Social Enterprise Sector: Quarterly Update (Q2 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 ado, here is a summary of what happened in the second quarter of 2021...
APRIL
Giant Leap Fund announced they are spinning off from parent company, Impact Investment Group, to operate as a separate entity.
Digital Storytellers launched Season 2 of Enterprising Stories, a live online show dedicated to Business For Good.
SASEC (South Australian Social Enterprise Council) held its inaugural Annual General Meeting.
WASEC (Western Australia Social Enterprise Council) officially launched and was attended by over 100 cross-sector leaders.
2021-22 Budget announced $13.9 million to fund local approaches to social enterprise-driven solutions for Indigenous women’s economic recovery.
Giant Leap Fund launch their inaugural Impact Startup Benchmark Report for 2021, finding that Australian Investors are increasingly backing ‘Impact’ startups.
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.
Beckon Capital announced that it is developing a $150 million impact fund to target small companies for investment.
WASEC (Western Australia Social Enterprise Council) stand as a united voice to lobby the State Government to support the emergence and acceleration of new social enterprises in WA.
Centre for Social Impact announced that they will be gathering data about the for-purpose sector in an unprecedented longitudinal study never before undertaken in Australia.
New funding from the Queensland Government means that Elise Parups will continue as the CEO of QSEC (Queensland Social Enterprise Council) and Leanne Butterworth will transition to Membership Engagement Officer.
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
Theresa Brown, CEO of Play it On, was awarded the inaugural White Box Enterprises Social Entrepreneur Fellowship.
Michael Doneman stepped into a new role as Director of Homebase at the Yunus Centre, Griffith University.
Social Impact Hub welcomed Jennifer Mullen as their new General Manager.
MAY
SECNA (Social Enterprise Council of NSW & ACT) held their first social enterprise bus tour.
Social enterprises in NSW Upper Hunter were asked to input on the creation of a Social Enterprise Strategy for the region.
QSEC (Queensland Social Enterprise Council) drafted a proposal for the Queensland Social Enterprise Jobs Fund.
Impact Seed argue that the Federal Budget fails to meet the funding and policy investment required to foster impact investment and deliver economic, community and Government spending benefits over the long term. .
QSEC (Queensland Social Enterprise Council) responded to Federal Budget.
Impact Investing Australia argued that Government action is needed to drive Australia’s inclusive economy.
Impact Boom welcomed eight impact-led enterprises into their Flow Forward Accelerator Program on the Sunshine Coast.
SEWF's Policy Forum had its largest ever attendance with over 600 registrations and launched a Social Procurement Community of Practice.
SENVIC (Social Enterprise Network of Victoria) held its first 'IRL' networking event for 2021.
QSEC's Reset & Recovery project makes an impact throughout regional Queensland, developing new and emerging social enterprises.
Save the Children International made its first impact investment to help vulnerable and disadvantaged children in South Australia gain an equitable education.
Remarkable announced seven startups selected for their 2021 accelerator.
JUNE
Brisbane announced as the host for Social Enterprise World Forum (SEWF) in 2022.
Good Cycles launched Melbourne’s first ever social enterprise hub.
The Yunus Centre launched Homebase, a Logan-based incubator for inclusive and impact-led businesses, and civic innovation projects.
Social Enterprise Finance Australia (SEFA) are selected as a lender of the Federal Government's SME Recovery Loan Scheme.
Government-recognised business structures expanded to include 'Co-operatives' on the Commonwealth’s business information website.
Queensland’s growing social enterprise sector given an extra $8 million to help create jobs over the next two years.
The Social Enterprise World Forum 2021 released their Policy Forum Report.
SASEC (South Australian Social Enterprise Council) announced its first democratically elected Board and the key roles of Chair, Secretary and Treasurer.
The State of Social Procurement in Australia & New Zealand 2021 report was launched, providing the first in-depth analysis of the breadth and scope of social procurement in Australia and New Zealand.
Social sector heroes were recognised in Queen's Birthday Honours including Social Enterprise Finance Australia's David Rickards, Fighting Chance's Laura O’Reilly, and Impact Generation Partners' Amanda Miller.
SECNA (Social Enterprise Council of NSW & ACT) shared their Social Enterprise Bus Tour video.
Lisa Connolly from The Mill House Ventures was promoted to Program Manager.
Queensland Social Enterprise Council (QSEC) responded to the Queensland budget.
The Queensland Liberal National Party (LNP) pledged to create a $20M loans fund for social enterprise start-ups if it wins the next Queensland election.
Data collected by White Box Enterprises from work-integrated social enterprises (WISE) will help shape a 'rate card' to negotiate PBO approaches that fund essential supports for vulnerable jobseekers.
Social Enterprise Council of NSW/ACT (SECNA) opened expressions of interest to serve on its Member Engagement and Partnerships Committees.
Research platform, the Social Entrepreneurship Evidence Space (SEES) was launched.
The Albert family launched a new impact investing fund.
Collab4Good requested design input for a South Australia social enterprise incubator.
Social Change Central released a comprehensive guide to Australia’s social impact incubator and accelerator programs.
Social Impact Hub announced the eight enterprises selected to participate in its 2021 Scaling Impact Accelerator Program.
Social Impact Hub announced to the 22 Fellows selected for the inaugural Scaling Impact Fellowship Program.
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 12 July 2021. If there's something important we missed, let us know! Leave a comment or email us at enquiries@socialimpacthub.org.