Welcome to our second newsletter for 2021. Some exciting announcements from the Qld government, employment focused organisations looking to a new vision, and key learnings for social enterprise impact.
A strong flavour of social enterprise in this newsletter!
If any of these case studies resonate with your business needs, do get in touch.And if you prefer comms via LinkedIn, we encourage you to connect with the Social Scaffolding LinkedIn page for continued and regular updates.
National Reconciliation Week and 20 years of Reconciliation Australia
This year marks 20 years of Reconciliation Australia, and almost three decades of Australia’s formal reconciliation process. No time like the present to reflect on one's own actions. The team at Social Scaffolding has been very fortunate to work with a number of Indigenous leaders and projects including Sheryl from Yiliyapinya, the dedicated teams making up the Transition to Success (T2S) programme, a brief stint working alongside Leah Armstrong before she became RA’s CEO, and on a personal note lending my prized drum kit and handing-over a couple of pairs of drumsticks to an Indigenous band (Southeast Desert Metal) that my band was supporting on their Brisbane leg of their East Coast tour. I encourage others to reflect on their knowledge, networks and contributions to this important 20 year milestone. This list from Reconciliation Australia will help guide your reflections and future efforts: Actions for Reconciliation - National Reconciliation Week 2021.
- Andrew Hamilton
NDS vision to influence employment for people with different abilities
NDS recently launched their Industry Vision for the Supported Employment Sector – focusing on providing people with disability greater choice and control, of their employment pathways and initiatives, designed to assist the sector to thrive over the next five years. At the launch of the Vision in Sydney mid-May, Andrew had the opportunity to facilitate a discussion with employment providers regarding KPI's for the implementation of the strategy. This session was informed by the work Social Scaffolding has done with a number of employment providers including supported employment and DES providers. This project fits alongside the initiatives Social Scaffolding has been implementing with employers through the IEM, as well as participants through the EEO.
We encourage you to read up on these acronyms as our work contributes to these important objectives of employment for people with different abilities.
Early phase research and review for significant community development
Creating a mixed tenure in a thriving community is an exciting project to be involved in. A long term client of Social Scaffolding asked us to research and build scenarios for the development of a mixed tenure of social, affordable and disability housing in a growing community close to the CBD. Shari has been working through opportunities for the organisation (that has an outstanding history in the community), as well as potential investors, developers and partners – and we look forward to supporting this unique opportunity to evolve into another significant community destination.
If your organisation is looking at social impact investment opportunity in housing, do get in touch.
Careers - not just a job for people with different abilities
The equalising employment opportunities service (EEO) has been gaining momentum with inquiries and new clients signing up. Ange has been busy working with people of different abilities on their career goals and we are thrilled with the feedback we've received so far. If anyone in your direct networks with different abilities is seeking career progression and guidance and would benefit from specialised support, do get in touch.
The challenge of Social Enterprise
While the concept of a social enterprise may be attractive to a For Purpose organisation, the reality is more difficult. The challenge is how to create a social enterprise which delivers on two objectives; supporting mission and achieving financial sustainability. The sector has a history of wonderful purpose driven business ideas that were unable to be commercially sustainable. With this in mind, Social Scaffolding partnered with The Centre For Social Purpose in organising a Roundtable to gain insights and practical ideas on how to create and develop a social enterprise which delivers social outcomes and is self-sufficient. The whole team participated in this roundtable, drawing on the depth of experience we have as an organisation in social enterprise ideation, start-up, growth and impact. This has resulted in a white paper where the focus draws upon the Roundtable outputs to seek answers to two key questions:
How to assess whether a social enterprise is a fit for your organisation?
How to create a financially sustainable social enterprise that supports the organisation’s purpose?
The big takeaways for me was the dedication and commitment required to succeed in this market. Indicative of this commitment, is that each of the panellists had more than seven years’ experience working in their social enterprise.
There is a depth of experience and learnings in the sector - so extremely important this learning is shared and lessons adopted by newcomers. Social enterprise is no overnight success, and it takes years of personal and organisational commitment to succeed. But the rewards are significant. The paper makes for informative reading, with a big thanks to the panellists that shared their experiences for all to learn from: Alan White CFRE - Asylum Seeker Resource Centre Troy Crellin - Mission Australia Mick Cronin - YMCA Victoria Sarai Tuuga - yourtown View our Social Enterprise Key Success Factors Whitepaper:
Grants just announced Community Social Enterprise Development
And as of this week, the Queensland Government has announced $8 million over the next two years for the Social Enterprise Jobs Fund, as part of the Future Skills Fund. The Jobs Fund will continue to build on the commitments under the Queensland Social Enterprise Strategy, to support the development of a sustainable and thriving social enterprise sector.
Under the Jobs Fund, $3 million in funding will be delivered over the next two years through business development grants for eligible organisations, starting with the Community Social Enterprise Development Grants. Fantastic work by the sector (and especially QSEC) to secure this funding. Get in touch with our team of highly experienced social enterprise consultants, if you are considering applying.