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Accepted Paper:

'Our submissions come from the heart': Becoming Inc. without compromising who you are  
Tiffany McComsey

Paper short abstract:

This paper will examine the shifting modalities which occurred in the process of an Aboriginal organisation becoming incorporated in Australia. The focus will be on the interrelationships between the organisation, its legitimacy in the eyes of others, and navigating the tensions between being determined by the State and acting otherwise.

Paper long abstract:

Incorporation and gaining gift recipient status are two elements which are seen as integral factors in the development of an Aboriginal community organisation. Incorporation allows for financial independence from an auspicing body and the eventual expansion of the organisation by enabling it to apply for its own grants and therefore run its own programmes. 'Gift recipient status' allows for funding to come from the private sector, the benefit of which is seen as the ability to manoeuvre outside of the confines of government grant monies and an independence from government policy, and yet government restrictions limit the types of organisations that receive 'gift recipient status.'

The process of incorporating, that is adopting a certain structure and vision for the organisation, and how to function as an Inc. are not necessarily straightforward processes. Incorporation does not necessarily challenge the identity of an organisation but it provides a framework for action which can re-structure an organisation. Nor are the benefits of incorporating immediate - the need to prove oneself as independent functioning incorporated structure and competing within a network of other like organisations becomes more challenging.

This paper will follow the progression of an organisation 'for' the Stolen Generations into an organisation 'of' the Stolen Generations and the tensions involved in articulating and being 'who we are,' 'what we do' and 'who we represent.'

Panel P21
Formal appropriations and corporate formations
  Session 1