Social Enterprise News

There are now over 1,000 companies owned by employee ownership trusts in the UK, including many professional services firms in fields like architecture. As far as law firms go, there are only a handful that have converted to EOTs in the UK, and none in Australia - yet.  
 
In this webinar, we look at the case study of Tapestry Compliance, a UK law firm that became EOT owned two years ago. Jess Mitchell, a consultant for Tapestry, will talk about how it works, the advantages and disadvantages of the EOT model compared to a traditional law firm structure, and Tapestry’s advice for law (or other professional services) firms that may consider employee ownership by trust.
 
Luke Geary, partner (NFPs, Human Rights & Social Impact) of large Australian law firm Mills Oakley, will give perspective on the potential for EOTs in law firms in the Australian context, including the barriers and opportunities ahead.
 
The webinar will be facilitated by Janna DeVylder, co-founder, principal and director of EOT-owned Australian design firm Meld Studios.

This webinar will be held on Thursday, 15th December 2022 at 10am (AEDT).

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with information on how to join the webinar.

Registration Link Here

Nominations close 5pm, Friday 3 February 2023 and the 2023 Queensland Reconciliation Award recipients will be announced at a ceremony during reconciliation week (27 May–3 June 2023).

Grant Program

The Celebrating Reconciliation Grants Program provides funding for local communities to host events that encourage participation in National Reconciliation Week.

National Reconciliation Week is a national campaign held annually from 27 May to 3 June, celebrating and building on respectful relationships between Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous peoples. The dates commemorate two significant milestones in the reconciliation journey—the successful 1967 Referendum to change how Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples were referred to in the Constitution (27 May), and the 1992 High Court Mabo decision (3 June).

The week is an opportunity for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures and achievements and to explore how each of us can join the national reconciliation effort. Reconciliation must live in the hearts, minds and actions of all Australians to create a nation strengthened by respectful relationships.

The Queensland Housing Summit provided an opportunity to explore ways to work together to address challenges and meet the housing needs of Queenslanders.

Expert leaders discussed interventions required to support improved housing outcomes for Queenslanders.

Read the Queensland Housing Summit Outcomes Report (PDF, 2 MB)

Read more about the summit 

Community Management Solutions (CMS) is offering a helping hand to social enterprises seeking support to navigate employee HR and IR laws. While their low cost HR services has been available to NFP members before, CMS are now opening their books to our profit for purpose members too under a special negotiation through QSEC.

Check out their website and membership form for more info, and make sure you select “social enterprise” to gain full access to their support, regardless of your business structure. 

Disclaimer: QSEC Ltd does not represent or warrant the quality or reliability of any products, services, information about any products or services, or other materials displayed, purchased or obtained by you as a result of you responding to any advertisement or any other content in or in connection with this newsletter. Commissions and advertising revenue collected by QSEC Ltd is used to benefit QSEC Members and social enterprise growth in Queensland.

This week Social Traders were excited to launch Pace - the profile of Australia’s certified social enterprises. Pace is a summary of the economic and impact data we’ve collected through certification over the last five years. It’s the largest and deepest dataset on social enterprises we have in Australia, growing at an average of 29% year on year.

Read the PACE 22 Report from Social Traders

CREATE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE IN THIS WORLD

One week ago, 12 incredible impact-led enterprises finished their Elevate+ Accelerator experience, with 200 people joining us to celebrate at The Triffid. What a night it was. Congratulations to the 2022 Cohort.

The elevate+ program is a comprehensive, impact enterprise accelerator to help you develop a sustainable & scalable enterprise which creates positive social impact.

We take the loneliness out of entrepreneurship and connect you with our thriving community of passionate social entrepreneurs, our alumni and leaders in the field.

Social Enterprise are encouraged to apply for the 2023 Cohort of Elevate+

Applications are open until 5pm AEDT Friday 9^th December 2022 for the 2023 Paul Ramsay Foundation Social Enterprise Growth Incubator! If you are, or know of, a social enterprise who is in the stage of working to ‘grow’ their social enterprise and fits the prescribed eligibility criteria, we encourage you to apply.

We recently ran an ‘Ask Me Anything’ webinar where we covered off some Frequently Asked Questions in regard to the program, eligibility and the selection process. Please find attached a summary of those FAQs and our answers.

We have received many high calibre applications already and are assessing on a rolling basis. So please don’t hesitate to apply now at Paul Ramsay Foundation Incubator.

Any further questions you may have can be answered by emailing incubator@paulramsayfoundation.org.au

Social Enterprise Growth Incubator FAQs.pdf

Come together as a community of game changers!   

Join us for next Tuesday 6th December from 4.00 pm - 6.00 pm for our first Queensland social enterprise forum and EOY celebration, hosted by Queensland Social Enterprise Council, Social Traders, and Impact Boom.   

Towards 2032: Social Procurement, Energy Transition and the Olympic and Paralympic Games; will unpack the critical role of social enterprise and social procurement in realising the desired outcomes of a successful Olympic and Paralympic Games and the Queensland Governments ambitious Energy and Jobs Plan.  

In 2032, Brisbane will be hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games with 70% of the state’s energy expected to come from renewable sources. To get there, $36 billion will be invested in the energy and jobs transition with an estimated $8 billion in economic and social benefits to flow from preparing for and hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games.   

Hear from a panel of guest speakers on how you can be part of these critical social procurement opportunities over the next 10 years.  

Panel discussion hosted by Tom Allen, founder of Impact Boom; 

• Queensland Government - Peter Lacey, Executive Director, Queensland Government Procurement, Department of Energy and Public Works  
• Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games Organising Committee - Paula Robinson, General Counsel  
• Queensland Social Enterprise Council - Elise Parups, Chief Executive Officer 
• Social Traders - Alex Hooke, Executive Director, Advocacy and Engagement 

Further information available on the Events Page and through the free registration link

The Queensland Government continues to show its support for the small business sector by extending the application deadline for the Extraordinary Disaster Assistance Recovery Grants.

South East Queensland primary producers, businesses and non-profit organisations impacted by rainfall and flooding between February and April 2022 have more time to apply with the application deadline extended to 10 March 2023.

Grants of up to $75,000 are available for primary producers, and $50,000 for small businesses and not-for-profit organisations. Grants are jointly funded by the Commonwealth and Queensland governments under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA), and are designed to assist with the costs of clean-up, and reinstatement of operations.

The application extension date was in response to feedback from affected communities, acknowledging the severe and ongoing challenges of recent weather events, and to ensure that every eligible Queenslander has access to the support they need.

Disability Action Week, which runs 26 November – 2 December, recognises the contributions people with disability make to our families and communities, and to Queensland’s economy.

This year’s theme, ‘Workforce Diversity: open up to opportunity’, celebrates the skills, talents and abilities people that with disability bring to workplaces.

The Disability Action Week 2022 campaign encourages employers to consider the actions they can take to attract skilled and qualified candidates — and reap the benefits of a diverse workforce.