SECTOR-WIDE PROGRAMS AND RESOURCES
Building the capability, wellbeing and resilience of Australia’s for-purpose sector
For more than eight years, Benefolk has been designing and delivering programs and resources that strengthen the capability, wellbeing, resilience and sustainability of Australia’s for-purpose sector.
SECTOR-WIDE PROGRAMS AND RESOURCES
Building the capability, wellbeing and resilience of Australia’s for-purpose sector
For more than eight years, Benefolk has been designing and delivering programs and resources that strengthen the capability, wellbeing, resilience and sustainability of Australia’s for-purpose sector.
We partner with philanthropy, government and sector leaders to understand what organisations need, build practical responses and make high-quality support accessible at scale.
Since 2018, we have been trusted by philanthropy and government to research, design and deliver sector-strengthening programs and resources across metro, regional and rural Australia.
From national research and online resource hubs to capability programs, diagnostics, specialist advice and regional initiatives, our work turns evidence into practical support.
Our sector resource hubs were recognised as a national finalist for the Not-for-Profit Technology Innovator of the Year at the 2025 Australian Not-for-Profit Technology Awards. The awards are organized annually by Infoxchange as part of the Technology for Social Justice Conference to celebrate digital innovation driving social good across Australia.
OUR REACH
investment entrusted to Benefolk
sector-strengthening work
reached
events delivered
National Impact & Need Survey + capability response
In 2020, we partnered with Equity Trustees Sector Capacity Building Fund and more than 20 sector and peak organisations to understand the impact of COVID-19 on Australia’s for-purpose sector.
The RESET 2020 research engaged 340 organisations and became one of the largest studies of its kind examining the impact of the pandemic on the sector. The data was also used in Pay What It Takes advocacy.
Benefolk was then commissioned to translate the findings into action – designing and delivering a 12-session national capability-building response, supporting more than 250 organisations across Australia with expert advice as well as insights into how other organisations were adapting across fundraising, service delivery and workplace matters.
The work also established wellbeing indicators that Benefolk has continued to develop through the Benefolk Wellbeing Index.
The research and response model became a foundation for further sector-strengthening work, including the Heartbeat of Rural Australia study in 2021.
Building a clearer picture of rural and regional Australia
Building on the success of RESET 2020, Benefolk worked with the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal (FRRR) in 2021 to deliver the Heartbeat of Rural Australia study.
The research explored how community organisations and not-for-profits across remote, rural and regional Australia were faring after nearly two years of cumulative disruption, including COVID-19, drought, bushfires and floods.
With 638 responses from community organisations nationwide, the study quantified their economic, social and cultural contribution, while highlighting the pressures affecting their capacity, capability, wellbeing and sustainability.
Findings were made available through an interactive dataset, providing an accessible evidence base for community organisations, funders and policymakers. The research also informed broader policy advocacy, with FRRR drawing on its findings in its 2023 submission to the Australian Government’s Measuring What Matters consultation, highlighting the need to better recognise rural and regional experiences in national wellbeing measures.
interactive national dataset
Turning sector expertise into accessible learning
Building further on sector need, Benefolk worked with its national specialist network, Justice Connect and Infoxchange to create a Social Sector Video Library – a free collection of practical, expert-led videos designed specifically for charities, community organisations and social enterprises.
Covering topics such as understanding DGR, building a technology roadmap, steps to starting a social enterprise and confidently speaking with philanthropic donors – the library bridges access and equity gaps to expert advice.
Funded by the NSW Department of Communities and Justice through Social Sector Transformation Fund, the library launched with more than 100 free videos, making practical expertise available to organisations regardless of their size, location or ability to pay for consulting support.
The project aligns with Benefolk mission, and further demonstrates our ability to translate sector needs into accessible and scalable resources.
National sector resource
Place-based mental health and capability building
Over two consecutive years, Benefolk was funded by the NSW Government’s Department of Communities and Justice to design and deliver capability-building programs for community organisations in flood-impacted regions of NSW.
The programs combined online and in-person learning, including Resilient Responders, equipping frontline and accidental frontline staff with practical skills to respond to trauma, recognise vicarious trauma and burnout, support colleagues and maintain psychological safety. Organisations were also supported to use The Community Well, Benefolk’s free resource hub, to access tools and templates for workplace mental health and wellbeing.
The programs reached more than 300 organisations across Northern Rivers, New England, Western NSW, Murrumbidgee and Far West NSW, upskilling over 300 frontline and accidental frontline responders.
Training outcomes were significant: 99% of participants experienced an improvement in confidence:
- Before the training, 38.5% did not feel confident responding to trauma in others; following training, 94% felt somewhat or very confident.
- Similarly, 66% did not feel confident maintaining psychological safety before training, compared with 94.9% who felt somewhat or very confident afterwards.
A national resource hub for organisational wellbeing and sustainability
RESET 2020's wellbeing indicators found that 34% of NFP leaders did not know where to go for workplace wellbeing support. Funded by Greater Melbourne Foundation over 2022 and 2023, Benefolk created The Community Well Social Sector Wellbeing Resource Hub to make practical wellbeing and organisational sustainability resources more accessible.
The Community Well was launched by Charities Minister Andrew Leigh at Melbourne Town Hall in October 2023.
Today, the hub has been used by nearly 20,000 organisations across Australia, providing 100+ free access to practical tools, resources, videos and support, and importantly now helping non-profits meet their WHS legal obligations.
Evaluation has demonstrated an 89% reduction in short-term stress through the use of its wellbeing resources and support.
Building financial resilience across the sector
Recognising the growing need for income diversification support across the not-for-profit sector, Benefolk designed and delivered the Benefolk Income Summit in 2023 and 2024 to help organisations strengthen their financial sustainability and build greater resilience.
Delivered online over three weeks, the program brought together specialist expertise, practical resources and learning to address the financial challenges facing for-purpose organisations. The 2023 Summit focused on diversifying income and unlocking new revenue opportunities, while the 2024 Summit shifted focus to stabilising and optimising existing revenue streams, reducing pressure on teams and making better use of the income-generating activities already in place.
Across both years, the Summit equipped organisations with practical insights and strategies to strengthen their financial foundations, make more of existing resources and build more sustainable approaches to generating income. Philanthropic foundations chose to provide bursaries for their grant partners to attend.
Building healthier and more sustainable organisations
In 2025, Benefolk designed and delivered the Benefolk Workplace Wellbeing Summit to help for-purpose organisations strengthen workforce wellbeing and create healthier, more sustainable workplaces.
Launched by the Charities Minister, the three-week online program brought together practical expertise, tools and resources to help organisations respond to the growing wellbeing challenges facing their leaders, staff and volunteers.
Sessions explored how to build inclusive workplaces and attract and retain talent, strengthen psychological safety and manage psychosocial risks, address toxic workplace cultures, support people experiencing mental ill-health and vicarious trauma, prevent burnout, and equip emerging leaders to build resilient teams.
Participants could choose individual sessions, Summit Pass and follow up with specialists on Benefolk Expert Bar.
Taking practical expertise to the sector
Benefolk’s Hot Topic Lunch Series over 2024 and 2025 brought organisations together around emerging issues that matter to Australia’s for-purpose sector. The lunches provided time for practical learning and discussions. Key themes explored included cybersecurity trends, leadership and culture, and impact measurement and storytelling.
The series demonstrates Benefolk’s ability to design and deliver high-quality sector learning across multiple locations, combining expert speakers, practical content and facilitated conversation.
Benefolk delivered the roadshow across Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, with support from corporate partners to support the endeavour.
expert-led practical learning
A national resource hub for organisational wellbeing and sustainability
Benefolk created the Expert Bar to give organisations practical access to experienced specialists without the cost and complexity of traditional consulting.
More than 200 organisations accessed specialist support across 2024 and 2025.
Evaluation showed a 100% uplift in reported skills and confidence following Expert Bar engagement.
Our work is increasingly combining diagnostics, data and capability building to give funders and governments a clearer picture of what organisations need - individually and collectively.
Understanding the pressures facing the sector
Headwinds™ is Benefolk’s organisational and sector intelligence diagnostic, designed to identify the economic, funding, workforce, regulatory and operating pressures affecting organisations.
In the Geelong region, Headwinds™ is being deployed across 100 not-for-profit organisations, representing approximately 25% of the region’s NFP sector.
The data will create a shared picture of regional pressures and help funders and sector leaders determine where collective investment and support can make the greatest difference.
Headwinds™ is also being deployed through the Geelong Funders Collaborative and alongside the Anthony Costa Foundation’s capacity-building program.
Turning organisational insight into action
Springboard™ is Benefolk’s organisational capability diagnostic, designed to help organisations understand their strengths, identify areas for development and determine where targeted support can make the greatest difference.
Through the Anthony Costa Foundation program, Springboard™ and Headwinds™ are being used with 75 organisations, creating a stronger evidence base for targeted capability investment.
WE LOVE WORKING AT SCALE
From a national research study to a regional cohort, a portfolio of funded organisations or a three-city learning series, Benefolk helps philanthropy, government and sector leaders turn good ideas into practical support that reaches more people.
If you’re thinking about how to build capability at scale, we’d love to talk.
WORKING WITH PHILANTHROPY TO SUPPORT PORTFOLIOS AT SCALE
Benefolk works directly with philanthropic foundations to design and manage capability and organisational support for the charities they fund.
Rather than each charity needing to independently identify and source support, foundations can make a coordinated investment that strengthens the capability of their portfolio as a whole.
Benefolk has worked with seven philanthropic foundations, including Greater Melbourne Foundation, Minderoo Foundation and Siddle Family Foundation, and has supported more than 150 organisations through philanthropic partnerships.
Through our Philanthropy Partner Program, foundations can provide their portfolio organisations with coordinated access to:
From individual grants to portfolio-wide capability
Step 1
Foundation investment
Step 2
Shared intelligence
Step 3
Targeted capability
Step 4
Practical support
Step 5
Stronger organisations
With the right support, organisations and their people can thrive.
Evidence first
We listen to organisations, conduct research and use diagnostics to understand the real challenges facing the sector.
Built for the for-purpose sector
Our programs are designed specifically for charities and community organisations — not adapted from generic corporate training.
Breadth + depth
Our national specialist network gives organisations access to deep expertise while our program design creates consistency and scale.
Designed for action
We don’t just produce reports or deliver workshops. We design practical interventions that organisations can apply.
Measured
Evaluation and participant feedback are built into our programs so funders and government can understand what their investment is achieving.
Capability, not dependency
Our goal is to leave organisations with stronger knowledge, confidence, systems and tools that continue to be useful beyond the program.
Benefolk is now investing in technology and diagnostics that can help address a longstanding gap in Australia’s for-purpose sector: consistent, practical information about organisational capability, workforce needs, wellbeing and sustainability.
By bringing this information together across cohorts, regions and portfolios, funders and government can move from asking:
“What does this organisation need?”
to also asking:
“What is this cohort, region or sector telling us - and where can our investment make the greatest difference?”
This creates an opportunity for a more strategic approach to sector strengthening — one where research informs diagnostics, diagnostics inform investment, and investment translates into practical capability support.
For eight years, Benefolk has worked alongside philanthropy, government and the for-purpose sector to turn evidence and investment into practical support.
We bring together sector knowledge, organisational expertise, specialist capability, diagnostics and program delivery to help build stronger organisations and a stronger sector.
If you are a philanthropic foundation, government agency, peak body or sector leader looking to strengthen the capability of a cohort, portfolio, region or sector, we can design a program around your goals.
