2017 Annual Report

Leaps & Bounds

Our Year at a Glance

SUPPORTED

LEADERSHIP AND ADVICE

REACH

2,490People connected,

skilled and supported 2746,794

Leadershipand advice for

views of webinars

events

1,808

162

25,559People reached weekly

29Partnerships

19,432communityNet Subscriptions

At a Glance Volunteering Digital Inclusion communityNet

From our CEOIt’s been a year since we rebranded and we have much to celebrate! We have surpassed multiple project targets, presented internationally about digital inclusion, attracted several new fee for service contracts and had a considerable increase in our support for people experiencing disadvantage (this year up 35%).

We love our new brand and are thrilled with how quickly it has been adopted and enthusiastically accepted by the community. This warm reception has exceeded all our expectations and is due largely to the quantity and quality of work delivered by our amazingly talented team. Our successes this year include an increase of 38% for volunteer referrals placing 414 people in meaningful volunteer roles – no easy task especially when you consider the time it takes to appropriately respond to the 727 volunteer enquiries (an increase of 21% on our target) we received. Our efficient, effective and innovative team have gone above and beyond their targets to support 95 organisations instead of the planned 80 and hosted 14 volunteer recognition events instead of the scheduled 8 generating significant positive feedback. We are particularly proud of our achievements providing over 300 incidents of support for people experiencing disadvantage to gain the necessary skills to be included in and make the most of our digital society and economy. This was in less than a year from our volunteer powered digital mentoring lab. Throughout Western Sydney we successfully recruited 28 volunteer digital mentors and supported 16 organisations to start a digital mentoring program – an amazing accomplishment. Why do we say this? When we have approached organisations suggesting they offer digital mentoring to people experiencing disadvantage, they often find the concept incomprehensible or at best prefer a computer course run by an ‘expert’. This approach is not sustainable, confuses the learner and fails to harness the benefits that result from a digital mentoring model which starts with where the learner is at. One of our strategies for showcasing the value of all things digital was to host a Digital Festival in October 2016 which attracted 140 visitors and 12 exhibitors. We chose St Marys, a highly disadvantaged area of NSW as this community faces a high rate of exclusion. Our annual Webinar/White Paper series How to Leep the Digital Divide, 6 Hot Tips for your e-newsletters, The Changing Face of Volunteering and Digital Inclusion and the Digital Divide along with our blogs generated over 2,000 views. This is putting our brand values for sharing our thought leadership into practice.

Our presentations at a number of conferences nationally (NSW Digital Divide Forum 2016, Volunteering NSW 2017 State Conference, Digital Inclusion and Disability and Broadband for the Bush Forum VI) and internationally (Digital Revolution: Social Evolution in London 2016) reflect our commitment to knowledge sharing. This year, we engaged NSW Council for Intellectual Disability and syfte (a human design company) to assist us in conducting research with people with mild to moderate intellectual disability, receiving NDIS, to assess their readiness and motivation for digital literacy skills. Six key motivations for achieving digital literacy were uncovered, all supporting the overarching need for autonomy. These findings are documented in the report, Informing Opportunities for People with Intellectual Disability published in May and presented at our Forum, Creating Digital Communities.

This Forum was in collaboration with Uniting and NSW Ability Links. Julie McCrossin, was our MC for the day, leading over 100 participants through presentations by Helen Milner OBE (CEO, Good Things Foundation), Kelly Schulz (Senior Advisor on Accessibility and Inclusion, Telstra), Kim McGuire (Design Director, syfte), Dr Manisha Amin (CEO, Media Access Australia) and Melanie Tran (Lead UX Designer, Ability Mate) followed by a panel and an interactive workshop. Leep communityNet eNewsletters continue to provide value evidenced by the 50% increase in subscriptions this year to over 19,000. We are really proud to now have 3 contracts with local government; City of Parramatta, Fairfield City and Hawkesbury Council connecting these communities through communityNet. Overall this year has seen a 60% increase in fee for service contracts with Local and State Governments and Not for Profit organisations, reflecting our ability to be responsive to community needs. A particularly exciting example of this was being asked by the City of Parramatta to conduct an audit of their digital services and make recommendations for how to improve these for their Smart City strategy. This year has been a truly transformative time for Leep, marking a period of accelerated growth, learning and successes across a wide range of ventures that have contributed to the creation of inclusive communities. As we power ahead, we will endeavour to leap into an ever changing social landscape, maximising our reach and creating real impact in underserved communities, so that we all can Imagine Tomorrow Together.

Our year in review

(Click to watch)

From our ChairmanIt has been a very exciting year across all areas of Leep’s activities, not the least of which is completion of the first full year under our new brand.

Our organisation has a rich history of service to the community and we are very proud to be continuing this commitment into the contemporary world in which we operate today. As the needs of the community have changed so have we in response. We began the 2016/17 year confident of our future but very uncertain about our funding. We deliberately set out to generate more fee for service income to lessen our reliance on government grants. Some of these grants were in jeopardy due to other funding pressures across government. Pleasingly this has been a successful approach as we have grown our fee income stream. Even more pleasing has been the news we have received over recent months giving us certainty about our principal government funding for the next few years.

I’d like to acknowledge the hard work and contributions of our wonderful staff and our excellent CEO. Their efforts are an inspiration as they deliver innovative services and practical supports to a wide range of individuals, organisations, and communities across all areas of our operations. Our expertise based Board has continued its care filled work in stewarding and guiding the organisation through some of the uncertainty we have faced. While at the same time pushing new service opportunities and greater levels of innovation. I appreciate and benefit from their support and encouragement. We have seen some changes in the Board over the year and I’d like to especially thank retired Directors Eva Gerencer, Jenny Paton, Armanda Scorrano, Ellissa Nolan and Josephine de Bruyn, for their commitment and important contributions to Leep. We wish them well for the future. We also welcomed a number of new Directors to the Board this year, Belinda Chapman, and more recently Prashant Rai, who have all already demonstrated the value they add to our business and our services, and importantly our culture and commitment. Special highlights for the year are set out in the CEO’s report. On a practical level we have also made some alterations to our office premises to improve the functionality and comfort for our tireless staff. We’re very excited about our new partnership this year with the Good Things Foundation, a leading UK based organisation for digital inclusion and now with an office in Australia. We also greatly appreciate our wide range of partners for their continued support, both those that fund us and those whose moral and intangible support encourages and nourishes us. I’d like to particularly acknowledge our principal funders the Departments of Health and Social Services federally and the NSW Department of Family and Community Services including Ageing, Disability and Home Care. We appreciate the valuable partnerships we have for communityNet with WESTIR and Parramatta, Fairfield and Hawkesbury Councils. This year Uniting and Ability Links partnered with us for our recent and very successful Forum, Creating Digital Communities. The new financial year ahead has some challenges as we strive to extend our reach and our services to our many current and new partners and clients. We do this, however, with more funding certainty than last year and with renewed enthusiasm for the ways we can all Imagine Tomorrow Together. Mike Allen

Special thanks to

Our Board

Belinda Chapman David Hill Melanie Tran

Prashant Rai Penny Webb-Smart Nato Foti

Our Pro Bono Supporters

Our Volunteers

75VOLUNTEERSRECRUITEDFOR LEEP

1,356 hoursGIVING

$108,320VALUED AT

75VOLUNTEERSRECRUITEDFOR LEEP

1,356 hoursGIVING

$108,320VALUED AT

75VOLUNTEERSRECRUITEDFOR LEEP

1,356 hoursGIVING

$108,320VALUED AT

Alan Warnock

Andrew Siede

Asma Farooqui

Azize Alpertonga

Bejaya Nayak

Bhumikaben Patel

Brian Baek

Carmelita Khoo

Charissa (Maria) Ramirez

Christiana Adeti

Christine McKinnon

Christopher Babet

Di Laugus

Elena Cortez

Elizabeth Court

Elizabeth Ivankovic

Erin O’Neill

Farhad Nikzad

Flo Cabe

Hoa My Nguyen

Jason Bond

Joe (Salvatore) Borraccino

Josephine Quinn

Ken O’Neill

Kristine Cooper

Krisztina Bihari

Kwan Tong

Larissa Kamel

Lisa Armstrong-Cook

Lisa Rothwell

Lucy Ayoub

Lucy Tran

Lynette Hiku

Madhu S

Mandy King

Maria Gwenossis

Marie Kucelj

Mark Phillips

Megan Tang

Mercy Xiao

Miles Perago

Mohammad Mynulhasan

Natasha Heise

Neezam Premji

Nicholas Chapman

Nicholas McMaster

Paul Mancuso

Peter Bainbridge

Peter Gray

Ryan D’Lima

Samantha Stevenson

Shawna O’Neill

Sivananthan P

Smruthi Shreepathi

Sonya Tirmzey

Sumeet Raj

Sushant Nayak

Trang Doan

Xiao Wu

Yvonne Lariosa

Volunteer Solutions

Our Achievements

Recruited

Trained

Thanked

In an increasingly busy and time poor society, Australian’s are seeking ways to contribute to communities and causes that meet their own needs and availability. An increasingly diversified volunteer pool requires new ways of thinking about volunteer engagement that harnesses the unique talents of volunteers to achieve community outcomes.

Leep believe that the gifts volunteering offer should be available and accessible for all, and that volunteering should be well resourced and supported across the community. In 2016-2017, we’ve worked to support almost 100 organisations to recruit, train and thank volunteers across Western Sydney.

In its 7th year of operation, Leep’s Volunteer Solutions program has continued to expand its services - providing opportunities for more volunteers to connect with meaningful roles that build community capacity. Leep’s Volunteer Solutions team have been working closely with our networks to facilitate innovative volunteer engagement providing opportunities for people experiencing disadvantage. We’ve expanded our team and we’ve developed new ways of working that tap into the shared experience of our team in training, recruitment, promotion and event planning. Looking ahead, Leep is excited to be able to continue expanding the breadth and depth of our Volunteer Solutions with renewed funding securing the program until June 2021.

727 66% 414

28 312 195%

RECRUITED

TRAINED

THANKED

training sessions held

14Recognition events held

11 511in partnership with VIOs during

VOLUNTEERSSUPPORTED

volunteer REFERRALSmade to VIOsto find volunteering of volunteers identify

as experiencing DISADVANTAGE

volunteers trained

NEW PROGRAM

developed& launchedCONFIDENT

to apply learnings from the training in their roles

(Self Care for Volunteers)

National Volunteer Week

Volunteers thanked for their contributions 10 Sponsorships

awarded toorganisations

727 66% 414

28 312 195%

RECRUITED

TRAINED

THANKED

training sessions held

14Recognition events held

11 511in partnership with VIOs during

VOLUNTEERSSUPPORTED

volunteer REFERRALSmade to VIOsto find volunteering of volunteers identify

as experiencing DISADVANTAGE

volunteers trained

NEW PROGRAM

developed& launchedCONFIDENT

to apply learnings from the training in their roles

(Self Care for Volunteers)

National Volunteer Week

Volunteers thanked for their contributions 10 Sponsorships

awarded toorganisations

727 66% 414

28 312 195%

RECRUITED

TRAINED

THANKED

training sessions held

14Recognition events held

11 511in partnership with VIOs during

VOLUNTEERSSUPPORTED

volunteer REFERRALSmade to VIOsto find volunteering of volunteers identify

as experiencing DISADVANTAGE

volunteers trained

NEW PROGRAM

developed& launchedCONFIDENT

to apply learnings from the training in their roles

(Self Care for Volunteers)

National Volunteer Week

Volunteers thanked for their contributions 10 Sponsorships

awarded toorganisations

727 66% 414

28 312 195%

RECRUITED

TRAINED

THANKED

training sessions held

14Recognition events held

11 511in partnership with VIOs during

VOLUNTEERSSUPPORTED

volunteer REFERRALSmade to VIOsto find volunteering of volunteers identify

as experiencing DISADVANTAGE

volunteers trained

NEW PROGRAM

developed& launchedCONFIDENT

to apply learnings from the training in their roles

(Self Care for Volunteers)

National Volunteer Week

Volunteers thanked for their contributions 10 Sponsorships

awarded toorganisations

727 66% 414

28 312 195%

RECRUITED

TRAINED

THANKED

training sessions held

14Recognition events held

11 511in partnership with VIOs during

VOLUNTEERSSUPPORTED

volunteer REFERRALSmade to VIOsto find volunteering of volunteers identify

as experiencing DISADVANTAGE

volunteers trained

NEW PROGRAM

developed& launchedCONFIDENT

to apply learnings from the training in their roles

(Self Care for Volunteers)

National Volunteer Week

Volunteers thanked for their contributions 10 Sponsorships

awarded toorganisations

727 66% 414

28 312 195%

RECRUITED

TRAINED

THANKED

training sessions held

14Recognition events held

11 511in partnership with VIOs during

VOLUNTEERSSUPPORTED

volunteer REFERRALSmade to VIOsto find volunteering of volunteers identify

as experiencing DISADVANTAGE

volunteers trained

NEW PROGRAM

developed& launchedCONFIDENT

to apply learnings from the training in their roles

(Self Care for Volunteers)

National Volunteer Week

Volunteers thanked for their contributions 10 Sponsorships

awarded toorganisations

727 66% 414

28 312 195%

RECRUITED

TRAINED

THANKED

training sessions held

14Recognition events held

11 511in partnership with VIOs during

VOLUNTEERSSUPPORTED

volunteer REFERRALSmade to VIOsto find volunteering of volunteers identify

as experiencing DISADVANTAGE

volunteers trained

NEW PROGRAM

developed& launchedCONFIDENT

to apply learnings from the training in their roles

(Self Care for Volunteers)

National Volunteer Week

Volunteers thanked for their contributions 10 Sponsorships

awarded toorganisations

727 66% 414

28 312 195%

RECRUITED

TRAINED

THANKED

training sessions held

14Recognition events held

11 511in partnership with VIOs during

VOLUNTEERSSUPPORTED

volunteer REFERRALSmade to VIOsto find volunteering of volunteers identify

as experiencing DISADVANTAGE

volunteers trained

NEW PROGRAM

developed& launchedCONFIDENT

to apply learnings from the training in their roles

(Self Care for Volunteers)

National Volunteer Week

Volunteers thanked for their contributions 10 Sponsorships

awarded toorganisations

727 66% 414

28 312 195%

RECRUITED

TRAINED

THANKED

training sessions held

14Recognition events held

11 511in partnership with VIOs during

VOLUNTEERSSUPPORTED

volunteer REFERRALSmade to VIOsto find volunteering of volunteers identify

as experiencing DISADVANTAGE

volunteers trained

NEW PROGRAM

developed& launchedCONFIDENT

to apply learnings from the training in their roles

(Self Care for Volunteers)

National Volunteer Week

Volunteers thanked for their contributions 10 Sponsorships

awarded toorganisations

727 66% 414

28 312 195%

RECRUITED

TRAINED

THANKED

training sessions held

14Recognition events held

11 511in partnership with VIOs during

VOLUNTEERSSUPPORTED

volunteer REFERRALSmade to VIOsto find volunteering of volunteers identify

as experiencing DISADVANTAGE

volunteers trained

NEW PROGRAM

developed& launchedCONFIDENT

to apply learnings from the training in their roles

(Self Care for Volunteers)

National Volunteer Week

Volunteers thanked for their contributions 10 Sponsorships

awarded toorganisations

We’ve also worked closely with organisations and volunteer managers in Western Sydney to build capacity in their programs and strengthen volunteer engagement.

170VolunteerManagers

Trained

120Roles recruited for

Shared our knowledge at theNSW Volunteering

conference

Signatures collected for

Tower of Strength

Conducted research to

understand the pain points ofour audience

95Organisations

Individuallysupported

Case Study

Madhu’s StoryMadhu began working at Leep as an Administration Volunteer after reaching out in early 2017. Leep gave Madhu her first experience of an Australian work place, and helped her use her enthusiasm, intelligence and proactive nature to support her community.

Madhu moved to Melbourne in July 2017 due to a change in family circumstances, and was very sad to leave Leep. With the experience Leep provided and the support post volunteering, Madhu had the confidence to apply for a paid position as a Volunteer Manager in Melbourne! Madhu’s story highlights the possibilities that volunteering has to offer, and we are so fortunate that she shared her time and skills with Leep!

(Click to watch)

Digital InclusionAs technology becomes increasingly central to everyday life, we believe that everyone should have the necessary skills, access, trust and motivation to make the most of our digital world.

We have been working with individuals experiencing disadvantage and underserved communities to challenge exclusion and inequality by helping them to get online. Our commitment to creating inclusive communities has led us to undertake a range of digital inclusion projects across the state and helped us gain insight into the unique challenges that face our diverse communities.

Our AchievementsLeep in NetworkIn July 2016, the Department of Family and Community Services (FACS) funded Leep, in partnership with Good Things Foundation, to establish the Leep in Network, a social and digital inclusion movement aimed at improving people’s lives through technology, with a special focus on people with disability.

The network was funded to operate across Greater Western Sydney to bring local organisations, businesses and councils together in partnership to support the 1 in 5 Australians who aren’t online. The network is brought together by an online platform where all its digital services are presented on an interactive map and searchable directory.

Impact

Leep in Lab

Other work

As technology becomes increasingly central to everyday life, we believe that everyone should have the necessary skills, access, trust and motivation to make the most of our digital world.

Impact

We were contracted by the City of Parramatta to conduct research on the state of digital inclusion in the LGA and submit recommendations for their Smart Cities masterplan.

We have published a research paper on technology and people with intellectual disability in collaboration with the NSW Council for Intellectual Disability (NSWCID) and user experience firm Syfte

In June 2017, with funding from Uniting and Ability Links, we hosted the forum “Creating Digital Communities” where we collaborated with over 100 participants to discuss the future of digital inclusion in Australia and ran practical workshops on developing digital support.

We hosted the Leep Festival in 2016, to provide a range of technology related activities and information in the local community

We presented on digital inclusion and the Leep in Network internationally:NSW Digital Divide Forum 2016, Digital Revolution: Social Evolution in London 2016, Broadband for the Bush Forum VI in Fremantle 2017

In 2016 we hosted the webinar “Leeping the Digital Divide” and released twowhite papers on digital inclusion

Case Study

Robyn and Lisa

Have you ever eaten peanut butter and tomato sauce sandwiches?!

This is what Lisa (our digital mentor) did when dared by Robyn in our Leep in Lab. They both laughed when recounting this story displaying the bond between these two very remarkable women. To see Robyn today you’d never know all the challenges she has overcome to be in our lab. Twenty one years ago she was hit crossing the road and spent 18 months in and out of hospital with multiple broken bones and fractures leading eventually to a prosthesis to replace her leg that would not heal. At home Robyn’s husband who had always had a violent streak was eventually removed as his abuse became life threatening with the onset of dementia. Through all these challenges Robyn dealt with depression and the temptation to give up on life.

How did Robyn end up at our Lab? Robyn believed her vision impairment would prevent her from ever being able to use a computer so it was only in jest she suggested to an Ability Linker she’d like to learn about computers. When she first came to the lab she felt totally lost but after meeting Jason, a student placement from Western Sydney University, she felt welcomed as he asked her “what do you want to learn”. This was a relief for Robyn as she says “he didn’t fill my head with fancy words”. Robyn realised technology wasn’t beyond her and with assistance from Jason she decided to learn on a tablet because of its accessibility features. Jason’s return to University coincided with Lisa’s arrival as a digital mentor in the lab and she took over mentoring Robyn. Lisa is married to Shane, “a totally amazing male”, who supports her full time study in social work and is hands on raising their two sons aged 2 and 4 (even doing the housework when Lisa is away for a weekend seminar!) With all these responsibilities Lisa was looking for more ways she could contribute and was particularly attracted to the digital mentor role Leep had advertised. Things that many of us take for granted, such as taking a photo, seemed inconceivable to Robyn. With support from Lisa, Robyn is now sharing photos with her family. This simple task that comes quite naturally to others, is life changing for Robyn.

communityNetThrough consistent creation and curation, Leep communityNet has built an enviable reputation as the trusted leader in providing information and resources for communities and not-for-profit organisations in Western Sydney, New South Wales and beyond.

Providing essential news, sector-specific resources, information on events, conferences, training, funding and job vacancies, communityNet’s reach and reputation are second to none, with many professionals calling it “the only site (they) visit every day”. With over 19,000 subscriptions to the weekly e-newsletters, and over 500 unique daily visitors, Leep communityNet offers targeted communication opportunities for organisations, businesses and services wanting to influence the for-purpose sector. Leep communityNet’s audiences include not-for-profits, community groups, government agencies, social enterprises and private businesses.

2017 saw a 48% increase in subscriptions.

Talking to these two women it is evident how they naturally bounce off each other and have a lot of fun together. For Lisa she realises that she will not always be able to volunteer in the lab but she says “I know the imprint I have on the people I mentor is going to be for life!

For Robyn she says “coming to the lab has saved my life, I no longer feel my life is worthless”. The feeling of connection, friendship and fun in the lab is infectious with lots of laughter and food treats now the norm thanks to Robyn’s initial dare with peanut butter and tomato sauce sandwiches!

Our Partners

Case Study

Fairfield City Council

This year, Leep was engaged by the Manager Social Development at Fairfield City Council to start a fortnightly eNewsletter for the stakeholders in the Fairfield local government area.

Being in the third year of a similar partnership for the City of Parramatta we were really excited to be asked to share our expertise in another area. Having delivered this service for a year and had subscriptions increase incrementally to just shy of 1,000 in 12 months, we were delighted to learn that Fairfield City Council find “communityNet an invaluable communications service for Council as it helps spread important, relevant information about our many services and activities”. As is the case with all our eNewsletters, the opening and click through rate for Fairfield eNewsletter is much higher than the benchmark in the sector. We look forward to an ongoing partnership with Fairfield having been informed

“Your newsletters are so engaging and attractive, we will continue to partner with the communityNet team for the foreseeable future.”– Fairfield City Council