About this organisation
Summary of activities
Carlton Neighbourhood Learning Centre Inc. (CNLC) is committed to the relief of poverty, helplessness, misfortune, suffering, and distress among economically or socially disadvantaged individuals in Carlton and surrounding areas. As a Neighbourhood House, Registered Training Organisation (RTO), and Learn Local provider, in 2023 CNLC supported disadvantaged public housing residents, migrants, refugees, and people with disabilities by offering a variety of assistance programs designed to improve their quality of life. In 2023 our programs include providing access to cooked food and pantry staples for those facing extreme distress, hardship, and poverty. We also offered support and pathways to basic adult education and training, employment, and community participation. CNLC s education and training programs specifically targeted assisting refugees, migrants, and individuals with intellectual, physical, and other disabilities in developing essential reading, writing, speaking, and comprehension skills. These initiatives helped participants seek employment, access vocational training, and progress in their careers. Furthermore, in 2023 our broad range of personal and social support programs were designed to build individual confidence and competence, enhance the capacity for employment, and improve understanding of Australian social and workplace norms. By fostering intercultural knowledge and community connection, CNLC created a supportive and inclusive environment that empowered marginalised adults to participate fully in community life.
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Outcomes
Outcomes are self-reported by charities
Programs and activities
Name: English as an Additional Language
URL: https://cnlc.org.au/courses/
Classification: English as a second language (Education > Adult education > English as a second language)
Beneficiaries:- Financially disadvantaged people
- People from a culturally and linguistically diverse background (or people from a CALD background)
- Unemployed persons
Name: Open Door community hub - programs and support services
URL: https://cnlc.org.au/open-door/
Classification: Community development (Community development )
Beneficiaries:- Financially disadvantaged people
- People at risk of homelessness/ people experiencing homelessness
- People from a culturally and linguistically diverse background (or people from a CALD background)
- Unemployed persons
Name: Make it Work Employment Program
URL: https://cnlc.org.au/open-door/make-it-work/
Classification: Job training (Economic development > Employment > Job training)
Beneficiaries:- Financially disadvantaged people
- People from a culturally and linguistically diverse background (or people from a CALD background)
- Unemployed persons
Name: Alive and Active course for students with a disability
URL: https://cnlc.org.au/course/alive-active-program/
Classification: Disability services (Human services > Special population support > Disability services)
Beneficiaries:- People with disabilities
Name: Literacy Pathways for people with intellectual disability
URL: https://cnlc.org.au/course/all-abilities-program/
Classification: Basic and remedial instruction (Education > Adult education > Basic and remedial instruction )
Beneficiaries:- People with disabilities
Name: Learn Local English, skills and employment courses
URL: https://cnlc.org.au/course/preaccredited-english-and-employment-courses/
Classification: Adult education (Education > Adult education)
Beneficiaries:- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
- Financially disadvantaged people
- People from a culturally and linguistically diverse background (or people from a CALD background)
- Unemployed persons
Name: Cultural Celebrations
URL: https://cnlc.org.au/network-and-events/
Classification: Community development (Community development )
Beneficiaries:- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
- Families
- Financially disadvantaged people
- People from a culturally and linguistically diverse background (or people from a CALD background)
- People with disabilities
Name: Food Relief Market
URL: https://cnlc.org.au/
Classification: Food aid (Human services > Basic and emergency aid > Food aid)
Beneficiaries:- Financially disadvantaged people
- People at risk of homelessness/ people experiencing homelessness
- People from a culturally and linguistically diverse background (or people from a CALD background)
- Unemployed persons
Name: Reconnect Program - Support to reconnect with education, training and employment
URL: https://cnlc.org.au/open-door/reconnect/
Classification: Job training (Economic development > Employment > Job training)
Beneficiaries:- Financially disadvantaged people
- People from a culturally and linguistically diverse background (or people from a CALD background)
- Unemployed persons
Name: Ballam Ballam Community Garden and Compost Hub
URL: https://cnlc.org.au/ballam-ballam-community-garden/
Classification: Community food systems (Agriculture, fisheries and forestry > Food security > Community food systems)
Beneficiaries:- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
- Environment
- Families
- Financially disadvantaged people
- People from a culturally and linguistically diverse background (or people from a CALD background)
- People with chronic illness (including terminal illness)
- People with disabilities
- Unemployed persons
Finances
What is this?
This graph shows how much revenue (money in) and expenses (money out) the charity has had each year over the last few years. Charities have many sources of revenue, such as donations, government grants, and services they sell to the public. Similarly, expenses are everything that allows the charity to run, from paying staff to rent.
What should I be looking for?
First off, this graph gives a general indication of how big the charity is - charities range in size from tiny (budgets of less than $100,000) to enormous (budgets more than $100 million). You're also looking for variability - if the charity's revenue and expenses are jumping up and down from year to year, make sure there's a good reason for it.
Unlike companies, charities and not-for-profits aren't on a mission to make money. However, if they spend more than they receive, eventually they will go into too much debt and run into trouble. As a very general rule, you want revenue to be slightly above expenses. If expenses is reliably above revenue, the charity is losing money. If revenue is much larger than expenses, it means the charity might not be using its resources effectively. It isn't always that simple, however, and there's a lot of reasons a charity might not follow this pattern. They might be saving up for a big purchase or campaign, or they might have made a big one-off payment. If you're worried, always look at the annual and financial reports to understand why the charity is making the decisions it is.
What is this?
If a charity receives more money than it spends, that's a surplus (in business, it would be called profit). If it spends more than it receives, that's a deficit. This chart shows surpluses and deficits for the charity over the last few years.
What should I be looking for?
Unlike companies, charities and not-for-profits aren't on a mission to make money. However, if they spend more than they receive, eventually they will go into too much debt and run into trouble. As a very general rule, you want a charity to make a small surplus on average. A deficit means that charity lost money that year, which may indicate poor financial management or just a series of bad circumstances. If the charity always has a huge surplus, it means the charity might not be using its resources effectively. It isn't always that simple, however, and there's a lot of reasons a charity might not follow this pattern. They might be saving up for a big purchase or campaign, or they might have made a big one-off payment. If you're worried, always look at the annual and financial reports to understand why the charity is making the decisions it is.
What is this?
This chart compares the amount the charity receives from various sources, including donations (i.e. money given by the general public or philanthropy), goods and services, government grants, and other sources.
What should I be looking for?
Donations are an important source of revenue for some charities. Others rely more heavily on government funding, or on revenue from other sources. This is an indication of how much they need donors to accomplish their mission. Note that there is no 'good' or 'bad' amount of donations for a charity to have. It might be interesting to look at values over time - are they going up or down? A charity that gets less donations every year may be in trouble.
What is this?
Assets are things that the charity owns that are worth something. This could be anything from a car to investments. Similarly, liabilities are debts or obligations that the charity owes to someone else, like a loan or an agreement to pay for something.
What should I be looking for?
Firstly, in general a charity should have more assets than liabilities. If it doesn't, it implies that the charity might not be able to pay its debts, and you should look very closely at the charity's annual and financial reports to make sure they are taking steps to remedy this. Current assets should generally be above current liabilities - that means the charity can easily pay off the debts that are coming due soon. Beyond that, look for a large stockpile of assets. While a charity should have enough assets to keep it afloat in hard times (a 'buffer') if that stockpile gets too large the charity could be using that money more effectively. As always, if you have concerns check the annual and financial reports.
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