your organisation. The Summit Soiree will be a wonderful opportunity to relax and connect with colleagues and the Awards Breakfast event will showcase some of the best and brightest across the Membership. 

The Queensland Summit could not happen without the support of our industry Partners, and we welcome Advanced Life Photography as a Summit Partner this year. Look Education, Charidy and Giving Architects are also involved in the Summit, as are our Strategic Partners Potentiality and ToucanTech. Further Chapter and Summit Partners will be announced shortly. The interest from Partners in supporting Educate Plus is testament to the quality of our Membership.

Our Gold Coast regional members enjoyed a SIG session last month, with our next regional visit planned for members in the Rockhampton regional in late April/May, watch this space for details.

Claire Grlj
QLD Chapter President | Educate Plus

Leading Engagement Solutions
0401 439 612

Meet the QLD Committee

The QLD Chapter Committee is an amazing group of volunteers, working tirelessly behind the scenes to create amazing PD opportunities for our Members and Non-Members (all while also holding busy jobs at their Institutions!) 

We are incredibly grateful to those on the Committee, and proudly introduce them to you: 

Position Holders:

• [President: Claire Grlj, Leading Engagement Solutions]
• Vice-President: Lara Pickering, Director of Philanthropy, St Margaret’s Anglican Girls School
• Secretary: Meg Graham, Foundation Manager, Clayfield College
• Treasurer: David Miles, Old Boys Manager, Anglican Church Grammar School (Churchie)

Committee Members:

• Sue Russell, Patron, St Aidan’s Anglican Girls’ School Alumni and immediate past president
• Helen Turner, Director of Communications, Development & Events, St Laurence’s College 
• Ben Foley, Director, Legal & Assurance, St Peters Lutheran College 
• Susan McGinley, Director of Advancement, The Women’s College, UQ 
• Alison Walburn, Director of Community Engagement, Matthew Flinders Anglican College 
• Claire Henkey, Director of Community Engagement, John Paul College 
• Petrina Gilmore, Director of Philanthropy, Somerville House 
• Scott Huntington, Director of Admissions, Anglican Church Grammar School (Churchie)
• Penny Bowman, Director of Community Engagement, Moreton Bay College | Moreton Bay Boys’ College
• Ben Stocks, Brand and Marketing Manager, Moreton Bay College I Moreton Bay Boys’ College

Summit

Dates: Thursday 27 July & Friday 28 July 2023

Times: Thursday 27 July

• 8.00–9.00am Registrations Open
• 9.00–6.00pm Summit Sessions, followed by Networking drinks
• 6.30–9.00pm Summit Soiree (Optional) at The Charming Squire

Times: Friday 28 July

• 7.30–9.00am: Awards Breakfast
• 9.00–1.30pm: Summit Sessions 

Registrations

Early Bird Registration (Closes Sunday 30 April 2023):

• Member Registration $495 (+gst)
• Non-Member Registration $660 (+gst)
• Day Registration $300 (+gst)

• Member Registration $600 (+gst)
• Non-Member Registration $750 (+gst)
• Day Registration $350 (+gst)

Click for More Information and to Register

Thank you to our QLD Chapter Summit Partners

Summit Partner Advanced Life	Summit Soiree Partner Charidy	Summit Awards Breakfast Partner Look Education

Thank you to our Educate Plus Strategic Partners

Strategic Partner – ToucanTech	Strategic Partner – Potentiality

The Half-Million-Dollar Gift

Written by Petrina Gilmore, Director of Philanthropy, Somerville House Foundation

How a Call from the Blue Turned into a Half-Million-Dollar Gift

In May 2022 we announced a $500,000 gift matched by the Somerville House Foundation to deliver $1M to enhance educational opportunities at the School. Our initial benefactor, a former student who achieved success as a C-Suite executive and leader in the Asia Pacific, initiated a conversation to see how she could best support current and future students.

Those early tentative conversations did not end as I had anticipated, as she sounded me out, and as I tried to get a feel for where her interest lay. After our first long telephone conversation, I wrote to her ‘I wish I’d spoken less and listened more’.

So, how did I get from the occasional email and rare call to securing a major gift?

We explored Scholarships, Leadership Programs, the Master Plan, buildings, facilities and more. Over time I became aware that she adopted a business perspective, as she looked to find the avenue that would leverage the greatest impact from her gift.

Why Getting Your ‘Ducks in a Row’ Matters

It was clear from astute questions that she was across all Foundation activities: supporting the decision to incorporate means-testing for Foundation Scholarships and committed to building a culture of philanthropy for our girls, as rich as that in boys’ schools

Our correspondence featured links to articles and campaign literature that gave my cause authenticity and veracity.

I’ve been called a ‘desktop fundraiser’ – and it’s true!

My priority has always been to put forward a persuasive Case for Support that reinforces priorities and fundraising objectives, crafting a cohesive narrative across all platforms. This includes:

• School Magazine articles
• Foundation Member Quarterly Updates
• Impact Reports
• Campaign collateral
• Growing Foundation pages from a single landing page to cover:
  • Scholarships & Bursaries
  • Capital Development
  • Entry Level Fundraising options
  • Gifts in Will
• And more…

To discern where her gift would reap the greatest dividend, I had to be nimble and think laterally. A shared perspective on the benefits to girls from participation in sport became a shared vision.

Within a remarkably short timeframe, liaising with project managers, and securing approvals from the School and Boards fast-tracked the delivery of facilities to girls, shaving years off the Master Plan.

Our donor exemplifies a recent movement in women’s giving – proudly ‘owning’ her philanthropy, sharing her story to inspire young professionals who credit some of their success to their education.

Petrina Gilmore

Director of Philanthropy, Somerville House Foundation

‘Best Ever’ Advancement Practitioner Training!

Without a doubt, the Advancement Practitioner Training that was recently held in Sydney (27-28 March) will be remembered as one of the ‘best ever’ training programs run by Educate Plus … providing two days of engaging and inspiring Professional Development opportunities for 75 Advancement professionals across all 6 Chapters. 

Participants from nine schools and colleges across Toowoomba, Sunshine Coast and greater Brisbane, attended the annual Educate Plus APT courses, which spanned the pillars of Admissions, Marketing & Communications, Alumni & Community Relations and Fundraising.  

The Marketing & Communications stream was ably led by Queensland contingent, member Nicole de Vries, Director of Brand and Community from the Australian Industry Trade College, and long-time Educate Plus associate and communications expert Suzanne Oxford, from New Word Order. Jeff Buchanan, another Queenslander was also involved in the Fundraising stream.

And … we’ve already received fantastic feedback from new and seasoned practitioners about their experiences across the training sessions. 

“I have attended events since ADAPE (showing my age!) and this APT was the most rewarding so far. The presenters were wonderful and so willing to share their strategies and experience. I have over 8 pages of notes alone about the changes I want to enact at the College. Being able to have a day with Ann Badger in a small group session was also invaluable; as well as the fantastic networking and collegial atmosphere the Educate events always provide.”

Claire Azzopardi, Enrolments Registrar, St Andrew’s Anglican College, Peregian Springs, Sunshine Coast, QLD

Image 1 – Nicole de Vries (front) with participants in the Marketing & Communications course

Image 2 – Suzanne Oxford (front, 2nd from left) with participants in the Marketing & Communications course

Image 3 – Nicole & Suzanne with some of the QLD Members

Image 4 – Claire Azzopardi (2nd from left) with participants in the Alumni & Community Relations course

Networking and Knowledge Sharing

Gold Coast Regional SIG at Coomera Anglican College

The QLD Chapter started 2023 off with a bang! There was such a fantastic turnout for the first regional SIG of the year on the Gold Coast, and it was an incredible afternoon of networking and knowledge sharing!

A massive thank you to our hosts for the day Coomera Anglican College providing an opportunity to get to know each other in the state of the art ‘Imaginarium.’

Thank you also to our Facilitators, Claire Henkey (Marketing) and Helen Turner (Alumni) who so willingly shared their experience and expertise with us!

Which Open Day converts best? Virtual or Physical? Our Marketing professionals discussed how these different formats have helped families make informed decisions about their child’s education.

Our Alumni professionals also shared the good, bad and ugly of past pupil associations and discussed how our members can positively instigate change.

It was such a wonderful PD opportunity, and we are looking forward to the next time we can get together in-person and learn from each other.

Ben Stocks, Brand and Marketing Manager, Moreton Bay College I Moreton Bay Boys’ College

Upcoming Events

We invite you to join us at the following Professional Development Opportunities:

WEBINAR – Excellence Series # 3 (Admissions Focus)

• Date: Thursday 6 April 2023
• Time:  12.00–12.30pm AEST 
• Location: Online (via Zoom)
• Cost: Free for Members, $35 for Non-Members (+ gst).
• Presenters: Marion Cape, Director of Advancement, Strathcona Girls’ Grammar

Thank you to our 2022 Excellence Awards Partner Global Philanthropic for facilitating this session.

Click for More Information and to Register

SAVE THE DATES – Upcoming QLD Events & Webinars 

• 2 May: Webinar – Leadership
• 4 May: Webinar – Excellence Series #4
• 11 May: QLD Event – Fundraising / Admissions SIG
• 1 June: Webinar – Leadership

We look forward to welcoming you to these events! More information will be forwarded as the details become available. 

New Member Meet-Up

We extend a very warm welcome to our latest Members, who have recently joined us since the last Chapter eNews. We are thrilled to have you as part of our QLD Chapter community!

For those that join from March-May 2023, the next ‘New Member Meetup’ is on 7 June, 2023. Closer to the date, we will send you a link to participate in this online session, which is open to all new Members across all Chapters. 

These sessions are a wonderful, informal way catch up with other new Members, and to hear more about the benefits of being a Member and what is available to you on our website. 

Keep Connected

Connect on the Educate Plus Socials!

Stay connected with your fellow Advancement professionals to keep abreast of best practice, discover new approaches and technologies, and gain valuable industry insights.

To keep you to up to date with what’s happening in the Advancement sector, please connect with Educate Plus on LinkedIn and Facebook. In addition, we invite you to follow the QLD Chapter Facebook page for even more localised connecting and informational updates.

Thank You to our Partners

We’d like to extend a huge ‘Thank You’ to our valuable partners, who support the Chapter in our activities and enable us to provide wonderful opportunities to our Members and Non-Members. We ask that you please consider supporting them, so that in turn, they can continue to support us. 

Thank you to our Educate Plus Strategic Partners

Strategic Partner – ToucanTech	Strategic Partner – Potentiality

Thank you to our QLD Chapter Summit Partners

Summit Partner Advanced Life	Summit Soiree Partner Charidy	Summit Awards Breakfast Partner Look Education