Leaders across the youth and families sector in Queensland will tell you, the challenges facing young people today are growing and the resources to support them are scarce.
This also means that most of these leaders don’t have the time or resources to focus on building their organisations’ capacity.
Hand Heart Pocket is stepping in to help eliminate some of these barriers, to support community organisations drive impact and create change in the long term.
Hand Heart Pocket has partnered with QUT on a series of professional development short courses. The first course, Social Impact Evaluation Principles and Practices gets underway next month.
The topic areas scheduled later this year cover everything from, how to articulate a program theory of change and evidence-base to attract more funding; how to measure outcomes and report impacts; data literacy and analytics; integrating lived experience; integrating cultural perspectives and competence; how to overcome community challenges using human centred design and innovation; and motivating, developing and retaining strategic leaders.
Hand Heart Pocket CEO Sara Parrott said, “Strategic philanthropy is more than partnering with community organisations to support program delivery. It’s also about helping leaders within community organisations to build their capacity so that they can drive impact from the top, to shape and evaluate their programs.”
“It’s about giving leaders a space to learn and to have access to valuable communities of practice, to share ideas and collaborate, all to create long-term change for the people they support and create systemic change together,” Ms Parrott said.
“We encourage leaders and Board Members in the youth and families sector, particularly those from smaller organisations to take advantage of this rare opportunity, to have an even greater impact on the communities they serve.”
Investing in organisational capacity building is a key component of Hand Heart Pocket’s refreshed strategy. Following the success of two subsidised short courses last year, the philanthropic foundation is proud to partner with QUT to deliver a broader capacity building program for not-for-profit leaders in the youth and families sector.
Course dates:
12 May: Social Impact Evaluation: Principles and Practices (second intake in September)
10 June: Using Design Thinking to create place-based social change (second intake in August)
15 June: Data for Good: Using Data science in social purpose organisations (second intake date TBC)
Date TBC: Strategic Leadership and Governance in social purpose organisations (second intake date TBC)
