The Connecting Up Directory: Australian Not-for-profit & Charity Organisations was launched in December 2011. We seek to develop a smart phone app to connect more people with the directory.
The directory represents a major leap forward for charities and not-for-profits. A key issue identified by the recentProductivity Commission enquiry into the not-for-profit sector was the lack of any comprehensive directory of the Australian not-for-profit and charity sector. In fact Australia was the only developed country without such a resource. The Connecting Up Directory has opened up new possibilities for the public to be able to find not-for-profit organisations and for the organisations themselves to communicate with each other.
The need for a directory of not-for-profits is widely recognised and supported throughout the sector. As Rev Tim Costello AO, Chair of the Community Council for Australia and CEO of World Vision Australia, points out:
The lack of any comprehensive directory of not-for-profit and charitable organisations in Australia makes effective consultation, communication and planning for a better not-for-profit (or third) sector extremely difficult. Such directories are common in other developed nations and provide a valuable resource for the third sector itself, governments, funders, philanthropists and the broader community. We commend Connecting Up Australia for taking the initiative to develop the Connecting Up Directory: Australian Not-for-profit & Charity Organisations and we encourage your active involvement in providing the information needed to make it a success.
We have received support for this endeavour from Google Inc. through a grant from its Charitable Giving Fund.
The Connecting Up Directory is an online platform for the publication of information about not-for-profits and charities, where for no cost, the organisations themselves have access to update their listings or to add them if they are not already included.
The Connecting Up Directory offers the following benefits:
- greater visibility for listed Australian charity organisations, especially via internet search engines
- easier for the people you are trying to serve to find you
- easier for potential donors, funders and philanthropists to find you
- a strong research base for sector planning