Institute of Community Directors Australia: Annual Report 2024

In 2024, the world witnessed a record number of national democratic elections, which led to significant changes globally. Australia did not hold a federal election, yet the landscape was nonetheless complex and fast-changing for Australian not-for-profits. For the Institute of Community Directors Australia, 2024 saw both growth and consolidation, in response to the needs of the community sector. With a readership of over 64,000, we delivered training to a record 22,000 participants from all over Australia, through webinars, in-person inhouse training and self-paced online modules. Critically, we were able to help the community sector do what it does best (change the world) by supporting it in the background with free access to policy templates, process templates, help sheets, news and publications, which collectively were used by more than 200,000 people. With our members’ varied learning styles in mind, ICDA launched the NFP Agenda, a quarterly live news broadcast featuring government ministers and deep thinkers as well as new research, and a podcast series exploring stories of people with purpose.

The impacts of large language models on individuals and organisations proved revolutionary in 2024. ICDA responded with a menu of publications, policy templates and programming to build capacity and explore ethics in the field of AI as it relates to the community sector.

Governance cannot be divorced from leadership, and we know that skills, connections and the opportunity to reflect and grow are critical for middle managers, executive leaders and board members in NFPs. Responding to requests from our members, ICDA delivered in-depth leadership programs specially designed for these leaders, and particularly for chairs and secretaries, during the third annual Leadership Week, an acclaimed fixture on the NFP leadership calendar.

Ethics is at the heart of ICDA’s work, and we identified a need for nuance and recognition of complexity in the face of polarised language in and around the community sector, so we delivered programming and articles to explore a moderate agenda, to navigate scenarios in which multiple narratives are true even when they conflict, and to consider our messages as an organisation with diverse stakeholders. We will be exploring this further in 2025.

I enjoyed speaking at conferences in New Zealand and Sydney about how the Australian community sector can be the best it can possibly be in the face of challenges. As each opportunity to speak presents itself, I learn from organisations large and small about innovative ways to solve problems, courageous leadership and governance quandaries.

The Institute of Community Directors Australia Annual Report is our way of sharing with you, our community, how you used our services, what you told us about your work and how we can help. We hope you enjoy reading it as much as we have enjoyed working with you this past year.

Adele Stowe-Lindner

General Manager, Institute of Community Directors Australia