we run a variety of training courses nationally to support our members at all levels of experience right around Australia

Commencing his career in South Australia in the early 1980s as Fundraising Manager for Australian Red Cross, Sam has been engaged in philanthropy for more than 30 years.

Since moving to Melbourne in 1999, Sam has had roles in a number of small and large not for profit organisations including Australian Red Cross Victoria, Australian Red Cross National, The Salvation Army – Australian Southern Territory, Childhood Cancer Association, Kingston Charitable Trust and Peter McCallum Cancer Foundation.

With Sam’s qualifications in Direct Marketing from Monash University and his having recently completed a Digital Marketing Certificate from ADMA, direct response marketing has been a central component of his career. Sam holds the view that donors are the “lifeblood and engine room” of most budget fundraising programs and it is important that strategies are developed and implemented to drive engagement, commitment and therefore donor value.

Nancy commenced her career in the education sector working in Technical Colleges and the University sector in Adelaide.

In 1995 she moved to Melbourne with her family and, after working for two years in a parish run by the Carmelites (a Catholic religious order), she joined The Carmelites Provincial Staff as their National Fundraising Development Manager, in their head offices at Middle Park, Melbourne.

Nancy is in charge of funding across the entire organisation for around $1million. The Carmelites – Australia & East Timor are a small boutique Catholic organisation with little public awareness. They service the community in Australia through parishes, retreat and spirituality centres, a theological library, and providing prayer, companionship and service to the people who seek them out. In East Timor they provide practical assistance and spiritual support to the people of the Zumalai parish, 17,000 people and 35 small villages. They also run a Seminary for the training of young East Timorese men to become Carmelite Priests and Brothers. Nancy has visited East Timor twice to understand The Carmelite Mission there.

With a staff of 1.3, Nancy is responsible for the development and implementation of a list of programs through Direct Marketing including a regular giving program, Major Gifts, Bequest, Trusts and Foundations, Community Fundraising, White Friars College and Alumni relations, Events, Business relations and Merchandise.

As the funding needs for The Carmelites have changed and increased over time, so too have the challenges of Nancy’s role to communicate the needs of the Order and to secure funds for the programs and services run across Australia and East Timor. 

Leigh is the Head of Philanthropy at Austin Health and is responsible for the development, management and implementation of relationship engagement and cultivation programs, working with major donors and senior staff of the Austin and Heidelberg Repatriation Hospitals, the Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Centre and the Royal Talbot Rehabilitation Centre, helping to ensure an integrated approach to the funding of major projects.

Leigh has occupied the roles of Development Manager at the Geelong Community Foundation, the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation and The Smith Family.  He also created the position of Director of Grants & Philanthropy for the LMCF and performed that role from 2006 - 2011.  His approach to building relationships and maximising giving is very much based upon the need to cultivate and nurture genuine, trusting relationships with donors, many of whom have subsequently delighted him with their demonstrations of financial generosity and their desire to help others.

In 2007 Leigh became the first person to earn a Masters Degree in Social Science, majoring in Philanthropy and Social Investment, from Swinburne University of Technology, Australia.  He also holds an Associate Diploma of Business, Training & Development, from the South Australian College of Advanced Education.

Leigh was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in the 2010 Queen's Birthday Honours List: "For service to the community, particularly through the Lord Mayor's Charitable Foundation".