Social Enterprise Workshop

What a fantastic opportunity to gather to talk about social enterprise in Tasmania. Hosted by DEDTA, this two day workshop provided a vehicle for organisations and social enterprises to share their knowledge and experience to help develop a plan for social enterprise in Tasmania.
After much discussion and debate there were 5 key areas identified which aligned with the recommendations from the Tasmanian Social Enterprise Study.
Individuals and organisations identified the areas they were able to contribute to and a commitment was made to work in teams to develop plans.
For more information about the workshop please contact Rose Tegg at the Dept of Economic Development.

Funding Social Enterprise-an example...

Parramatta City Council’s Social Enterprise Grants program has been running for five years and now allocates $80 000 per annum. The current round closes on 2^nd December 2011 and is for funding that will commence in July 2012.
The program has recently been re-structured and two funding streams are now available through the category:

§  The ‘business planning’ stream provides funding of up to $2 500 to assist early stage social enterprises to develop the business plan for their model.

§  The ‘growing social enterprise in Parramatta’ stream provides two grants of $25 000 ($50 000 total pool) to assist successful social enterprises locate in the Parramatta LGA (from elsewhere), or for local social enterprises to take a significant growth step (ie. if already based in Parramatta).

The ‘growing social enterprise in Parramatta’ stream is part of a larger Social Enterprise Attraction Strategy, which is working towards establishing Parramatta as a location of choice for social enterprises. 

Campbell Town Forum

What a success this forum was with more than 75 attending to hear stories of Tasmanian social enterprises, along with information about resources and opportunities.
Check out the photos taken on the day

Tas Food Security Council symposium

A free full day at the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens on Monday 21st November.
This event is an opportunity to have input into the Tasmanian Food Security Strategy and to learn more about current food security initiatives within Tasmania. 
There are four concurrent workshops, one of which is on Regional Development and Social Enterprise
Email sarah.connally@dhhs.tas.gov.au by Friday 28th October to register

Tasmanian Social Enterprise Study report

Remember to download your copy of this report and check out other research about social enterprise at www.socialtraders.com.au

Free Social Enterprise book available...

We have 15 copies of From where I was to where I am-Seven people talk about working in a social enterprise. If you want a copy please email kylie@tasregionalarts.org.au or call             0439 262 344      

A full house

What a fantastic day with more than 70 attending the Social Enterprise Forum in Campbell Town. It was an opportunity to hear about what's happening in Tasmania and further afield, the funding options available and listen to the stories of Tasmania's social enterprises.
David Brookes, Mark Daniels and Libby Ward-Christie presented from Social Traders, the social enterprise development organisation in Victoria. We heard about the Social Enterprise Builder, The Crunch and other programs that support social enterprises both within Victoria and Nationally.
The conversations continue with much more to come, I am sure...

Campbell Town Forum

We have had a huge response to the Social Enterprise Forum organised for Monday 17th October and have had to place people on a waiting list to ensure we can accommodate the numbers.
But please do not be put off. We will be checking with participants who have registered to confirm attendance, so if you are keen please make contact by emailing kylie@tasregionalarts.org.au or call 0439 262 344.

A forum for Tasmania’s social enterprise sector

SOCIAL ENTERPRISE?  Are you a social enterprise or social entrepreneur?  Are you selling a product or service to support your work with the community? 


Join representatives of Tasmanian social enterprises and Social Traders (Victoria) for a conversation about the challenges, experiences and opportunities surrounding social enterprises … in Tasmania and beyond.


We are seeking people who would be willing to share their story with others working in the social enterprise sector Social Traders is a Melbourne-based specialist social enterprise development organisation established in 2008. It aims to support and encourage the development of commercially viable social enterprises throughout Australia by linking social enterprise with tools, resources and expertise to support their sustainability. Social Traders is engaged in a number of development support and investment initiatives for both start-up and existing social enterprises. 


To find out how they can assist social enterprises in Tasmanian visit: www.socialtraders.com.au 


THE FORUM 
When:       Monday 17 October 
                 10am-4pm 2011 
Where:     The Grange, Campbell Town 


Not-for-profit organisations, businesses, government, entrepreneurs and interested individuals are invited to attend. 


Find out about funding, support, special initiatives and more… Lunch will be provided. Please indicate any dietary requirements. There is no cost to participants 


RSVP essential to:  Kylie Eastley   M: 0439 262 344  Email: kylie@tasregionalarts.org.au

Local Government and Social Enterprise

There was a fantastic turn out last Thursday for a Local Government and Social Enterprise workshop hosted by the Institute for Regional Development in Burnie (TAS). The workshop was run through an open meeting approach with the philosophy of whoever comes are the right people, whenever it starts is the right time, whatever happens is the only thing that could happen and when it's over it's over. 
It all began with questions around social enterprise and how communities and councils could play a role. What was really clear was that many local councils have been working in this sector for many years. There were some fantastic stories of partnerships within regional communities that were not only sustainable financially but were contributing to the social and cultural life of local communities.
It was also clear that once again the terminology can be confusing, but we hope that this doesn't distract from the message relating to the benefits of these businesses that generate income through the sale of goods and services while contributing to the community. 
The hope is that this is just the start of the conversation with Local Government and that the sector can be strengthened to support continued involvement in social enterprise.

Learning from the Non Profit Sector

The npEnterprise Forum is the global,moderated, free listserv of almost 7500 subscribers who discuss practical ways social enterprises (SEs) can advance their social or environmental missions through entrepreneurial strategies. Regardless of your affiliation -- nonprofit, forprofit, hybrid, government, or individual entrepreneur -- if you're interested in social enterprise, you're welcome here. According to the Social Enterprise Alliance, a social enterprise is any organization (or activity within an organization) that "harnesses the power of the marketplace to solve critical social or environmental problems."

The Benefit of Sharing

An excerpt from research into the benefits of shared spaces by community, arts and others...

TROY, Mich. – When the Michigan Nonprofit Association, Michigan Association of United Ways and the Food Bank Council of Michigan move into new quarters in the state capital this fall (2011), they will be part of a growing trend: nonprofits co-locating under one roof. The nonprofits’ headquarters in Lansing, Mich., will be among more than 250 such centers in the United States and Canada.

Co-location centers come in all shapes and sizes. Some provide support such as bookkeeping, information technology and print and mail services in addition to office space. Brotsky cites a few examples:

• Arts Court in Ontario is a historic landmark building owned by the local municipality. A hub for Ottawa artists and audiences, Arts Court is home to a consortium of 26 arts and cultural organizations that save thousands of dollars a month in rent by sharing office and rehearsal space.
   
• The Alliance Center in Denver is home to 27 nonprofits. Half of those tenants work in the environmental field. The center and its tenants have helped pass more than 100 pieces of sustainability-related state legislation in just two years.
   
• Children & Family Services Center in Charlotte, N.C., is a nonprofit center with 11 organizations co-located to better serve the children and families. In addition to coordinating services, the center has expanded into shared back-office services including information technology, human resources and finance staff.

Social Entrepreneurs

Interesting article in the New York Times about Social Entrepreneurs. People interested in this field now have the opportunity to learn on the job via the School for Social Entrepreneurs in Sydney and now Melbourne. It's a coupe for those of us who have worked across sectors, and hopefully there will be some future options to access these and other courses for those of us living in Tasmania.

Profiling Social Enterprise

We are continuing to interview social enterprises in Tasmania in partnership with members of the Tasmanian Leaders Program, but in the meantime I have a couple of days in Melbourne to explore some of what is happening around creative social enterprises. There has been much publicity about The Social Studios and Grace McQuilten has a track record for some really exciting social enterprise operations. So I am hoping to catch up with Grace.

Today I caught up with Joe Pascoe, Director of Craft Victoria, a non profit arts member based arts organisation. I had checked out what they were doing through their website, but there is nothing like seeing the real thing. They have a beautiful shop that sells art and craft products produced by members of the organisation. There is an adjoining gallery and behind the secret door, more gems with an extensive library and offices for the staff. The focus of this organisation is on curatorial, community and commerce and between the accessible website and classy shopfront at 31 Flinders Lane, they are combining these beautifully. There is a membership of more than 8000 and a distribution list of more than 7000, which means these guys have fantastic community support for the work they undertake. Really enjoyed catching up with Joe and will certainly be heading back to the shop to do some shopping.

Enterprise – how is arts business performance improved? « aqblog

Enterprise – how is arts business performance improved? « aqblog

What others are doing? Parramatta City Council (NSW)

Parramatta City Council offers seed funding through the Social Enterprise category of our Community Grantsprogram. In 2007 we established the three year Parramatta Social Enterprise Hub project to support the development and growth of the local social enterprise sector. This project was completed in June 2010 and our work is currently focused on incubating Social Enterprises Sydney.

A ‘resources’ page has also been created bringing together a range of material for those interested in learning more about social enterprise.


Research conducted in the UK during 2009 showed that the local social enterprise sector contributes £24 billion to the economy, was twice as confident of future growth as traditional small and medium businesses, and since the economic downturn began 56% had increased their turnover. In addition to the considerable financial value they contribute, the additional value they create through their social and environmental outputs was exceptional.

A big week coming up

Preparing for a big social enterprise week:
Tuesday at the Institute for Regional Development UTAS in Burnie:  

• Social Enteprise Workshop 1pm onwards looking at the state of social enterprise in Tasmania. Go to http://www.utas.edu.au/ird/ for details
• Forum with Associate Professor Jo Barraket, a nationally recognised expert on social enterprise
• Dr Ernesto Sirolli is speaking about leadership and enterprise facilitation at a breakfast hosted by the Tasmanian Leaders Program in Hobart . Any queries please contact Ted Ross at esross@gmail.com or phone 0409 547 797.

Wednesday:

• Dr Sirolli presents the 1st of a 3 day workshop in Launceston for practitioners working with entrepreneurs. Contact Kylie on 0439 262 344 for more information

Listen to what others think of social enterprise

An interview on ABC a couple of years ago. Still very relevant and interesting...

Invitation to Workshop

Where is the value and what is the impact ?

The Institute for Regional Development is inviting practitioners from around the state to share their insights and their organisation’s experience of running a social enterprise at a workshop and forum Social Enterprise and its Impact on Regional Development

The workshop will inform future research on social enterprise—what are the issues and what research needs to be done? It will be led by nationally-recognised leaders in social enterprise research, Assoc Prof Jo Barraket (Queensland University of Technology), Prof Katherine Gibson (University of Western Sydney), and Dr Robyn Eversole (University of Tasmania), in discussion with a panel of local social enterprise practitioners.

Forum in Burnie

If you are interested in knowing what's happening in social enterprise in Tasmania then get along to the Forum on Tuesday 13th at the Institute of Regional Development UTAS.

THE REPORT

Follow this link to read the Tasmanian Social Enterprise Study report

For further information please contact Kylie Eastley, Research Associate at socialenterprise@utas.edu.au or call 0439 262 344

Launch of the Report - 1pm Wednesday 18th May, Long Gallery, Salamanca Arts Centre

Tasmanian Leaders Program

Members of the Tasmanian Leaders Program are working with us to collect the stories of Tasmanian Social Enterprises. Some of those surveyed online have agreed to provide further information about why they do what they do, and it's a fantastic opportunity to get a greater insight into their world.

What Next?

Thanks to everyone who completed the online survey. We had an excellent response and now it's the research team crunching figures and dissecting details to pull together a report.
In conjunction with this we are profiling a number of those surveyed to dig a little deeper. It's a bit of a bridging project that will involve the Tasmanian Leaders Program.
The interest that this research has ignited has demonstrated the passion within the social enterprise sector. The aim is to build on this momentum and work with project partners to deepen our understanding, identify the needs and look for ways to support the sector.

FRIDAY DEADLINE

ONLY 3 DAYS TO GO!

Don't miss out on being part of this important survey. Make a cuppa and take the time to complete a survey about your social enterprise.