Lay solid foundations for management and oversight

Board of Directors

The Board of Directors (Board) is the governing body of Hope Ventures. The Board independently and objectively assesses the Company's decisions and oversees the performance and activities of management against a risk management framework. This creates a disciplined process for effectively managing risk to enable the achievement of the Company’s strategic objectives. The Board is responsible for a number of decisions including:

• setting and approving the Company's strategy, direction and financial objectives;
• appointing the key roles within the organisation;
• approving financial statements;
• evaluating the Executive Directors performance; and
• making and amending By-Laws

The process for recruiting a Director is as follows:

• As part of the due diligence process, all newly appointed Directors will undergo background checks before their appointment.
• All Directors are appointed subject to the provisions of the Constitution of HopeVentures and the provisions of the  Corporations Act 2001 (Cth). All Directors are formally appointed by the Company by way of a formal letter of appointment.

The office of a Director is immediately ceased if a Director:

• becomes bankrupt or makes any arrangement or composition with his creditors generally
• becomes prohibited from being a Director of a Company by reason of any order made under the Act
• Ceases to be a Director by operation of any provision of the Act
• Becomes of unsound mind or a person whose person or estate is liable to be dealt with in any way under the law relating to mental health
• Resigns his office by notice in writing to the Company
• For more than three months is absent without permission of the Board from meetings of the Board held during that period

All Directors retire from their position on an annual basis and if they are willing to continue in that role, they are eligible for Re-election.

Each board meeting is typically attended by:

• The quorum necessary for the transaction of the business of the Board shall be a majority of the total Board or such greater number as may be fixed by the Board.
• The Executive Director
• The Business Manager of Hope Centre International
• An appointed minute taker

Each Board meeting agenda includes the business of the meeting and:

• Executive Director update;
• Financial results for the previous month and projected cash flow forecasts;
• statutory matters;
• governance matters;
• risk management matters;
• approval of key operational changes requiring board approval
• approval of investment for major projects, website and the member management and finance systems;

Prior to each board meeting, a formal agenda is circulated and formal minutes are drafted by an appointed minute taker in the meeting.

In October 2021, the Board approved the new strategic plan, for which the Executive Director is responsible for execution and implementation.

A formal Annual General Meeting (AGM) is held annually in which the following key agenda items are addressing:

• Appointment of auditors
• Adoption of the Financial report for the elapsed year
• Presentation of the financial report for the elapsed year to attendees.

Executive Director:

The Executive Director is appointed by the Board and is responsible for the management of Hope Ventures in accordance with the Board-approved Strategy, policies and delegated authority framework. The Executive Director is responsible for ensuring that the Board is provided with relevant strategic options, policies, risk identification and financial issues on which to deliberate, and with the necessary administrative support to enable the Board to work effectively. The Board may invite the Executive Director and management to attend Board meetings at its discretion. The Executive Director is not a legal Director and is not entitled to vote.

Program Director:

The Program Director is appointed jointly by the Executive Director and the Board and is responsible for the oversight and management of an individual program or venture.

Instil a culture of acting lawfully, ethically and responsibly

• The Company’s purpose - Our aim is to provide a multifaceted range of  unique and compassionate services that offer hope and opportunity to those facing personal life challenges.
• Hope Ventures is committed to maintaining an organisational culture where the Company acts lawfully, ethically and responsibly.
• Directors and employees of Hope Ventures Australia are bound by the provisions of formal employment agreements, that include an obligation to act lawfully, ethically and responsibly in accordance with the highest   standards of honesty and integrity in such a way as to safeguard and protect  the reputation of the Company.
• Hope ventures is committed to maintaining a steadfast process of accountability and integrity and seeks to act swiftly and immediately regarding any act of fraud, discrimination, improper conduct or illegal activity. We are proud to advise that in the entire history of Hope Ventures, there has not been one event occur and be brought to the Board's attention that would be deemed to be such an act.

Respect the rights of our supporters

Hope Ventures has a history of empowering some of our most vulnerable community members. We put families at the heart of our vision, and we are passionate about working with communities so those community members can thrive.

This could not be achieved without the generous support of our benevolent partners. Strong partnerships underpin our work. We believe that through collaboration we can create the greatest change.

Thanks to their vision and belief in what we do, our benevolent partners have supported us to:

• Implement supportive programs that keep children engaged in learning
• Deliver critical programs to bring about systemic change in early prevention of domestic violence
• Tackle some of the most confronting issues facing families and individuals living under difficult and stressful circumstance

Recognise and manage risk

Hope Ventures, through the role of the Executive Director seeks to remain efficient and fast acting in its ability to identify risks as and when they arrive and to introduce safeguards as quickly as possible.

Risk is the effect of uncertainty on objectives. The Board and the Executive would assess the effect of the action, consider the uncertainty of the event and explore the likelihood of the cause and consequence, so that the impact of the outcome is managed and reduced to a satisfactory level.

Safeguard integrity in corporate reports

Hope Ventures is committed to constantly improving the transparency and clarity of our Financial Reporting to our stakeholders.

In July 2021 the Board has committed to increasing the detailed nature of the notes within our financial statements to allow all stakeholder to obtain a clear and detailed understanding of all areas of income, expenditure, asset investment and obligations of the organisation, based entirely on the Financial Report itself.

External Auditor Details:

Matthew Williams, Managing Director

Platinum Audits

PO Box1306, Capalaba, QLD 4157

Hope ventures is subject to the following compliance frameworks:

Hope ventures is a disclosing entity under the Corporations Act 2001 and therefore must lodge an audited financial report to ASIC on an annual basis. These financial reports are available to the public via the ASIC company search database.

Hope ventures is required to also lodge its constitution (if changed), annual information statement and Financial Report with the ACNC on an annual basis. These documents are also available to the public via the ACNC charity search database.

Hope ventures is registered for Goods and Services Tax and therefore lodges activity statements on a quarterly basis.

Hope ventures obtained an exemption for income tax obligations on the basis that it is a Public Benevolent Institution on the 13th of November 2008.

Hope ventures obtained an exemption for Fringe Benefit Tax obligations on the basis that it is a Public Benevolent Institution on the 13th of November 2008.

Hope Ventures, previously named Hope Centre Services(ACN  133 424 576) operates within a public company structure that is limited by Guarantee, incorporated under the Corporations Act 2001. The entity has the following registrations:

• ABN 87 133 424 576
• ACNC registered charity since 3rd December 2012 (ACNC registration number 87133424576)
•  Registered public benevolent institution since 1st January 2014
• Deductible gift recipient registration obtained on the 13th November2008

View our ACNC registration here - https://www.acnc.gov.au/charity/28e4fcc2daac65f80b43d6d15c17f884#overview