A good experience of engaging philanthropy: The Upton road development

The Upton Road Crisis Accommodation project which opened in 2010 is an example of a successful large scale capital fundraising venture - one of the largest The Salvation Army has ever undertaken in an Australian context. Despite a long and strong tradition of organisational involvement with philanthropic trusts, donations and bequests, this project involved a more targeted campaign for raising funds. This article looks at the engagement of the corporate and private sector in this initiative as well as some of the organisational learnings that come from interacting across different sectors. It highlights some of what worked as well as some of the challenges. (A more detailed report by Pollyanna Sutton, soon to be completed, has been commissioned to capture the design and implementation phases of the project. Much of this article has come from this report.)