05 December 2023
HoMie team. Source: HoMie
Social enterprises working to tackle employment barriers and support more Australians into work are set to accelerate their growth and impact with new funding from Australia’s leading philanthropic foundations.
Fourteen organisations from around Australia will receive grant funding totalling more than $A4.7 million as part of the pioneering Work Integration Social Enterprise (WISE) Grant program managed by the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation as part of an innovative collaboration.
The successful enterprises were selected for their work in tackling complex barriers to work with groups including young people, women experiencing disadvantage, refugees and asylum seekers, First Nations people and people living with disability or mental health challenges.
The WISE grants are a Giving Account of Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation supported by a coalition of philanthropic foundations including, English Family Foundation, Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation, Macquarie Group, Minderoo Foundation, Paul Ramsay Foundation, Vincent Fairfax Family Foundation and Westpac Foundation. The external advisor has been legal firm MinterEllison.
These foundations have united to share their resources and knowledge to create a more effective and streamlined approach to supporting earlier stage WISE initiatives.
Each of the 14 recipient organisations will receive grants of up to $A500,000 over two years.
Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation CEO Dr Catherine Brown said the grant was an opportunity to address the specific challenges facing Work Integration Social Enterprises, backing them to grow their impact and support more people to thrive and provide funding to build robust business models.
Work Integration Social Enterprises are leading the charge on addressing Australia’s pressing employment gaps, but we know this vital work comes with significant challenges for business sustainability and growth.”
Dr Catherine Brown
CEO, Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation
She said “These grants have been tailored to meet WISE needs, providing support for core operating costs to reinforce these social enterprises’ financial sustainability and social impact.
“Importantly, each of the WISE grant recipients are working closely with their target communities and creating community-driven solutions to the employment challenges they face.
Beautiful Bunch Trainee Reem (left) with trainee Hamdia (right) with local roses. Source: The Beautiful Bunch.
We’re excited to be collaborating with other philanthropic organisations and the grant recipients towards a shared goal of meaningful employment and economic dignity for everyone in Australia.”
Dr Catherine Brown
CEO, Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation
A recent Social Enterprise Australia study revealed that for every $A1 million in turnover, social enterprises create nine jobs, which is nine times more than industries like construction.1 They integrate real-world work settings with skill development, training, and education, effectively reducing barriers to work and increasing opportunities for individuals.
Research also indicates that direct impact expenses for WISE – such as wages of support staff, additional training, equipment for accessibility needs and necessary transport for employees – are in the range of 20 - 30 per cent of the total costs of running the social enterprise.2
The full list of recipients follows:
| Organisation | Who are they? |
|---|---|
| EcoCrews (Campbell Page) | EcoCrews™ is a certified Social Enterprise and part of Campbell Page, a not-for-profit organisation that delivers a range of employment, community and commercial services. EcoCrews delivers a range of environmental projects that protect the natural environment and provide habitat regeneration whilst creating employment pathways for young people facing barriers to employment through hands-on experience, skills and accredited training. |
| The Reconnect Project | The Reconnect Project is on a mission to close Australia’s digital divide and provides a solution to e-waste of mobile devices. Neurodivergent young adults work in our repair shop and learn the technical skills to repair mobile phones, tablets, laptops and other electronic devices. Social service agencies then distribute the refurbished devices to people in need, giving them the technology to (re)connect with family, friends, education and essential services. |
| Organisation | Who are they? |
|---|---|
| Bama Facilities Maintenance | Bama Services is a 100% Indigenous-owned small scale civil construction, building, landscaping and facilities, and asset maintenance contractor based in North and Far North Queensland. As an entity of Cape York Partnership, Bama has secured more than $50M in contracts throughout North Queensland and Cape York since 2010. Bama has an award-winning Support & Wellbeing Program and an Indigenous employment rate of 75%. |
| Happy Paws Happy Hearts | Happy Paws Happy Hearts creates positive social connections between isolated Australians and rescue animals, improving quality of life and offering genuine employment pathways for young people living with a disability or mental health challenge. Participants work with a range of animals and help prepare them for adoption, building vocational skills and transition into volunteering, further study, or employment in the animal care industry. |
| Civik (Hotel Housekeeping) | Civik is a civil construction social enterprise working in regional Australia providing engineering and telecommunications including to meet the demands of the NBN optical fibre upgrade proram across Australia. It provides career pathways and skills development for People in regional and remote communities and support people facing barriers to employment. |
| Nundah Community Enterprises Cooperative | Nundah Community Enterprises Cooperative (NCEC) creates meaningful work for people with cognitive disability and communities facing barriers to employment, including those from refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds. We achieve this through the operation businesses, run by our members including Cafes, Catering and Parks/Property Maintenance. |
| Seed Foundation Australia | Seed Foundation provides holistic support services to improve the health, wellbeing and employment outcomes of Australia's First Peoples and grows their true potential of by inspiring and promoting self-determination through education, health and employment. Connect n Grow (CnG) employment provides recruitment and on boarding management processes for hospital and health services that host trainees. |
| Organisation | Who are they? |
|---|---|
| Hamlet Inc. | Hamlet operates a number of social enterprises in the Toursim and Hospitality industry including a café, catering and condiments business. We exists to empower people who are underrepresented in the workforce. We deliver targeted training and work readiness support to people facing barriers to employment, with a focus on people living with disability. Our program builds the skills and independence of participants, providing reconnection to their community and improving their chances of securing employment outcomes. |
| Organisation | Who are they? |
|---|---|
| HoMie (Conscious Creative Limited) | HoMie is a Melbourne-based streetwear clothing brand and social enterprise that uses 100% of its profits towards achieving its mission: supporting young people affected by homelessness or hardship to equip them with the skills, confidence and experiences to be more work-ready and better prepared for their future. |
| Lively Community | Lively aims to reduce youth unemployment, alleviate social isolation amongst older people, and build a more age-friendly society. To do this, Lively trains and employs young jobseekers to offer support and connection for older community members. Through the process, Lively also builds meaningful relationships that enable older people to share experience, knowledge and skills back with the young. |
| Beautiful Bunch (Merchant Road Event) | The Beautiful Bunch is a social enterprise florist providing life-changing paid training and employment opportunities to young women from refugee backgrounds facing barriers to finding work in Australia. Our training program focuses on foundational floristry, digital skills, and financial literacy. Our purpose is to encourage and support our trainees to build the self-confidence, skills, and social and professional networks that they need to gain meaningful employment, build their financial independence, and pursue their dreams. |
| SisterWorks Incorporated | At SisterWorks we believe Work Empowers Women. Over the past 10 years, we supported over 2,500 migrant, refugee, and asylum seeker women from 105 countries to build a better life in Australia through skills training and work opportunities. We are a certified social enterprise that provides work and entrepreneurship opportunities to migrant women in businesses including ethical manufacturing, catering, shopping, workshop and speaker opportunities for socially conscious organisations. |
| Organisation | Who are they? |
|---|---|
| Aboriginal Art Centre Hub of Western Australia Aboriginal Corporation1 | AACHWA is supporting First Nations art and culture centres across WA, while providing training and employment support to Aboriginal Arts Workers. Not only are they a strong voice for art centres they also empower artists - the artwork created by their members demonstrates the immense knowledge, history, stories and cultural diversity of Aboriginal people in Western Australia. |
| Mettle Women Inc | Mettle is a social enterprise that exists to make work force participation safe, accessible and sustainable for those who have experienced domestic & family violence. Our national gift delivery employs women who are residing in our partner crisis shelters after fleeing abusive homes. With a stable income, survivor designed future-focused training, study scholarships, childcare and crisis funds, they are able to take the next steps towards the safe future they deserve. |
