Social Enterprise News

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(members check forums for discount code)

In the lead-up to this year's Social Enterprise World Forum, the Australian Social Enterprise Youth Forum in association with SEWF 2022, invites young leaders from around the world to amplify their impact through social enterprise.

Promising world-class content and career-changing networking, this event invites you to learn from and be inspired by others working to make the world a better place.

Here’s what you can expect:

Inspiring keynotes from young purpose-driven leaders

Expert-led practical and interactive workshops to help you build your skills and grow your enterprise

Networking with innovators, entrepreneurs and advocates for change

Keynote Speakers:

Nick from HoMie, Bek from Ngarrimili + more to be announced.

Workshop Hosts:

Future Anything, Young Change Agents, Social Enterprise Academy, ALLKND and Yalari.

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Looking to attend SEWF22? Book a Social Enterprise World Forum In-Person Pass here.

Huge thanks to Social Enterprise World Forum, White Box Enterprises, Paul Ramsay Foundation and Vivcourt for making The Australian Social Enterprise Youth Forum possible.

BOOK TICKETS 
(members check forums for discount code)

In Sydney and want to visit SEWF? This could be your chance.

Why Join the Roadtrip?

This is a chance to make the Social Enterprise World Forum so much more than a conference. Instead of just flying into Brisbane, travel with a group of founders, social enterprise supporters and sector thought leaders for two days of connecting, learning and preparing to make the most of the Brisbane Summit!

The two-day journey will give you plenty of time to meet and learn from your fellow travellers, facilitated by group activities and conversations on the bus. We will visit several inspiring social enterprises as we travel up the coast and share a memorable meal in Byron Bay on the Monday night.

Coming on this journey will equip you to make the most of the SEWF opportunity. Building your community beforehand and having a strong network at the Summit will make it less overwhelming and increase your chances of finding what you need at the event.

The group will be connected through a private WhatsApp group and from facilitated sessions on the bus will understand each other’s priorities at the Summit, so we are all eyes and ears at the event, alerting each other to networking opportunities and key events.

This is for:

· Social enterprise founders;

· People working for intermediary and support organisations;

· Investors, storytellers, those working closely with social enterprises;

· Anyone travelling to the Social Enterprise World Forum in Brisbane.

All Tickets include:

· 2 nights accommodation, individual or twin-share;

· Transportation on a luxury bus filled with other social entrepreneurs and supporters;

· Breakfasts both mornings and a special dinner on Tuesday night in Byron Bay.

Note: Does not include accommodation in Brisbane or return transportation. SEWF tickets are extra. Tickets are available at https://opportunities.startsomegood.com/sewf-roadtrip-2022/

Subsidised Places:

There are 15 Subsidised seats available on the bus to help more local enterprises to take advantage of this opportunity, supported by the City of Sydney, City of Parramatta and MinterEllison.

Note that subsidies cover the Roadtrip only, with the exception of the City of Parramatta subsidies which also include a SEWF ticket. Applications must be received by August 7. See https://opportunities.startsomegood.com/sewf-roadtrip-2022/ for more information.

Itinerary:

Departs Sydney on Sunday morning September 25, arriving in Brisbane lunchtime Tuesday September 27, before the official Summit September 28/29.

Sunday: Depart Sydney in the morning, with a second pick-up in Parramatta. Overnight at Nambucca Heads. Activities: Facilitated getting-to-know-you games and introductions on the bus. Group dinner after arrival, then Fireside chats.

Monday: Drive to Byron Bay. Activities: Afternoon event meeting local enterprises and entrepreneurs, with multiple workshops available on networking, partnership development and pitching. Discussion over dinner of how to get the most out of SEWF

Tuesday: Drive to Brisbane. Activities: Facilitated session on the bus on what is everyone looking for at SEWF.

Who is Behind It:

The Social Enterprise Roadtrip is being organised and hosted by Lucy Brotherton, Community Capacity Building Officer - Social Investment at the City of Parramatta, and Tom Dawkins, CEO and Co-Founder of social enterprise StartSomeGood.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER 

Live STREAM is available for this event.

BDO supports Queensland’s vision to build a robust social enterprise sector to create more jobs, increase employment for disadvantaged job seekers, and deliver economic, social, and environmental benefits to Queensland communities. It is with pleasure that BDO presents the Financial Education for Queensland Social Enterprises Program. For more information, please contact the BDO Financial Education Team. 

Social enterprise operators are welcome to register for an individual session or complete the whole program. Workshop topics can be undertaken individually but we encourage you to attend all three to maximise this opportunity. The first session - Financials for Social Enterprises provides a foundational building block for the workshops that follow. We highly recommended attending the virtual workshop prior to attending the in-person workshops. Please note, that the virtual workshop will not be recorded for privacy reasons.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION 

This Social Enterprise Sector Development Grant project is proudly supported and funded by the Queensland Government.

Media Release – 25 July 2022  Queensland Social Enterprise Council Ltd  

Trailer - Online - Widescreen 

The Social Economy is shaking off the “Not for Profit” mantle, emerging as a significant economic lever to address social, environmental, and cultural disadvantage.  

As the globe reels from pandemic aftershocks, the Global Alliance for Social Entrepreneurship¹ has released the international trends that are re-shaping the way we think about business as usual in their May 2022 insight report: Unlocking the Social Economy².  

The World Economic Forum article³ suggests that approximately 6% of the EU workforce today are employed by 2.8 million social economic organisations, with $1.845 trillion forecasted assets under management through the impact investment market by 2023.  

With over 11 million social enterprises⁴estimated across the world, local Australian social markets are also emerging at pace, and especially in Queensland 5. Although social impact business has been around for some time6, social enterprises have been our best kept secret for far too long. With the Social Enterprise World Forum coming to Brisbane in September 20227, there has never been a better time to discover social enterprise.  

That’s why the Queensland Social Enterprise Council Ltd (QSEC) is delighted to be able to launch QSEC Stories, an engaging storytelling platform to discover social enterprise, connect stakeholders with business for good near you.  

“Thanks to support from the State Government, we have assembled a range of impact stories from social enterprises from across Queensland, celebrating the diversity of solutions to critical issues in our communities,” QSEC President Richard Warner said. 

Social enterprises are businesses created to do good. They come in many forms, from coffee shops to law firms, selling a wide range of products and services.  

“Uniquely, these businesses often serve the most disadvantaged in our communities through job placement, social connection, cultural exchange and environmental impacts. The way these enterprises deliver services is how social enterprises make a big difference,” Mr Warner continued.  

QSEC CEO Elise Parups added, “The QSEC Stories launch is just the beginning. We are calling for all social enterprises to stand up and be counted and get your story on the map. Consumers can then locate their local social enterprise and switch to good, to make the world a little better every time they purchase.” 

To hear the social enterprise stories of impact, get involved and find out more, visit www.qsecstories.org.au today.  

 Look for # on social media: #discoversocialenterprise #qsecstories #switch2good #positivetransaction #socialenterprise #supportsocial  

Media: Elise Parups Chief Executive Officer QSEC elise@qsec.org.au  

Trailer - Online - Widescreen 

1 World Economic Forum 2022, Global Alliance for Social Entrepreneurship; Public and private sector leaders in support of the social innovation movement. https://initiatives.weforum.org/global-alliance-for-social-entrepreneurship

2 Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship & World Economic Forum, May 2022, Unlocking the Social Economy, in collaboration with Deloitte. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Unlocking_the_Social_Economy_2022.pdf

3 World Economic Forum, 23 May 2022, Unlocking the Social Economy: Towards an inclusive and resilient society, In collaboration with Deloitte and in partnership with Catalyst 2030, Euclid Network, Motsepe Foundation and the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship. https://www.weforum.org/reports/unlocking-the-social-economy-towards-an-inclusive-and-resilient-society-davos2022

4 British Council & Social Enterprise UK, June 2022, More in Common: the global state of social enterprise. https://www.britishcouncil.org/sites/default/files/more_in_common_global_state_of_social_enterprise.pdf

5 Queensland Social Enterprise Council 2021 Annual Report https://www.qsec.org.au/resources/Documents/QC011_Annual%20Report_Single_LR.pdf

6 Barraket J, Mason C & Blain B, June 2016, Finding Australia’s Social Enterprise Sector (FASES). Centre for Social Impact in collaboration with Social Traders. https://www.csi.edu.au/media/uploads/FASES_2016_full_report_final.pdf

7 Social Enterprise World Forum 2022 https://sewfonline.com/events/sewf-2022/

Social Enterprise Australia, the new peak body for social enterprise arrives in Australia!

A social enterprise is a business, for good. They trade like any other business; but exist specifically to make the world a better place.

People across the Australian social enterprise sector have been working together towards a national strategy. This is needed to unlock the full potential of social enterprise to help people, places and the planet thrive.

Over 500 people across the sector have already helped shape it.

The launch of Social Enterprise Australia meets the need for an organisation to lead this work. 

Why is this such a big deal?

Social Enterprise Australia will connect the sector to plan, act and learn together. It will do this to have a shared national strategy and voice, and to develop new ways to build social and environmental wellbeing.

Now is also the right time.

We have a Federal Government building a wellbeing budget. Social enterprise should be seen and valued as a key tool in this agenda.

Meanwhile, the Social Enterprise World Forum is coming to Australia in September this year, hosted by White Box Enterprises. It is the key event for the global social enterprise community to connect, learn and be inspired.

Who’s involved?

Social Enterprise Australia will be co-owned and shaped by the sector itself.

Jess Moore, who has led this work, will continue to do this as the organisation’s CEO. Christina Chun joins the organisation as its COO.  The Advisory Council, which has guided the national strategy work, will continue to do this as the organisation’s Board. It includes: 

• Belinda Morrissey (Chair), CEO at the English Family Foundation
• Alex Hannant (Deputy Chair), Professor of Practice and Co-Director at the Yunus Centre, Griffith University
• David Brookes (Company Secretary), founding member at the Social Enterprise Network of Victoria and former CEO at Social Traders
• Adrian Appo, First Nations Lead at Yajilarra Trust
• Alexie Seller, Co-CEO at Enterprise Learning Projects and Convener at Impact North
• Matt Pfahlert, CEO at the Australian Centre for Rural Entrepreneurship and Social Enterprise Academy Australia
• Tara Anderson, Executive Director, Strategy and Growth at Social Traders and Director at The Dragonfly Collective

The national strategy process and Social Enterprise Australia are incubated by the Yunus Centre at Griffith University. This work is backed by and only possible thanks to a growing philanthropic collaboration. It is anchored by the Paul Ramsay Foundation, and includes the English Family Foundation, Snow Foundation and Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation. MinterEllison and Day Four Projects provide pro bono support.

Check out the new website to find out more: socialenterpriseaustralia.org.au.

Social Traders awards are back!

The world has changed. So has business.

Some ideas are game changers and buying from social enterprise is one of them. This year our awards will showcase the pioneers demonstrating that social enterprise procurement is catching on. Let’s celebrate the innovative social enterprises, businesses and governments leading the charge in #Business4Good.

The theme: Social procurement game changers

This year the awards will showcase how social enterprise procurement is catching on around the country.

There will be four region based award winners:

• Social procurement game changer - VIC/TAS region
• Social procurement game changer - NSW/ACT region
• Social procurement game changer- NT/QLD region
• Social procurement game changer - SA/WA region

With one overall national winner:

• Social procurement trailblazer - National

Member applications now open

Awards are open to our pioneering members who are leading the charge for better business. We’re looking for joint applications from one or more certified social enterprise/s and one or more of our business and government member/s. Your application should show how you are leading the way in social enterprise procurement. Check out below for more details on our key selection criteria.

Finalists showcased at national and state celebration events

The award winners will be determined in collaboration with our partners at Australia's social enterprise state and territory networks. The four region winners will be announced at celebration events in Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane and Sydney, co-hosted with our sector partners.

All winners will be invited to join us at the Social Enterprise World Forum, where the national Social procurement trailblazer for 2022 will be announced. The national winner of the trailblazer award will be decided in collaboration with the Social Enterprise National Strategy team. This winner will have showcased the most innovative and impactful outcomes against the award criteria.

Want to be recognised as a game changer? Apply now!

The four Social procurement game changer region winners will receive a free ticket with expenses paid to join us at the Social Enterprise World Forum this September. The national winner will be invited to join us on the main stage for a panel discussion on best practice social procurement, to a global audience. All national winners will receive a digital promotion kit to showcase and celebrate their achievement.

Submissions close COB Friday, 22 July 2022. For details and to submit your entry see below.

Visit Social Traders website

Australia’s newest domain namespace has arrived with the launch of .au direct 24 March 2022. For the first time, Australians can now register domain names directly before the .au (e.g. getyour.au) through participating accredited registrars. 

.au direct is the biggest innovation in the .au domain in 20 years and provides:

• Greater choice of trusted, uniquely Australian domain names 
• Access to shorter, simpler website and email addresses
• Domain names that are easier to type and display on mobile devices
• A great option for new business ideas, marketing campaigns, one-off events, and personalised websites and email address.  

auDA CEO Rosemary Sinclair AM said, “.au direct provides a new and exciting digital address for Australians to call home. 

“It delivers greater choice of uniquely Australian domain names and, importantly, supports continued online innovation for Australians.

“.au direct is the culmination of extensive community consultation from 2015 to 2019 and collaboration across the Australian domain industry in the lead up to launch. Thank you to all those who have contributed. We are pleased to welcome the new namespace into the .au family.”

The launch marks the beginning of the six-month Priority Allocation Process, which provides priority access to the new .au direct domain names to existing registrants, which ends on 20 September 2022.

For all those interested, you can register a new .au direct domain name via an auDA accredited registrar.

Who is .auDa?

.au Domain Administration Limited (auDA) is a not-for-profit organisation established by the Australian Internet community. They work with a range of stakeholders including industry, government and the Australian and international community to administer a trusted .au for the benefit of all Australians, and champion an open, free, secure and global Internet.

The .au country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) is part of Australia’s critical infrastructure, and has been endorsed by the Commonwealth Government to ensure it is a secure, accessible and trusted Australian public asset for all Internet users. The core functions, as set out by the Terms of Endorsement from Government, are to:

• Ensure stable, secure and reliable operation of the .au domain, as part of Australia’s suite of critical infrastructure.
• Administer a licensing regime for .au domain names based in multi-stakeholder processes that is transparent, responsive, accountable, accessible and efficient.
• Advocate for, and actively participate in, multi-stakeholder Internet governance processes both domestically and internationally.

.auDa also represent Australia’s interests internationally and have an agreement with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) – the international body responsible for coordinating the Internet’s naming and numbering systems.

MORE DETAILS 

CCIQ has for over a decade been dedicated to working with all levels of government to not only highlight the impact that red tape has on business but to also identify opportunities for reform.

Since 2009, CCIQ has been conducting a Red Tape Survey to understand the impact of red tape on Queensland businesses and track changes to the burden of regulatory compliance. CCIQ shares the findings of the Red Tape Survey directly with key government agencies to influence change.

The most recent 2021 CCIQ Red Tape Survey confirms the burden of red tape has intensified and continues to adversely impact the performance of Queensland businesses.

Download the report for more information.

What's your experience? Email online@qsec.org.au with your thoughts. 

The Queensland Government’s Buy Queensland approach makes Queensland jobs the first priority and is increasing opportunities for Queensland SMEs to supply to the government.

From 1 July 2020, all agencies subject to theQueensland Procurement Policy (QPP) must contribute to a collective 25% target of government procurement spend by value from Queensland small and medium enterprises (SMEs) —businesses employing less than 200 people.

The target will increase to 30% by 30 June 2022.

Take part in QSEC's Procurement Panels made easy workshop 12 July 2022

Read more about the Qld initiative HERE