Social Enterprise Sector: Quarterly Update (Q1 2021)
Running a social enterprise is crazy hard work, especially when you only have so much capacity and resources at your disposal. We get it. That is why finding the time to stay across what is happening can very difficult, even for the most seasoned, time-efficient changemaker.
The social enterprise sector is multi-faceted, spanning the worlds of social innovation, charities and not-for-profits, social finance and impact investing, philanthropy and more. With so much going on in each of these domains, it is easy to get caught up in the day-to-day and miss out on opportunities that could advance your organisation and fundamentally transform the lives of those you exist to serve.
The trick is to stop trying to read everything out there. There’s too much. And you’re too busy. To make your life that bit easier, we have teamed up with Social Change Central to put together this bite-sized quarterly update filled with the most important developments and activities in the impact sector- it's all you need to stay informed and up-to-date.
So, without further adieu, here is a summary of what happened in the first quarter of 2021...
JANUARY
The Bread & Butter Project, Ability Works Australia Ltd and Social Traders were featured on ABC News, calling for the Australian government to prioritise social enterprise in the Covid-19 economic recovery.
Isobel Marshall, founder of social enterprise TABOO, was awarded 2021 Young Australian of the Year.
A world first crowdfunded social impact bond was launched by Social Finance Israel.
Impact Investing Australia launched Resilience Grants of up to $30,000 for organisations impacted by the pandemic.
SASEC (South Australian Social Enterprise Council) launched their website.
The final report from the Social Impact Investing Taskforce was submitted and awaits response from Government.
The Centre for Social Impact launched Social Impact Leadership Australia (SILA), a ground-breaking national capacity building and leadership program designed specifically for current leaders of Australian for-purpose organisations.
Also, in case you missed it, in late 2020 the Queensland Government commited $8 million to assist the creation of jobs for vulnerable Queenslanders and QSEC (Queensland Social Enterprise Council) will assist the rollout of the Fund.
FEBRUARY
SECNA (Social Enterprise Council of NSW & ACT) elected 3 new Board Directors (including our very own Jay Boolkin!).
The Queensland Government and Reckon launched Deadly Digits platform – an accounting software and support resource hub for Indigenous businesses.
Social Ventures Australia launched Newpin SA Social Impact Bond to support families and children experiencing disadvantage in South Australia.
An Australasian Chapter of Catalyst 2030 began to form.
The Social Enterprise World Forum confirmed dates for its online events for 2021.
Impact Investing Australia announced that CEO Sally Mccutchan will be stepping down.
Who Gives A Crap donated $5.9 million to charitable causes - more than some of Australia’s best-known brands, including Qantas.
Queensland Government announced $15 million Community Infrastructure Investment Partnership program flagship initiative Access Economic Hub in Logan Central will give participants a head start on employment readiness, job training, social enterprise and business incubator services.
MARCH
To increase their chances of making a significant impact, The Yunus Centre pivoted to a mission-lead approach.
Giant Leap Fund announced they are spinning offfrom parent company, Impact Investment Group, to operate as a separate entity.
Social Impact Hub launched their Scaling Impact Fellowship, a transformative program for aspiring changemakers seeking to explore their purpose and understand how they can drive greater social and environmental impact through their work and beyond.
Beckon Capital launched a $150 million impact fund to target small companies for investment.
With the generous support of the Paul Ramsay Foundation and Westpac Foundation, the Social Impact Hub (that's us!) launched a FREE workshop series as part of the RISE program.
March was B Corp month, dedicated to celebrating businesses doing things differently and driving change.
WASEC (Western Australia Social Enterprise Council) announced their community launch to build WA's inclusive economy.
Theresa Brown, CEO of Play it On, was awarded the inaugural White Box Enterprises Social Entrepreneur Fellowship.
Global Impact Investing Network launched a new measurement tool to boost the impact investing market.
SENVIC (Social Enterprise Council of Victoria) launched a Social Enterprise Leaders Fellowship program to strengthen and enhance the leadership capability of Victoria's social enterprise sector.
ImpaQt Qld launched an impact venture capital fund to make ‘impact investments’ in a diversified portfolio of high growth, impact-driven early stage companies.
Mark Daniels stepped down as Executive Director at Social Traders and into a new role with ArcBlue as the Head of Social and Sustainable Procurement.
Daniel Madhavan, CEO at Impact Investment Group, resigned after three and a half years.
From 400 nominations to a shortlist of 150, this year’s Impact 25 winners were announced.
Several sector leaders, including the Social Impact Hub, are urging the Australian Government to act now to drive inclusive economic recovery by committing to catalytic market building measures that will take Australia’s impact investing market to scale.
While not comprehensive, this summary highlights many of the key sector developments, people movements and activities that we believe would be most beneficial for social enterprise and purpose-driven organisations to be aware of. The information included is accurate to the best of our knowledge as of 7 April 2021. If there's something important we missed, let us know! Leave a comment or email us at enquiries@socialimpacthub.org.