Hi I’m Earle. I studied Philanthropy and nonprofit studies at QUT and now I’m Development Manager, Corporate and Major Gifts, at the Salvation Army.

I had been working as a business analyst with one of Australia’s largest telecommunications carriers and decided, perhaps in lieu of a midlife crisis, that I needed to go to university and study. After quite a bit of research, I looked and QUT offered the course that I needed, and that career change has actually led to so many opportunities in my life now.

There are so many things that I really enjoy about my role at the Salvation Army but particularly it’s people. It’s all about people, everything that we do. And one of the things that is so important, is getting to know my donors, so that those people can continue to support the great work that we do at the Salvation Army.

The course at QUT was really quite thorough and covered quite a wide range of subjects, and that included management, governance, ethics, marketing, fundraising - which has been a particular area interest of mine - and even accounting was made interesting by our wonderful lecturers at QUT. On my first day at QUT I knew I was in the company of friends - we were able to learn together. Then one of the great things that has continued to be important for me, is that those friendships and those networks have continued to grow.

This course offers the opportunity to work in the not-for-profit sector or even to work in government, where you’re dealing with not-for-profit, and even particularly in corporate or private enterprise where there is an interaction.

The Australian Centre for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies at QUT is the first of its kind to actually offer specific subjects in the area of philanthropy and nonprofit studies. And what makes it more exciting is the fact that our lecturers and teaching staff have actually come from very practical backgrounds, which makes the teaching in the university for the real world something so appealing for students like myself that are wanting to study there.

I love going to work every day, I love helping to make a difference in the community and I really love people.