Carrington Cottages

Empowering the homeless of greater Adelaide

How MGI allows Carrington Cottages to focus on their day-to-day operations empowering the homeless.

The client

Carrington Cottages operates on a simple philosophy that everyone should have a safe and secure place to call home. The registered not-for-profit association provides boarding house accommodation for men who are transitioning from homelessness to independent living. Shawnee Fox, the CEO of Carrington Cottages is passionate about the work they do and says that it is a challenging but rewarding job to ensure that residents who call Carrington Cottages home, for whatever period, walk out feeling ready and confident to be integrated back into society. Housing up to 60 men at a time, the dedicated staff and volunteers at Carrington Cottages are committed to addressing homelessness in greater Adelaide.

The challenge

Shawnee highlights that the challenges are many. Like in all charitable organisations there are always regulartory obligations to fulfill and the challenges of maintaining ongoing good governance practices. With a lean and busy team, Carrington Cottages depends on MGI to make sure that their reporting is accurate and completed on time.  MGI have always supported the team with professional services, ensuring they comply with legal obligations, while allowing Shawnee and her team to focus on addressing homelessness in Adelaide.

How we helped

MGI has performed the role of auditors for Carrington Cottages for many years. With their extensive experience in the not-for-profit sector, MGI works with the Board to ensure good governance practices are adhered and provides professional advice to assist the business decisions of Carrington Cottages. MGI partner, Clayton Lawrence confirms that as a registered charity, there are ongoing reporting and compliance obligations  with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profit Commission (ACNC) and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) which they have been assisting with for many years. This allows the Carrington Cottages team to focus on their day-to-day operations empowering the homeless.
“Trying to provide services to someone who is homeless and who has to keep moving to stay safe is very hard… Clayton and his team have been supportive over the years, providing much needed professional services and sound advice.” – Shawnee Fox

The outcome

Carrington Cottages have ambitious plans to expand their role in tackling the challenges associated with greater Adelaide’s homelessness. Recently they were successful in extending their services to women and couples in need – demographic groups that are increasingly represented in Adelaide’s homeless community. Given their accommodation is always full and waiting lists are common, what is reassuring is that with that with the ongoing support of MGI and other partners, along with that of the Government, Carrington Cottages can look to the future with confidence in carrying out the great social services originally launched by the Sisters of Mercy.

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