The Weekly
Work is underway for the ACFID CEO summit that will be held on the 13th of June in Melbourne. This event will be focused on how ACFID members will respond to the rapidly changing global NGO ecosystem. We are also putting together a series of events for smaller ACFID members. Watch your inbox early next week for more information and registrations for both events.
This week, ACFID coordinated a briefing with Australia’s incoming Head of the Representative Office in Ramallah. The briefing focused on the challenges faced by international NGOs in Gaza and the West Bank, such as bureaucratic barriers, restrictions on access, and the diminishing humanitarian space. Thank you to our members who shared about their work in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Additionally, ACFID has begun participating in the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) Peer Review process to assess Australia’s strengths and areas for improvement in development cooperation, ensuring Australia’s development policies continue to evolve effectively in response to global challenges. The ACFID Development Practice Committee will help participate in this important review.
To Attend
ACFID Member Summit: Shaping the Future TogetherÂ
ACFID is excited to invite member CEOs to a dynamic one-day summit on 13 June at La Trobe University, Melbourne. In response to the widespread and significant changes in the way global aid is being conceptualised, funded, and delivered, this event will provide a vital space for members to reflect, strategise, and collaborate on the future of our sector.
The day will feature expert speakers exploring key global trends and sector-specific challenges, as well as structured discussions to support collaboration and strategic thinking.
Don’t miss this opportunity to consider with your peers the issues which will shape the future of your organisation and the wider work of the Australian international development.
Date:Â Friday 13 June
Time: 9:30am – 4:30pm
Venue:Â La Trobe University, Bundoora Campus, Melbourne
Audience:Â ACFID member CEOs (1 participant per organisation)
Registration here
To Note
To Note: Eligibility for ACFID Board Member nominations
Please be aware that nominees for election to the Board should be CEOs of Full Member agencies that are financial. In line with our constitution, the person must be nominated by TWO Full Members that are also financial, one of which must be the member for which the individual is a representative. Nomination forms can be accessed below and should be submitted by 5 pm, 23 April 2025. Please refer any questions to the Business Director, Raewyn Lans, at [email protected]
- Access the VICE PRESIDENT NOMINATION FORM
- Access the BOARD DIRECTOR NOMINATION FORM
To Note
Media Opportunity: DFAT & ABC series on Asia-Pacific changemakers
DFAT, with the support of ACFID, would like to invite you to contribute to the next iteration of DFAT’s ABC Australia broadcast partnership.
The new series will be aired in 2026, with eight stories broadcast to 40 countries across the Indo-Pacific with an audience of 10 million viewers. This is a great opportunity to showcase your organisation’s development programs and local program staff.
This opportunity has been shared with all members, but if you would like more information, please reach out to ACFID’s Senior Media and Policy Advisor Lisa Tadrosse at [email protected].
To Action
ACFID Conference 2025 – Call Out for Photos!
As we prepare for the 2025 ACFID National Conference on November 5th and 6th in Canberra, we want to showcase the impactful work of our members. If your organization has recent images or photography that highlight your work in development and humanitarian action, we invite you to share them with us!
These images will be featured as part of the conference and will help drive the theme “Driving Transformation in Development and Humanitarian Action.”
Please send your photos to [email protected] by 17 April. We look forward to seeing your contributions!
To Attend
Webinar series connecting ACFID members and Philanthropy
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​Contribute to our upcoming webinar series, “Impactful Partnerships: Addressing Current Needs Together”, co-hosted by ACFID and the Australian International Development Network (AIDN). This timely series aims to foster connections between ACFID members and philanthropic supporters to address urgent challenges resulting from disruptions in global funding.
Each session will spotlight pressing issues and concrete opportunities for collaboration:
- Health – Thursday, 1 May
- Gender and Children – Thursday, 8 May
- Humanitarian Response and Disasters – Thursday, 15 May
- Sustaining Local Capacity – Thursday, 22 May
Time: 12:00 pm – 1:00 PM (AEST, virtual)
ACFID members are invited to share specific examples of projects impacted by recent donor cuts, and identify opportunities where philanthropic support could make a significant difference. ​Register now​ to express your interest in participating.
Registrations close one week before each webinar. One participant per organisation.ACFID will contact registered organisations to coordinate ACFID member participation. For inquiries, please contact Emily Moreton at ​[email protected]​.
AIFFP Briefing on the REnew Pacific Off-Grid Renewable Energy GrantsÂ
When:Â Wednesday 16 April, 3PM – 4PMÂ
Registration here
ACFID is pleased to host a virtual briefing with the Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific (AIFFP) on the live REnew Pacific grant round. REnew Pacific supports small-scale off-grid renewable energy in remote communities across the Pacific Islands and Timor-Leste. Join us to hear from Mohammed Angawai, Team Leader at Palladium, who will outline the program’s objectives, partnership approach, submission process, and key insights from previous initiatives.
Mohammed Angawi leads REnew Pacific, a $75M Australian initiative bringing off-grid renewable energy to remote Pacific and Timor-Leste communities. With 15+ years’ experience, he’s worked across sectors on climate resilience and sustainable development
To Attend
CPPC Presentation ‘Shifting Tides: Geopolitics, Aid, and the Future of Climate Finance
The Climate Policy and Practice Community’s Policy and Advocacy Stream are kicking off their 2025 meetings with a guest presentation, ‘Shifting Tides: Geopolitics, Aid, and the Future of Climate Finance’ with Dr Cameron Hill:
- The evolving geopolitical drivers behind aid and climate finance
- What recent trends mean for Australian development actors and INGOs
- How the sector might strategically respond or adapt to these changes
Speaker:Â Dr Cameron Hill, Senior Research Officer, Development Policy Centre. Crawford School of Public Policy
Bio:Â Dr Cameron Hill is a Senior Research Officer at the Development Policy Centre working on Aid and Development. Prior to joining the Centre, Cameron worked as a Policy and Advocacy Advisor with ACFID, as a development consultant and as a Senior Researcher with the Australian Parliamentary Library. Cameron also served as an official with the former Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) for over ten years. Cameron was awarded a PhD from the School of Political Science and International Studies at the University of Queensland in 2003.
When: Tuesday 15 April, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm on Zoom.
To attend, log in to the MyACFID platform and follow this link to RSVP and download the event to your calendar. To join the Climate Policy and Practice Community, click here. If you have any problems registering for the event or joining the Community, please email: [email protected]Â
To Note
ACFID member meeting on impacts of USAID Stop Work Order
The ACFID weekly ACFID member meetings on the US Stop Work Order are on pause as updates and major changes have slowed. ACFID will call another meeting when there are new updates to share or major changes to the current situation. ACFID will communicate any further meetings to CEOs and previous attendees, as well as via the Weekly newsletter. Members can register to receive any information on any upcoming meetings via the link below. Â
Register here
To Action
ACFID in the media
On Sunday, ACFID’s Interim CEO Matthew Maury was on Canberra Sunday Brunch, discussing the Australian aid budget, US cuts, and the role of Australian NGOs. Listen to the episode here.
To Action
ACFID Conference – Save the Date
The 2025 ACFID National Conference has been confirmed for the 5th and 6th of November in Canberra. More details will be shared soon, please stay tuned. Â
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To Action
Unlocking New Funding Pathways: Highlights from the 4th Global Leadership Dialogue
NGO Recruitment was delighted to sponsor the 4th Global Leadership Dialogue presented by ACFID and AIDN at the NGO Recruitment offices in Sydney on March 25.
Presentations from keynote speakers focused on opportunities for government, philanthropy, the private sector to diversify funding and collaborate to address development funding needs. We heard about the new funding models necessary to meet current funding gaps and how private sector investment and blended finance solutions were essential to address issues including climate adaptation and mitigation (20% of which is funded by blended finance), sustainable agriculture, and women’s economic empowerment and financial in the Indo-Pacific region. DFAT’s Indo-Pacific NGO Blended Finance Accelerator model was introduced and plenary table sessions discussed and provided feedback. Linc Strategies provided case studies from the field outlining how NGOs are partnering with the private sector on innovative finance investment to empower development sector projects.  Funding solutions raised included concessionary loans, blended capital, enterprise solutions and funding from private sector foundations for a range of programmes.
Feedback from the plenary sessions included the challenge of getting the Board’s buy-in to blended finance funded projects and the need for the alignment of NGOs with the private sector. Advice from Dalberg included not to downplay the investment risks and to start with the projected impact of the program, rather than the funding mechanism, and working more collaboratively with partners, rather than silos. Convergence advised NGOs to articulate their strength and their role in the program to highlight its potential impact.
NGO Recruitment’s closing comments highlighted the need to recruit skilled boards equipped with the emerging blended finance and innovative funding experience, networks and skillsets required to help facilitate these new funding models. We shared that our clients in the development sector and climate advocacy increasingly look for fundraising, partnerships and leadership experience gained in the private sector, and including specifically in development finance, impact investment, and other financial service institutions, with corporate engagement experience and related networks as prerequisites for the roles we are recruiting across the Asia Pacific region. This is representative of the sector swing towards private philanthropy and community led approaches which are more equitable and impactful.
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To access the updated resource pack with information on innovative funding models, evolving donor activity and how this is being applied in our clients’ international recruitment, as well as fundraising advice, a link to free premium subscription from LinkedIn, and 50% off our NFP sector guide, please follow the link here and feel free to share with your teams. If you find the pack useful or want to connect, please contact us!
To Attend
ACFID Safeguarding CoP
The ACFID Safeguarding Community of Practice is having its first meeting of the year next week. Amongst other agenda items, they will be joined by guest speaker, Dr Jasmine Westendorf, who will be presenting her latest research into sexual exploitation and abuse in humanitarian settings.Â
Date:Â Thursday, April 10th
Time:Â 1:00 – 4:30 pm
To attend: find joining details in the Communities Platform.
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To Action
Racial Justice COP – Affinity Group (for ACFID members of colour) –Â What does ‘intersectionality’ mean to us?
The word ‘intersectionality’ is often used. Let’s explore what it means to us personally, question some of assumptions, and look practically at how to operationalise that in the development sector.Â
- What does intersectionality mean to us?
- Who benefits from intersectionality?
- How do I personally benefit from intersectionality?
- How do I apply intersectionality in my everyday work?Â
When:Tuesday, April 15Â
Time:Â Â 2pm-3pm AEDT
Where:Â Online via Zoom. Please sign into the COP platform to access the link.
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JobsÂ
Consultants
Upcoming Events
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 Date |
Event |
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15 April |
Racial Justice COP – Affinity Group (for ACFID members of colour) – What does ‘intersectionality’ mean to us? |
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15 April |
CPPC Presentation ‘Shifting Tides: Geopolitics, Aid, and the Future of Climate Finance |
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16 April |
​AIFFP Briefing on the REnew Pacific Off-Grid Renewable Energy Grants |
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1 May |
Webinar series connecting ACFID members and Philanthropy – Health |
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8 May |
Webinar series connecting ACFID members and Philanthropy- Gender and Children |
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15 May |
Webinar series connecting ACFID members and Philanthropy- Humanitarian Response and Disasters |
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22 May |
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13 June |
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5 & 6 November |
2025 ACFID National Conference |