In this episode of Executive with a Cause, host Tammy Ven Dange chats with Frances Crimmins, CEO of YWCA Canberra.
Providing affordable housing, childcare services, and education opportunities would be a tall ask for multiple organisations. But for YWCA Canberra, it’s a sustainable business model that has allowed them to serve the Canberra Community for over ninety years. In this episode, we discuss topics such as advocacy without fear of government funding implications, investing in leaders and accepting when parties won’t agree.
Coming from a private-sector background, Frances understands finances and explains how the organisation has been fortunate in their advocacy freedom, as they aren’t reliant on government funding to operate. This has allowed YWCA Canberra to be active in advocacy for change. Congruently, we hear how the organisation has cultivated their government relationships, positioning itself as a partner in addressing social housing concerns. Frances also describes dealing with unexpected opposition and how organisations and their leaders must learn how to work alongside resistance. Finally, we talk about people, including building a supportive board and the returns on investing in leaders. On this theme of empowerment, we also learn how YWCA has adapted to recognise and support non-binary members of society and how an organisation can evolve to continue delivering its mission in a changing landscape.
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
In this week’s segment, Tammy explores the question, ‘should my organisation upgrade to Windows 11?’ For most organisations, the answer is no. However, a more pressing consideration – ensure that you do not have any devices on Windows 8.1, as support ends for that version in January 2023.
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 | Introduction
- 0.45 | Defining feminism and YWCA’s purpose
- 2.35 | YWCA Canberra’s legacy
- 5.30 | Changing services
- 6.48 | Revenue streams
- 9.20 | Managing multiple streams
- 10.23 | Choosing a board
- 13.10 | Entering the community sector
- 18.00 | Social housing opposition
- 22.30 | Relationships with government
- 25.47 | Staffing crisis
- 31.40 | Offering staff flexibility
- 35.10 | Investing in CEOs
- 45.05 | Measuring success
- 52.25 | IT in Plain English
Quotes from Frances in this Episode:
“There’s stories from the 1960s of something like 2,000 children descending to the middle of Civic to come for ‘stay at home camps’ for the day, so their mothers could return to the workplace.”
“We’re in a unique position in that we don’t need government funding to operate; only 17% of our funding comes from the government, primarily ACT Government and some from the Federal Government. So that does give us a lot of scope to be bold in our advocacy and in our calls for more support for the community because we’re not reliant on government funding, so that does give you freedom as a Not for Profit leader if you’re concerned about funding and possible implications if you are bold and speaking out in your community.”
“You have to have a strong executive and senior management team, but you also need a board that supports you in success. So, there’s a few pillars in operating a complex organisation. We have 350 staff, and everything we do is for the purpose of girls and women thriving. But you can’t do it without a strong executive team, without a really good corporate governance structure, because you can’t do everything as a CEO. You need to be able to delegate and trust that your executive team and their teams will run with the operational management across such a diverse business. People who are passionate about your purpose from day one. But also people who have the skills and skills that complement your team.”
“So I’ve got a non-traditional background for the community sector, but I’ve always loved building businesses. It’s an innate strength in managing businesses. For-purpose organisations need to make a surplus, and that’s a key point. People think Not for Profit means money doesn’t matter. But money matters. And COVID taught us that”
“It did knock me back when I found out not everyone shares this same vision with you. So, it really did take a moment to regroup and understand that we were going to have a small but very loud opposition to this project. The position we took through this was ‘we want to work with you and understand what you oppose’. But I think with some positions, there comes a time where you realise you might never reach an agreement, so how do you move forward?”
“We needed support from the ACT Government to secure Commonwealth government funding that will cover 50% of this build…We had to use a lot of political capital talking to all arms of government to have them understand the project, understand this was social housing and that we were working in partnership. We’ll never replace them as a social public housing provider, but this was our contribution to the social housing model.”
“That’s again going back to policy and advocacy. Bringing government around, having them understand the value of the early learning sector, but also to the economy. Because we still see women opting out more than men to be primary carers. And that’s the work that’s being done by our organisation but also the sector, to have the government commit to early learning, just like they’ve announced in aged care. We still need to see the investment in disability workers. But we do need to have the government step in at this point to lift those wages. And we will support our workers, there’s going to be a national strike day, and I’ll proudly stand with them at Parliament House.”
“The 12-week sabbatical was a gift of time to reflect then, think and really explore your own purpose. And I’ve actually come back thinking, ‘I love my job, I love who I work with, and that’s really consolidated for me why I do what I do.”
“The traditional focus of boards is scale. Scale, grow, grow! But when should you not grow, and when should you say no?”
“So putting the person we’re serving at the centre of that. And if they say we haven’t made an impact on them, then we haven’t achieved what we set out to do.”
Links & Resources
- Connect with Frances on Linkedin
- Visit the YWCA website
- Learn more about YWCA’s initiatives: Rentwell, She Leads, and They Lead
Other Episodes Mentioned in this Show
-
- Watch our interview with Carrie Leeson of Lifeline Canberra
- Watch our interview with Heidi Prowse of MIEACT
Credits
Thanks to our Producer, Nick Whatman, and the entire team at Lonsdale St. Studio. Thanks also to our Digital Content Creator, Laura Kleinrahm.
Tammy Ven Dange is a former charity CEO, Not for Profit Board Member and IT Executive. Today she helps NFPs with strategic IT and data decisions with her business, Roundbox Consulting.
