The Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) has launched its 2025 Regional Not-for-profit Scholarship program, offering 150 rural and regional not-for-profit leaders the chance to enhance their governance skills.

The program, targeting organisations with annual revenues under $2 million, will deliver specialised training across six regional locations, from Karratha in Western Australia to Newcastle in New South Wales.

AICD Managing Director and CEO Mark Rigotti emphasised the program’s importance for regional Australia. “We know that NFPs servicing regional, rural and remote communities face their own unique challenges and the need to support NFP directors, particularly those in the care sector, has never been greater,” he said.

Scholarship recipients will participate in one of two courses: Care Governance: Achieving Quality Outcomes, offered in Toowoomba and Newcastle, or Governance Foundations for Not-for-Profit Directors, available in Geelong, Launceston, Port Lincoln and Karratha.

Care Governance: Achieving Quality Outcomes

• Toowoomba, Queensland – 3 April 2025
• Newcastle, NSW – 6 May 2025

Governance Foundations for Not-for-Profit Directors

• Geelong, Victoria – 4–5 June 2025
• Launceston, Tasmania – 8–9 April 2025
• Port Lincoln, South Australia – 20–21 May 2025
• Karratha, Western Australia – 16–17 June 2025

“The scholarships will provide a valuable opportunity for these NFP leaders to enhance their governance skills and capabilities, to support their organisations and meet the growing challenges facing their sectors,” Rigotti added.

Eligible applicants must reside at least 75 kilometres outside an Australian capital city and be current or aspiring directors of small-to-medium nonprofit organisations.

Applications for the scholarship program open on 19 November 2024, and close on 20 December 2024. The courses will be conducted between April and June 2025, offering regional leaders access to professional development opportunities typically concentrated in metropolitan areas.

Related: AICD announces Scholarship opportunity for NFP leaders