Greatest Good Newsletter September 2024
Happy Spring!
Over the last month or so, we have been doing some spring cleaning and getting a facelift (we had a glow up!) to help individuals and organisations do their greatest good. We’ve refreshed the messaging, images and website navigation. When you revisit our home page, you’ll find an easier to navigate page, with simpler messaging (with more changes on other pages underway).
One key change we made was to remove the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) from our directory search. We did this for a really important reason. As much as we believe that the Sustainable Development Goals are extremely important, it doesn’t appear that they are well understood inside or outside the for-purpose/social sector. We took a hard line on compliance with the UN SDG’s requiring potential members who elected any of the UN SDGs on their application form had to prove to us they were working on at least one of the 169 underlying target areas sitting below the more well-known 17 SDGs. Unfortunately, less than 5% of organisations were able to do that.
Our approach was simple: if you cannot prove it, don’t claim it. So, we removed the UN SDGs to minimise impact washing of any colour (green, blue, black, brown, pink, etc). However, we have kept the Impact Areas, Organisation Type and Location options for you to find organisations aligned with your values.
Whilst this is disappointing, we know you’d rather have an organisation that does the heavy lifting for you and vets the for-purpose organisations on our site, so that you don’t have to. We know others use the SDG classifications as filters, but we want to help you cut through the noise and avoid impact washing when doing your greatest good.
We love to keep improving and we will have some exciting announcements to share with you next month to help you do your greatest good, whether you are an individual looking to make a difference or an organisation seeking gifts for your clients and staff.
Until then, feel free to check out our glow up and send us any feedback, thought, comments and suggestions, to help us help you do your greatest good.
Jenni - Founder/Managing Director
Inspiration from our members
- September is Gynaecological Cancer Awareness month. Go purple to raise awareness and check out how you can support and improve the long-term survival and quality of life for patients with the Australian Gynaecological Cancer Foundation
- Know any young people with a disability who are interested in becoming hospitality professionals and living a more independent life? Hotel Etico are seeking applicants for theirIndependence program
- Do you have old towels, sheets and pillowcases you don’t need any more? SisterWorks are asking for the Bags of Rags Project which aims to upcycle 4,000kg of material
- Congratulations to The Reconnect Project for winning a 2024 Canon Oceania Grant which will be used to close the digital divide and reach remote communities. They are seeking applications from young adults (aged 17 – 25 years) who are interested in tech repairs for the Mobile Device Repair Technician training course, commencing in early November. They are also specifically for donations of MacBook Air so that they can supply laptops to disadvantaged high school students in Sydney's west
- Tasmanian Independent Senator Tammy Tyrrell joined the Be Hers mentor program in September helping to create innovative opportunities where individuals can use their skills and talents to make change
- ARTSELERATE is a flagship program of Creative Plus Business. Delivered in South Australia in partnership with State government, it is designed to fast track the development of creative industries businesses in SA
- Congratulations to Frances Goh, Head of Community & Growth at One Roof who has won the 2024 AusMumpreneur Award for Building Online Communities
- CuriousWorks is a proud community partner on an upcoming Symposium on Migrant Women Breaking Barriers at Work
- TheDolphin Research Institutehave received a 2024 Port Phillip Bay Fund grant to create five story-driven eBooks and invite local photographers to contribute images capturing Port Phillip's essence
- In huge news for Enabled VIP, co-founder Gary Allen has made the difficult decision to retire due to ill-health. The wider team are looking for someone appropriate to step into to the role
- Lisa Erhart, Founder of Funding4Growth has been invited to be a mentor to founders participating in the Ascent Project Accelerator Program with Westpac and Fishburners
- At the INDY Sustainability Workshop for female interior designers recently, Good4Business founder, Kathy Joyce provided insights on integrating sustainability into business strategies
- Melbourne Fashion Week will be celebrating 30 years at Melbourne Town Hall on Sunday 27 October and JAM the Label are excited to announce they are part of the Closing Showcase
News and updates
For-purpose sector news
- BHP has invested $20 Million in the Melbourne Business School for Indigenous Business Growth
Other news
- The Small Business Organisation Australia, in conjunction with the Australian Government, has launched Small Business Peak, to help small business understand and implement new workplace legislation
Opportunities to do your greatest good
Opportunities to do your greatest good
Events/Courses
You can find a range of for-purpose events from members and the broader purpose-driven community on our Events/Courses page. You can find both free and paid events which will help you network and find you tribe, as well as learn, develop and grow. You’ll find on-line and real life, free and paid events and courses. Here’s just a few of events you’ll find:
- If you are looking to become a Greatest Good Marketplace member and have your products featured in our Christmas Gift Guide and social media, we have multiple Show & Tell sessions before our sign up cut off date of 6th October 2024. Register now to do your greatest good
- Greatest Good’s own digital marketing workshop- with strategies designed to boost your impact—find out more! With Metarecently indicating that their AI is going to use Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, What'sApp to take on both Google and Canva, this is a must attend…
- Seeking ways to align your values or your staff’s values with those of the organisation? Register for the final Greatest Good event of the year:Aligning personal and workplace values and grab some tips, get your questions answered on aligning you (or your staff’s) personal values with the organisational values
- Hosted by the Hatchery in the Northern Territory, the NT First Nations Leadership Summit celebrates the excellence of current and future First Nations Leaders
- Migrant Women Breaking Barriers at Work – a symposium at the University of NSW Parramatta campus- with CuriousWorks as proud partners
Jobs – Paid and Volunteer roles
Are you seeking a new role or have some time to donate to an organisation aligned with your values? Check out the paid and volunteer roles from our members.
Asks/offers and resources
We have a range of resources for impactful individuals, as well as for-purpose organisations seeking support and more. Jump on ourAsks/Offers pages to find a range of things to help you do your greatest good. Here’s just some of the ones we’ve added for you:
- ACRE is inviting the rural social enterprise community to co-create an Australian Rural Social Enterprise Network
- Impact North have released their Reconciliation Week 2024 report - a useful resource for individuals and organisations eager to understand and support Aboriginal business owners in the Northern Territory
- Press Play Ventures is offering a pre-accelerator program for women
Regulatory Updates
(the sometimes boring, but always important stuff)
Legislative changes
- Our regulatory update provides a summary of the key regulatory updates and announcements affecting the for-purpose sector
- Queensland overhauls discrimination laws and introduces new positive duty to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment, and other objectionable conduct
- The Fair Work Commission is considering adding a working from home clause to the most prevalent Award where this is likely to occur
- Mandatory climate reporting legislation has been passed by Parliament and commences from 1 January 2025
Guidance and updates
- ASIC has released its latest report on greenwashing. It has also produced a guide on avoiding greenwashing
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.
About the Greatest Good
Greatest Good is an Australia-wide one-stop hub that makes it easy for individuals and organisations to do their greatest good.
We are certified social enterprise and B Corporation™ supporting Australian social enterprises, B Corps, charities and other not-for-profit organisations.
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