A convincing pitch is a powerful tool to unlock opportunities, form key relationships with investors or volunteers, attract funding, and inspire new audiences. And, for charities and social enterprises in particular, a single pitch could really be “make or break”. At The Funding Network (TFN),...
Virtual reality, augmented reality, artificial intelligence and social media is very quickly redefining the way we relate, interact and perceive our world, highlighting an era of rapid technological advancement where one’s digital profile is beginning to supersede the importance of physical connection. The Human Connection...
Striving for change? Do you want to see what other countries are doing successfully in a similar field to inspire new ideas and innovation back home in Australia? This is your chance to make a difference. Supercharge your social impact with a Churchill Fellowship! This...
We get it. Life is crazy and balancing out your time can be super hard. With so much going on it’s difficult stay ahead of the learning game and easy to lose track of what's happening in the world of social impact. The trick is to stop trying...
Every day, one billion people go to bed hungry, even more, are malnourished – while, on another part of the planet, one billion people wake up, fat and overfed. This disproportionate balance only indicates one aspect one of our biggest global challenges: With the world...
Collective giving. Is it just another buzzword? A passing trend? Or is it here to stay? New giving concepts and donations platforms seem to be popping up left, right and centre. But let’s take a look at collective giving – you might be wondering what it...
We get it. Life is crazy and balancing out your time can be super hard. With so much going on it’s difficult stay ahead of the learning game and easy to lose track of what's happening in the world of social impact. The trick is to stop trying...
Erika Gleeson has always worked in the industry of ‘helping others’. As the founder of Autism Swim, the only business in Australia aimed solely at mitigating the associated risks of drowning for the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) population group, her life saving work hasn't gone unnoticed....
Securing funding is an essential part of launching and growing a successful social business, but doing so can be time consuming and can distract you from having the impact you have set out to create. So, if you are going to invest the time in...
We get it. Life is crazy and balancing out your time can be super hard. With so much going on it’s difficult stay ahead of the learning game and easy to lose track of what's happening in the world of social impact. The trick is to stop trying...
We get it. Life is crazy and balancing out your time can be super hard. With so much going on it’s difficult stay ahead of the learning game and easy to lose track of what's happening in the world of social impact. The trick is to stop trying...
There are a host of funding sources for social enterprises seeking to scale up their business, and every funding opportunity has its own criteria, focus and investment approach. This can be confusing to navigate and time-consuming. So how do you find the perfect match to...
There it is again. Creeping up from your stomach. A cold tightening fear that stops you in your tracks. Analysis paralysis has once again set in. Sound like a bad script for a B grade horror movie? Maybe, but in social entrepreneurship, this fear is...
We get it. Life is crazy and balancing out your time can be super hard. With so much going on it’s difficult stay ahead of the learning game and easy to lose track of what's happening in the world of social impact. The trick is to stop trying...
Founded by 6 young Australians in 2012, Pollinate Energy is a Melbourne based social enterprise that is bringing life-changing products to the people who need them most: the millions of Indians living in city slum communities. Since their founding, the team has impacted over 127,000...
Alvar Aalto, a Finnish Architect and Designer who was designing in the mid-1900’s, spoke of the journey of the seed of an idea to its execution. He once said, “Architecture in its details are in some way all part of biology. Perhaps they are like...
Just like we did last year, here’s our attempt to wrap up 2017 with some of the year’s most worthy headlines. Skim them again or read for the first time for some social change inspiration. A big thank you to all those brave individuals who are...
Giuseppe Demaio, aka Pino, believes that human-centred design can be a powerful tool to catalyse positive social outcomes and solve complex challenges. A business leader and Creative Director with extensive experience solving problems and identifying opportunities across the health, education, sports, property and social impact industries, his...
Marc Rütsche and Tobias Ammann both worked for consulting firms across finance, strategy, positioning or customer experience for local SMEs and international companies before independently started their own companies. Life was good but not meaningful enough. Having always wanted to work together since high school, they decided to develop...
Cat Fraser has been uncovering emerging needs and markets with social data since 2008. A big picture thinker and creative visionary, she is able to bring new context and ideas that challenges the status quo of business and adopts a bigger picture view of aligning...
Many of our most pressing social challenges are global in nature. With several recent innovations (mobile money, crisis mapping, conditional cash transfers, frugal innovation models) all originating in emerging markets, this is where you can see the future. “As the world’s largest democracy, few if...
“Failure is okay and sometimes, is inevitable. However, I believe that to care enough not to want to fail is vital - because it's cementing why exactly it is that you're doing what you're doing...
Do you have an idea of how to make social procurement standard practice? The Eidos Social Procurement Challenge, in partnership with the English Family Foundation, is about finding a new way to address the issues facing Social Procurement in Australia. The Challenge seeks to support organisations and individuals...
Kathy Wong is what you might call a serial entrepreneur, having founded and run several businesses. In November 2014, Kathy launched Moeloco in collaboration with the Hope Foundation in Kolkata to share the stories of children living in poverty and raise awareness and money to...
Pitching can be one of the most difficult things to do for a social entrepreneur – it’s an invitation for someone to critique an idea that you’ve spent countless hours developing. On the other hand, it can also be an opportunity to clearly articulate those...
Establishing any new business is hard work, but starting up a business with purpose – one you hope will create positive outcomes to communities – is even harder. The tension between profitability and social impact - achieving both social good and market success - makes...
Image source: Nate Kitch Over 1,300 social entrepreneurs, practitioners, policy makers, community leaders, investors, activists, and academics from around the globe, descended on Christchurch, New Zealand for the Social Enterprise World Forum 2017 (27-29 September). With three days of content, six streams and 50+ sessions and workshops,...
As a social entrepreneur, it’s vital that, in addition to developing and improving your current projects, you continue to nurture your own personal and professional development. The social enterprise sector is a welcoming community full of people working tirelessly to make a difference and they...
Got a great idea but don't know how to get it off the ground? Finding the time and funding to kickstart a new social innovation can be difficult. You can have what you think is the best idea in the world but without the resources...
Since starting my company Words With Heart almost 3 years ago, the social enterprise scene in Australia has changed a hell of a lot. When people casually asked what I did for a living, it wasn’t unusual to get a lot of perplexed looks when...
Since Shark Tank Australia (and before that, Shark Tank US and Dragons Den UK) launched on our screens, we’ve seen a corresponding rise in the popularity and prevelance of pitch events, both in the mainstream startup and social enterprise sectors. It’s easy to see the appeal....
Ever wondered how to give your funding application the best chance of success? Of course you have! Securing funding is an essential part of launching and growing a successful social business, but doing so can be time consuming and can distract you from having the...
A conference presenter once clearly laid out all of the things that needed to be done to solve a particularly vexing problem. At question time, one person asked: “Yes, but if you could only do one thing which one would it be?” His answer was...
Whether you are in the planning stages of launching a social enterprise, are brainstorming whether your idea is plausible or you simply want your business to have a stronger social impact, there are countless tools available online. However, it can be difficult to determine which...
Confessions of a climate laggard: the journey from apathy to the first critical active steps. I get it. I get why people put their head in the sand about climate change. I get how it's possible to kind of care about the environment but at the...
Rebekah Lambert is a content marketing freelancer at Unashamedly Creative. She’s also the founder of Hacking Happiness, a project designed to remind Australian businesses & professionals that stress has a productivity cost. As the founder of The Freelance Jungle, an online and offline social club designed...
Applications are now open for Social Traders Crunch start-up accelerator until Thursday 22nd June. Apply now. Starting on July 24, over 19 weeks the selected applicants will test, measure and build a robust business model for their social enterprise. Through Social Traders’ high calibre networks, participants will...
Moira Deslandes has worked from the kitchen table as a direct service social worker through to the cabinet table as a Chief of Staff to a Minister. She has designed and implemented community development strategies and activities in Mozambique, South Africa, Ghana, UK, Canada, USA,...
Most people think about the world’s shortcomings – pollution, poverty, slave labour, drug trafficking, lack of healthcare, inadequate education, racism, abuse – and so many more. Few people challenge these status quos to create sustainable change. Even fewer people do it while using a for-profit...
We sat down with Shane Greenup, Founder at rbutr, to learn more about how he is destroying misinformation and promoting critical thinking online. What is your social enterprise elevator pitch? rbutr promotes critical thinking online by connecting rebuttals, critiques and corrections to the webpages that they rebut, ensuring...
Social Impact, Intrapreneurship, Benefit Corporation, Shared Value — there are a lot of buzzwords that get thrown around in the social arena. It is important to understand what these terms mean and when to use them – or when not to use them. Here is a quick...
We sat down with Mike Davis, Founding Director at Purposeful, to learn more about how he is empowering businesses to form stronger community connections and embark on social impact programs, strategies and initiatives. What is your social enterprise elevator pitch? Purposeful is a social impact advisory, empowering organisations...
If you are or you know an entrepreneur, you know it’s a tough gig. We’ve put together the top six obstacles that entrepreneurs face today, perhaps some of them resonate with you? Read on to find out how to overcome them. You have your business idea...
We sat down with Penny Schroder, Travel Agent at TravelManagers to learn more about how she is helping people travel for a cause. What is your social enterprise elevator pitch? It’s my passion, and also my business, to create tailor-made travel programs for donor engagement groups and volunteers....
Although the social enterprise sector is still young in Australia, social entrepreneurs are on the rise in response to the social and environmental challenges that we are currently facing. In the recent Finding Australia’s Social Enterprise Sector (FASES) 2016 report, social entrepreneurs face major external...
Good news for the social enterprise community! The Victorian Government's Social Enterprise Strategy, the first-of-its-kind in Australia has been released recently! There has been ongoing discussions about the creation of an Australian first social enterprise sector-wide strategy and Victoria has positioned itself to lead the country...
Thriving impact business leaders share the clear (and sometimes surprising) benefits of investing in brand development and design. Published on January 10, 2017 on LinkedIn Pulse by Ralston Vaz Like most customers, I love a good social enterprise brand. When an impact business has a confidence of...
Mentorship is nothing new. Mentoring has been around for centuries as a way of passing on knowledge and skills - Socrates had Plato, Ray Charles had Quincy Jones, Robin had Batman. The explosion of entrepreneurship has seen a resurgence in the mentor-mentee relationship.You would be...
Throughout the year, we try our best to keep a running list of exceptional stories about Australian social entrepreneurs. Here we attempt to wrap up 2016 with some of the year’s most worthy headlines. Skim them again or read for the first time for some...
Finding funding is one of the biggest challenges faced by social entrepreneurs. You can have what you think is the best idea in the world but without the moolah to make it happen it’ll be close to impossible to even get off the ground. Your options...
What comes to mind when you think about kickstarting, mapping or developing your social enterprise idea? If it is sitting down and writing a 30-page business plan, think again....
The demanding world of social entrepreneurship makes it difficult to find the time to stay ahead of the learning game. Stop trying to read everything out there. There’s too much. And you’re too busy. Instead, here are the articles that you need to read....
If we are genuinely committed to the long haul that is social enterprise, it is important to understand its context, impediments and scope. In doing so, we put ourselves in a better position to harness the potential of social entrepreneurship and advocate on its behalf....
Adapted from the excellent book The Art of Social Enterprise: Business as if People Mattered by Carl Frankel & Allen Bromberger, the follow 10 commandments are indisputable principles about how to beat the odds and excel at social enterprise....
It's time to get to work. However, that is often easier said than done – especially if you are trying to change the world. But no need to feel overwhelmed, here are seven mind-blowing talks that are sure to inspire you to act and make...
In light of the constraints, how do for-profit social enterprises with intelligent, sustainable solutions to social challenges access the funding they need to develop their ideas, test them and bring them to market?...
There is no doubt the incredible impact that technology and new media is having on social good initiatives around the world. But what exactly is “social good”? Is it making a donation to charity? Is it a random act of kindness? Is it volunteering? Is...
Based on the belief that digital technologies are one of the main drivers towards the Sustainable Development Goals, The World Summit Award Social Innovation Congress brought together young social entrepreneurs and innovators, international thought-leaders and regional stakeholders to discuss and recognise digital innovation in creating...
Social enterprise accelerator programs are specifically designed to help social entrepreneurs create and grow sustainable for-purpose businesses. Whether you’re in ideation phase or already in operation, a pit stop at a social enterprise accelerator is a great way to fast track your progress....
We sat down with Paul Adams, Chairman at Aeromedical Innovation Australasia Ltd to learn more about his journey and the pioneering work he is doing to improve healthcare access for disadvantaged rural communities. What is your social enterprise elevator pitch? People will die unnecessarily if we delay...