If you are a woman and you have a place on the board of a Not-for-Profit organisation, perhaps you have heard of Victorian Women’s Governance Scholarship.  These scholarships are available again, for the third time, and 34 women on Not-for-Profit boards will receive financial help that will give them the opportunity to participate in a governance course for company directors.

The scholarship supporting women leaders exists thanks to the Victorian Government and in partnership with the Australian Institute of Company Directors. A grant amounting to more than $187,000 from the former and a generous contribution from the latter makes it possible for 34 of the applicants to improve their skills for managing a Not-for-Profit and gives them 1 year Company Directors membership for free.

According to Bill Scales, a President of the Victorian Division Council of Company Directors, the 34 scholarships serve as a way to support the Not-for-Profit community and especially its directors, who are a large part of the Company Directors members. According to him, the free course will help the winners of the scholarship receive a formal training that will keep the standards of governance within the NFP sector at a higher level. Moreover, the directors who take part in the course will also learn how to make sure that the funding their NFPs receive can be used to really make a difference.

According to data from Company Directors, the scholarship has been given to over 70 women so far. One of the biggest benefits for them all was that they have received the opportunity to make useful connections with other people in their position – another board members from the NFP sector, which has its own specific obstacles and hindrances along the way to success.

It is important to know that Company Directors are committed to improving the conditions for NFPs and their boards, so the Victorian Women’s Governance Scholarship is not the first initiative of theirs. With the financial help of the Federal Government, they have started two other programs – the Board Diversity Scholarship Program and the Public Sector Mentoring Program, the second aimed at ambitious women in the ACT and, as the name shows, in the public sector.

If you wish to apply for the scholarship for next year, you need to submit your application online before August 18, 2014. You can find the online application, as well as guidelines, frequently asked questions and a sample application on the program webpage on the Company Directors’ website. The winners of the scholarship for 2015 will be announced at the end of October.

Being a member of a NFP board means that you have already shown the skills and abilities required to organise and lead people towards a common good aim. However, the Victorian Women’s Governance Scholarship will help you improve your understanding of the NFP sector, governing skills and abilities that you will need to keep your Not-for-Profit well-funded, well-organised and constantly developing. Moreover, you can make a lot of new acquaintances and friends with people from the sector, which is a great opportunity and may prove useful in the future. All in all, we recommend that you give it a try wish you good luck with it!