Education & Training

Education and Training Workshops

Our interactive workshops apply a wide range of knowledge and experience to meet the needs of Third and Fourth sector staff, management and directors.  They are designed for organisations at all stages of  exploration of the potential for socially innovative responses to social problems. 

Some organisations are just starting on the path of exploring social innovation through to those who are ready to start to explore asset building strategies and earned income.

The workshops are integrated modules ranging from ½ day to 2 day in duration.  They may be taken as one-off workshops and are offered throughout the year.  Below are some examples of the training we offer.

Community Economic Development

These workshops provide insight into the ‘why, when, how and who’ of community economic development and the benefits this approach can bring for community organisations and the communities they serve.

Modules include:

  • An Introduction to Community Economic Development
  • Processes and Methods of CED Organising – Skills and behaviours for CED
  • Community Based Structures for CED
  • Leveraging for Greater Change – Community Organisations, Asset Building and CED

Financial Sustainability and Asset Building

These practical, hands-on interactive workshops help participants to ‘roll up their sleeves’ and prepare to undertake specific activities to help secure the financial sustainability of their organisation.

Modules include:

  • Basic Financial Management
  • Building Financial Sustainability in Your Organisation
  • Building Unrestricted Income
  • Capital Raising for Community Asset Building

Other Workshops

We also offer a series of occasional workshops covering the following topics:

  • A Manifesto for Change: CED - the repoliticisation of the community sector
  • Patient Capital, Social Investment and the Future of Australian Communities
  • Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFI’s) in Australia

For more information about the dates, venues and costs of our interactive workshops please call us.  You can also take a look at the Events Section .

Can’t see what you’re looking for?

Make a suggestion! These are only some of the workshops that we can deliver. Foresters ANA also develops or tailors workshops for the specific needs of community organisations and groups. We would be happy to hear from you about running a workshop in your area.  Please call us to talk through your ideas.

Who should attend?

Participants in our workshops include a range of people from community organisations, groups, networks and community and social enterprises. These participants bring interest and experience in a wide range of community issues including homelessness, women’s issues, disability, unemployment, the environment, indigenous issues, to name a few.

Although our focus is predominantly on training and development in the Third and Fourth sectors, we also encourage corporate and government participation in our workshops. We can specifically design workshops to meet the needs of these groups in developing an understanding of the community sector today and options for future development of the sector.

Our Presenters

Dr. Ingrid Burkett

Dr. Ingrid Burkett is the Community Education and Innovations Coordinator for Foresters Community Finance. She has practiced, taught, researched and written about community economic development for over 15 years, both locally and internationally. She has worked across government, community and corporate sectors, and taught community development at the University of Queensland for eight years. Ingrid is the Oceania representative on the board of the International Association for Community Development and is recognised as one of Australia’s experts in the fields of community and micro finance.

Belinda Drew

Belinda Drew has worked in the community sector in Queensland for over a decade in the areas of homelessness, disability, child protection and housing, holding a number of positions in social policy organisations. Belinda is the Chief Executive Officer of Foresters Community Finance. This role involves the day to day management of the organisation as well as leading the development of the Foresters Community Finance across all program areas, which include community asset building. Belinda is interested to raise the profile of the work undertaken at Foresters Community Finance based on a belief that much can be gained from individual and collective action that synthesises social, community and economic objectives, in the ways that the work of Foresters Community Finance does.

Ian O’Malley

The Fund Manager, Ian O’Malley, has been working in the finance industry for nearly 20 years. This includes 4 years in insurance, 13 years as an industry superannuation fund Account Manager in Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane and 3 years with Foresters Community Finance. Ian completed the Advanced Diploma of Financial Services (Superannuation) in 2005 and is a Fellow of ASFA. He has also completed 7 of the 8 subjects in the Advanced Diploma of Financial Services (Financial Planning). Prior to working in the finance industry Ian was an Assistant Secretary in the Commonwealth Department of Industrial Relations and worked as a Professional Officer at the International Labour Office in Geneva.