Not-for-profit sector focus

THIS week WA Business News launches Not For Profit, a new weekly focus on this somewhat unrecognised area in terms of news coverage in Western Australia.

The new section, which is an additional element of our For The Record pages, will be devoted to myriad goings on in this increasingly active area.

And, while WA Business News recognises that not for profit is just that, we also know that not everything about business is about the bottom line.

Thousands of businesses and business people commit huge time and resources to all manner of community organisations, where they get little or no genuine return except the gratitude of those they help.

Of course, many businesses also see there is profit in helping such organisations – we say good luck to them, too.

Whether it is charities, science or research foundations, arts organisations, sporting bodies or think tanks, we are interested in all their activity, be it events, sponsorship arrangements, new board members, management changes or strategic decisions.

WA Business News will present this in a news format, as well as focus on various bodies with a view to recognising those involved in this field.

This week, for instance, we have highlighted the board membership of the McComb Foundation, an entity created to help channel earnings from C3’s spray-on skin for burns victims back into the medical system.

Some of these board members are instantly recognisable. In fact, it’s hard to find many WA business leaders who aren’t on a board of this nature, alongside their commercial commitments.

This is in contrast to the general school of thought that Australia trails the US for corporate generosity. Perhaps, our business leaders simply don’t get the recognition they should for their largesse.

We will also look to highlight some of the larger, more commercial and innovation not-for-profit organisations that are leaders in their fields and often bring as much to this State as they take in corporate support.

The new section will live next door to our Events listing and co-habit with the Diary & Planner, because much of what happens in the not-for-profit world occurs through events and activities marked in the corporate calendar.