Executive with a Cause with Tammy Ven Dange

In this episode of Executive with a Cause, host Tammy Ven Dange chats with Francis Owusu, Founder and CEO of Kulture Break.

Kulture Break isn’t your average dance studio. Instead, it breaks stigmas and builds futures for young people. Still, the popularity of its programs and growth in general has its limits.

Francis takes us through the challenges of recognising when service offerings need consolidation and avoiding the temptation to create programs specifically for funding opportunities. Stretching yourself too thin is another theme many listeners will relate to in his lessons.

Furthermore, online approaches that allow us to be ‘in multiple places at once' aren’t unique in the COVID-era. Fortunately for Kulture Break, they adapted to online offerings prior to the Pandemic, highlighting the importance of being able to diversify and pivot for long-term sustainability. Listen in to also hear about balancing this diversification with preserving the organisation’s core mission and the value of a good team.

Thank you for listening to the Executive with a Cause podcast. Don’t forget to follow us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.

IT in Plain English

The digital space can feel full of buzzwords, and a common one leads to this week’s question - ‘what is the difference between an IT and digital transformation?’. Tammy provides her take on this and helps you identify if it’s all buzz or worth considering for your organisation.

Sign-up here to subscribe to the “IT in Plain English” newsletter. You can submit your question to Tammy Ven Dange by messaging her on LinkedIn, and maybe she’ll answer it on the show.

Links & Resources

• Learn more about Kulture Break on their website 
• Connect with Francis on Linkedin
• Follow Kulture Break on Facebook
• Other “Executive with a Cause” guests mentioned on this show: Cindy Reese Mitchell

Credits

Thanks to our Producer, Nick Whatman, and the entire team at Lonsdale St. Studio. Thanks also to our Digital Content Creator, Laura Kleinrahm.

In this episode of Executive with a Cause, host Tammy Ven Dange chats with Kelli Jackson -  Head of Women's Adventure ACT, avid unicycler, Macpac Ambassador and 2022 ACT Woman of the Year.

With an MBA and background in accounting, Kelli Jackson may not be who you expected to run a women's adventure group full-time. Kelli initially inherited this ad-hoc Meetup Group and then transformed it into a community of thousands of women in the Australian Capital Territory by running over 460 outdoor events, from canyoning to canoe polo and everything in between.

What might appear to be just a "sporting" group for women, the flow-on effects of introducing women to the outdoors and the related empowerment from developing new experiences and skills have been surprising and immeasurable. And it all started with establishing the organisation's values upfront.

There's a lot of exciting content in this episode, including tales of unicycling world records. Still, perhaps one of the most intriguing concepts discussed is utilising 'futuristic' tech for grass-roots organisations. Kelli discusses her fascination with thinking big for the future of organisational fundraising and the opportunities DAOs', or Distributed Autonomous Organisations could provide.

IT in PLAIN ENGLISH

Customer Relationship Management systems or CRMs may or may not be a term you hear every day. However, it's likely you're already using one personally or professionally to keep track of your contacts. For organisations seeking to upgrade their systems, Tammy takes us through the most important criteria to consider when choosing a CRM.

Sign-up here to subscribe to the "IT in Plain English" newsletter. You can submit your question to Tammy Ven Dange by messaging her on LinkedIn, and maybe she'll answer it on the show.

LINKS & RESOURCES

• You can find Women's Adventure ACT on Facebook and Instagram 
• Visit the Women's Adventure ACT website 
• Connect with Kelli on Linkedin
• Follow Kelli's unicycling adventures on Instagram

CREDITS

Thanks to our Producer, Nick Whatman, and the entire team at Lonsdale St. Studio. Thanks also to our Digital Content Creator, Laura Kleinrahm.

In this episode of Executive with a Cause, host Tammy Ven Dange chats with Cindy Reese Mitchell, the founding Chief Executive Officer and currently the Chief Impact Officer of Mill House Ventures.

Matchmaking and social impact probably aren’t two themes you expect in the same sentence. But in today’s episode, Cindy explains how some of her many roles include being an identifier, capability builder and connector for social enterprises.

Social enterprise is a relatively new term. Cindy's key objective is assisting organisations in achieving commercial viability with community impact. Furthermore, many aren’t even aware operating for profit doesn’t preclude an organisation from identifying as a social enterprise!

Cindy also takes us through her fascinating PhD work on developing Indigenous female entrepreneurship in the Kimberley region. Supporting this discussion, she finishes with how social entrepreneurs should operate in short-term operating models rather than long-term ‘prop up’ engagements to achieve meaningful solutions.

IT in Plain English

Everyone wants to maximise their ‘value for money' when it comes to IT solutions. And in today’s episode, Tammy shares some simple tips to enhance your organisation's cyber-security without breaking the budget.

Sign-up here to subscribe to the “IT in Plain English” newsletter. You can submit your question to Tammy Ven Dange by messaging her on LinkedIn, and maybe she’ll answer it on the show.

Links & Resources

• Learn more about the Mill House Ventures
• Read about one of Cindy’s ‘success stories’: Kulture Break
• Hear about Cindy’s achievement as the 2020 ACT Woman of the Year
• Connect with Cindy on Linkedin 
• Read this Canberra Weekly article for some of Cindy’s favourite things

In this episode of Executive with a Cause, host Tammy Ven Dange chats with Pip Kiernan, Chair of Clean up Australia and their Managing Director, Terrie-Ann Johnson.

When Clean Up Australia’s founder, Ian Kiernan was shocked by the amount of litter pollution in Australian waters, he organised a local clean up. Over thirty years later, the organisation has become the country’s ‘largest community-based environmental event’, with partners including McDonalds, Coles and Sodastream.

Clean Up Australia has developed a valuable data source on waste trends over time. Their data now provides input for government policy on areas such as single-use plastics and the container-refund schemes whilst remaining accessible as they believe it "belongs to the community."

Technological enhancements have also improved how they capture this data. The organisation's 'Citizen's Science Project' is an example of how the team increases volunteer engagement and responds to emerging waste trends.

We also discuss the importance of good partnerships and how Not for Profits should maximise the skills and resources these relationships can provide.

Thank you for listening to the Executive with a Cause podcast. Don’t forget to subscribe and review this show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.

IT in Plain English

It’s every project manager’s nightmare! Yet, blowing a project’s budget is, unfortunately, an all-too-common occurrence when implementing new IT systems. In this episode of “IT in Plain English”, Tammy provides some advice on how you can protect your bottom line, and still achieve your IT objectives by opting for a standardised system solution.

Sign-up here to subscribe to the “IT in Plain English” newsletter. You can submit your question to Tammy Ven Dange by messaging her on LinkedIn, and maybe she’ll answer it on the show.

Links & Resources

• Learn more about Clean Up Australia, and create or join a clean up on their website
• Register for the Citizen Science Project
• Discover products and partners from the Buy Recycled program
• Connect with Pip and Terrie-Ann on Linkedin

Credits

Thanks to our Producer, Nick Whatman, and the entire team at Lonsdale St. Studio. Thanks also to our Digital Content Creator, Laura Kleinrahm.

Copyright 2022

In this episode of Executive with a Cause, host Tammy Ven Dange chats with Julie Nichols, Founder of Handmade Canberra.

Markets may not be a new concept, but when Julie Nichols, a trained milliner noticed there wasn’t a space for high-quality, handmade goods in Canberra, Australia, she decided to make one herself. The Handmade Markets are now iconic for their range of products and offering a platform for hobby and career product makers. In today’s episode, Julie discusses the value of providing resources to support small businesses, as well as the art of matching business with buyer, even when the demographic is broad. Julie also provides advice to potential makers, or those looking to replicate her social enterprise model, and emphasises the need for community in creating a sustainable business model.

Thank you for listening to the Executive with a Cause podcast. Don’t forget to follow us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.

IT in Plain English

It can feel as though compliance activities are never-ending for organisations, and Purchase Card Industry (PCI) compliance may seem like just another box to tick on a very long list. However, in this edition of ‘IT in Plain English’, Tammy explains the importance of ensuring your business is up to scratch when handling payment data, or risk losing the ability to process payments. An important wake up call for Not for Profits and businesses alike.

Sign-up here to subscribe to the “IT in Plain English” newsletter. You can submit your question to Tammy Ven Dange by messaging her on LinkedIn, and maybe she’ll answer it on the show.

In this episode of Executive with a Cause, host Tammy Ven Dange chats with Carrie Leeson, CEO of Lifeline Canberra and The Beacon Group.

How does an established charity experiment with new opportunities, whilst bound by the necessary bureaucracy of the Not for Profit (NFP) sector? And how can an organisation develop resilience at a time when their service demands are at record levels, but with reducing government support?

Carrie Leeson talks us through her creative approach of using one organisation to support another, with her work in ‘the sandpit’ as CEO of The Beacon Group. Here, she identifies and creates new growth and revenue opportunities for Lifeline, without the associated risk.

Carrie also discusses the power of ‘compatibility’ and a shared cause when managing a NFP team, and provides insights into balancing purpose with good governance as the NFP sector continues its rapid growth.

IT in Plain English

In this week’s segment of ‘IT in Plain English’, what does a suitcase have to do with servers and the cloud? Find out in this episode of ‘Executive with a Cause’!

Sign-up here to subscribe to the “IT in Plain English” newsletter. You can submit your question to Tammy Ven Dange by messaging her on LinkedIn, and maybe she’ll answer it on the show.

Topics from this episode:

• 0.00 | Intro
• 0.55 | What is Lifeline Canberra?
• 2.50 | The Lifeline Book Fair
• 5.00 | Diversifying the organisation’s income
• 6.00 | The Beacon Group
• 9.00 | Deciding to create another organisation
• 11.30 | The Pandemic
• 15.30 | Mitigating physical and emotional risks for teams
• 19.50 | Utilising technology
• 22.00 | Tools to becoming a better leader
• 23.55 | Managing teams with volunteers and staff
• 27.50 | Commitment
• 29.40 | Identifying cultural fit
• 33.40 | Emerging themes for Lifeline
• 36.00 | The difficulty of collaboration for Not for Profits
• 37.50 | Advice for whether to start an Not for Profits
• 41.00 | Breaking down the role of a CEO
• 42.00 | Dealing with change
• 44.40 | Advice for running a better Not for Profit
• 47.00 | Where to find out more about Lifeline?

 Links & Resources

• Learn more about Lifeline Canberra
• Follow Carrie on Linkedin

We often know the "WHY" of a purpose-driven organisation. However, on this show, host Tammy Ven Dange chats with Not for Profit and Social Enterprise leaders as we uncover the "HOW" - the nuts and bolts of what it really takes to run them well. How do they balance financial sustainability with their mission? What tools do they use to run their operations? What lessons have they learned as people leaders?

Join us on this podcast as we learn how to become better Executives with a Cause.