Small to medium-sized Australian social purpose organisations now have access to a new resource to support their organisations during times of change, challenge and transformation.

The X-Change Video Library – an initiative of The Xfactor Collective Foundation – has launched today, featuring 100 new videos from 25 subject matter specialists. The topics range from fundraising to digital transformation, workplace wellbeing and governance. These additional films take the total number of free videos to 220.

The Video Library’s expansion has been funded by the Social Sector Transformation Fund (SSTF), an initiative of the Department of Communities and Justice, NSW Government. The SSTF program has had a focus on helping small social purpose organisations to modernise their operations, so they can remain efficient, effective and viable.

The X-Change Video Library is a social sector collaboration, with new content coming from partners including The Centre for Volunteering, Fundraising Institute Australia, Justice Connect and Infoxchange. The project also features specialist consultants from the Foundation’s sister social enterprise, The Xfactor Collective.

Founder and CEO Julia Keady says the video library project is one part of a broader collective access strategy, which aims to leverage technology and collaboration as a tool to break down the inequities that exist for small to medium-sized social purpose organisations.

“Those running small to medium-sized social purpose organisations are expected to know a great deal about many topics. Their boards need them to be experts on governance; their funding partners need them to be experts on nurturing relationships; their auditor needs them to be an expert on financials; and of course, they also need to be experts in the service and support they provide. When you think about it – we expect so much from small charities, who really are the very backbone of an equitable and safe nation,” she says.

“We are grateful to the Department of Communities and Justice for recognising this need and investing in new and innovative ways to support small social purpose organisations. We also want to acknowledge the various subject matter specialists who provided their time free of charge to build this important resource for the social sector.”

The videos range from 3-10 minutes long and cover a very broad range of topics, including:

• Where does an NFP get started on their technology journey? – Infoxchange
• How can we improve our sales and marketing strategy to generate stronger income? – Jodie Willmer
• Recruiting and retaining volunteers in challenging times – The Centre for Volunteering
• Fit Your Own Mask First – Self Care for Tough Times – Jo Saies
• Leadership lessons for the future – Martin Cowling
• How to get a great Board for your small Not-for-Profit – Janis McKenna
• Where do we find our donors? – Tammy Schlitz
• Preventing burnout and compassion fatigue – Adam Blanch

The Centre for Volunteering CEO, Gemma Rygate, says the video library project is an important opportunity for her organisation to help share vital information in a new format.

“We thank The Xfactor Collective Foundation for taking this initiative. It enables small organisations to leverage our collective knowledge, time and efforts, and will reach more social purpose organisations to ensure they get access to trusted information.”

For Geraldine Menere, the Head of Justice Connect Not-for-Profit Law program, The X-Change Video Library project has created another channel to help not-for-profits and social purpose organisations access their resources.

“We recently launched a digital tool for social purpose organisations to understand deductible gift recipient (DGR) endorsement and which DGR category might be best for them. We have promoted the tool through our channels, but by also being able to highlight it through collaborative channels and initiatives like this, we can ensure more organisations find the tool.”

For Infoxchange, the video library project similarly provides another way to help social purpose organisations understand the Digital Transformation Hub – a resource to help charities improve and increase their digital capability.

Infoxchange CEO David Spriggs said that by coming together, the sector can help small organisations find the right tools and advice customised to their needs, in an efficient way.

“For us, that’s helping charities connect into a technology roadmap that helps them modernise and increase their impact.”

Fundraising Institute Australia CEO, Katherine Raskob, says it’s been unusual for intermediaries to be funded to collaborate on content development sharing, but she sees The X-Change and the Foundation’s Collective Access strategy as an effective way for trusted intermediaries to collaborate in the interests of the sector as a whole.

“At FIA, we’ve been able to contribute important content regarding understanding and managing donor vulnerability, a key tenet of the FIA Code. The issue of vulnerability is increasingly important.

“The video library helps us reach more charities to build their awareness around this key issue. These are the kind of innovative new channels we need to see more of to better leverage everyone’s time and effort.”

The X-Change Video Library can be accessed via the Foundation’s website, and also sits on YouTube. In addition to these new resources, it contains all the videos from the RESET 2020 live programs. The Video Library also complements the Foundation’s flagship project, the development of the Social Sector Wellbeing & Resilience Hub, which was announced last month.

The Video Library can be accessed here.

To stay in touch, please subscribe at the Foundation website. The Xfactor Collective Foundation would also welcome interest from funding partners interested in growing the Video Library or other resources to help small to medium charities thrive. Enquiries can be directed to Annette Herschtal, Special Projects and Partnerships, at foundation@xfactorcollective.net