Announcing the Lotterywest Community Leadership Scholarship

We're excited to share that Leadership WA has been successful in our application for a $420,000 Lotterywest grant, funding 18 Scholarships that will enable not-for-profit leaders to participate in both the Signature and Rising Leadership Programs.

The Lotterywest funding will extend the opportunity of transformational leadership development to those working in the not-for-profit sector, including additional support for applicants living in regional WA, by way of Scholarships for our Signature and Rising Leadership Programs over the next three years.

Regional Participants will also receive funding for their travel and accommodation, which can so often prove a barrier to participating in metro-based experiential Programs, such as the ones Leadership WA offers.

We are equally excited to congratulate our inaugural recipients of the new Lotterywest Community Leadership Scholarships, awarded for the March 2025 Rising Leadership Program to:

• Louise Bell, National Development Manager at Toy Libraries Australia
• Leanne Stojmenov, Rehearsal Director at WA Ballet

Both recipients have joined the March 2025 cohort of the Rising Leadership Program.

Leadership WA Chief Executive Dominique Mecoy said that these Scholarships are built upon a firm belief that Leadership WA’s offerings shouldn’t only be for those who can afford them. Not-for-profits, which serve some of the most vulnerable communities in WA, often lack the funding and resources to invest in their leaders.

“Not-for-profits are brilliant at leveraging every relationship, looking at every opportunity, mindful of every dollar spent, and for many not-for-profits, their heart and soul is who they’re serving. They’re out there to serve the community. They’re serving some of the most marginalised or vulnerable people in the state," Ms Mecoy said.

“For them to build up capacity in their teams, dollars and attention will probably go out to frontline service delivery and delivering on a mission and maybe not self-investing. That’s where we can come in. We have Scholarships that help build leadership capability. It gets back to creating some equity of opportunity.”

The resulting ripple effect of these scholarships then in turn benefits the NFP’s mission, creating a positive impact for the communities they support.

Colin Smith, Lotterywest CEO, said that the organisation is proud to support Leadership WA’s Programs and that, "Leadership WA's investment in and commitment to leadership at all levels is critical to supporting the sustainability of not-for-profit organisations and the work they do to serve the WA community."

Applications are now open for our June 2025 Rising Leadership Program, including for the new Lotterywest Community Leadership Scholarships, along with our existing Scholarships, including the Mt Burdett Foundation Scholarship for regional Participants and the Construction Training Fund Construction Leaders Scholarships, for those working in the building and construction industry, along with others. Lotterywest Scholarships for the Signature Leadership Program will commence next year.