Happy birthday to us!
We hit another milestone in May, celebrating our 2nd birthday.
Two years ago, we soft-launched Greatest Good to the world. So, we have lots of people to thank for their support.
Firstly, we would like to thank the for-purpose organisations that have supported us, from our foundation members, through to those social enterprises, B Corps, charities and not for profits who joined us throughout the year. A huge thanks also goes to the consumers who supported those organisations by shopping with them, donating to them, attending their courses/events and volunteering to support them. We also want to thank our staff and advisory board members who have shaped what we do each day to help do the greatest good. We look forward to supporting more amazing organisations and consumers over the next year, with some exciting plans underway to offer more functionality to help you all to your greatest good!
We been onboarding new members over the month with some already live and others setting up their profiles (and new products for some members), so keep an eye out on our socials for new member highlights over the coming months (or just jump on to the Greatest Good ecosystem and search your values to find the organisations creating impact in the areas your care about, or do some shopping to find them yourselves).
With all of the state/territory-based social enterprise networks we are a member of publicly endorsing the rollout of the People and Planet First as the national standard of verification for social enterprises (see below), we signed up and received advice that we are through first stage, receiving Good Market approval. It’s a slightly clunky process that hopefully will become more streamlined as it grows.
Meanwhile, there’s been lots going on in the social sector, so read on to get the news and resources.
As always, if you would like to share your feedback (positive and negative), please reach out to us so we can continue to learn and improve.
Jenni - Founder/Managing Director
Inspiration from our members
- Enabled.vip CEO and Co-Founder, Dr Gary Allen, will be pitching at a crowdfunding event hosted by The Funding Network in Brisbane on 4 June. They have also received Charity status from the ACNC and Deductible Gift Recipiency status from the ATO, so can now accept donations
- Australian Gynaecological Cancer Foundation has partnered CSL Seqirus, a global leader in influenza vaccines whose mission is public health protection for everyone, everywhere
- Verity White fromChecklist Legal presented “What’s fair got to do with it? Navigating the new normal of unfair contract terms: Updates, insights & impacts” at the WA In-House Counsel Day
- 108 Yoga Road were at the Bass Coast Yoga Festival earlier this month
- Creative Plus Business are speaking at Content Byte Summit in September
- CuriousWorks re holding a series of unserious writing and creativity workshops for adults
- Dolphin Research Institute have produced their Winter snapshot magazine
- Good 4 Business have released a Sustainability Action Plan
- Hotel Etico are hosting Christmas in July with a set menu dinner prepared by their Chef Matt.
- The Reconnect Project celebrated the graduation of the inaugural trainees of their Mobile Device Repair Technician training program. If you have tech skills to volunteer, you can help out
- SisterWorks is inviting everyone to host a potluck to raise vital funds to support migrant, refugee and asylum-seeking women during Refugee week 16 June – 22 June. They also have a range of paid and volunteer jobs available
News and updates
For-purpose sector news
- Social enterprise peak bodies around Australia have unanimously endorsed the rollout of the People and Planet First as the national standard of verification for social enterprises
- The Federal Government announced a $21.9 million employment initiative in the budget, which will find job-focused social enterprises and businesses to provide customised paid job placements for jobseekers facing high barriers to employment
- This is part of a$54 million funding package for paid employment pathways, which also includes $32.1 million for the Real Jobs, Real Wages program
- Two of Australia’s biggest food relief charities, Second Bite and Fare Share have announced that they will merge, effective 1 July 2024
- The Centre for Social Impact is seeking CEOs and senior leaders from Australia’s social economy to join a major new longitudinal study with the results to inform policy and help drive growth within the social sector'
Other news
- Koda Capital releases the results of its inaugura lFor-Purpose Responsible Investment Survey
- UN Global Compact released its 2023 impact report
- B Corp released the results of its comprehensive survey on brand awareness and perception and highlighted the trends from the research
- UN Global Compact Network Australia released a series of publications which we have added to our Collaboration resources:
Sustainable Development Guide Playbook for small businesses
Modern Slavery Risk Management playbook
- Australians Investing In Women and the University of Melbourne's Melbourne Social Equity Institute released a framework and case studies for gender–wise philanthropy in partnerships
- Paul Ramsey Foundation released a one-page snapshot of their strategy, which provides a great template for other purpose driven organisations to consider
Regulatory updates
(the sometimes boring, but always important stuff)
Guidance and updates
- The chair of ASIC, Joe Longo, delivers a keynote speech on greenwashing at the Responsible Investment Association Australasia Conference. Given our view on the level of greenwashing and other forms of impact washing we regularly see in the social sector, we recommend you take a read to understand the latest thinking on this issue.
- In addition to the budget announcements affecting the social sector above in News and Updates, we have created a summary of the key budget announcements affecting for-purpose organisations
- The Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) have released a free Cyber Security Handbook for small businesses and not-for-profit organisations
- They have also developed an Effective Impact Measurement guide for not-for-profit organisations
Legislative changes
- The Federal Government introduced a Bill that seeks to legislate requirements for mandatory climate-related financial disclosures. It generally follows the exposure draft legislation released in January (refer to our January 2024 Regulatory Update), with a number of key changes
- A reminder that individual income tax rates and thresholds changes kick in from 1 July 2024
You can more on these items and other regulatory updates in our monthly regulatory updates and other updates posted on the Blog Pages (use the Regulatory Updates filter). We can't provide legal advice but you can find proposed and upcoming legislative changes to discuss with your legal advisers.
Grants and funding
Greatest Good Community Engagement and Marketplace members have access to the Greatest Good grants directory which has over 60 filters to help members find relevant grants in seconds. We are updating these regularly so that you always have the latest active grants at hand.
Opportunities to support for-purpose organisations
Jobs
SisterWorks and The Reconnect Project has a range of paid and volunteer jobs available
Events/Courses
You can find a range of for-purpose events from members and the broader purpose-driven community on our Events/Courses page. We have listed free and paid events which we think will be of interest to both consumers wanting to network and find their tribe, through to those in the for-purpose sector who want to learn and grow. Some are online, but for those who are craving real life contact, we've got you covered as well.
We are also holding guided tours of the Greatest Good ecosystem on a monthly basis where existing and potential members are able to understand all of the functionality, membership options, ask questions and more. Details on the next tour is here: Guided tour of the Greatest Good ecosystem (recurring monthly event)
If there are any topics you'd like to learn more about in 2024, please contact us and let us know.
Collaborations - asking for help and offering assistance
Support and free resources
We continue to add free resources on our Collaborate pages. Whether you are an individual looking for information or are a purpose-driven organisations seeking free support and resources - we've got you!
So check out the Collaborate section of the ecosystem for support and resources to help you or your organisation.
