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Australian social enterprises over 20 years: A timeline

17 June 2020 at 8:44 pm
Maggie Coggan

The Australian social enterprise sector has come a long way in the last 20 years. We take a look back through the Pro Bono News archives to re-examine some of the major moments that have defined the sector.

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Maggie Coggan | 17 June 2020 at 8:44 pm

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Cool Timeline

Australia’s first national social entrepreneurs alliance launches.

Mar,2001

Made up of social, community and business leaders, the alliance forms to create, develop and fund new programs to assist disadvantaged Australians.

Aboriginal leader Noel Pearson is named Social Entrepreneur of the Year in the inaugural Australia and New Zealand Social Entrepreneurs Network award.

Apr,2002

Social Ventures Australia launches its $250,000 “Big Boost Initiative”.

Jun,2002

The recently launched Social Ventures Australia offers up a quarter of a million dollars to social entrepreneurs with solutions to entrenched social problems.

The Foundation for Young Australians’ launches a social enterprise guide for young Australians.

Oct,2006

The organisation hopes young people will lead the way in the new business model.

Social Ventures Australia launches a campaign to raise $10 million over three years to grow the impact of social ventures.

Apr,2009

The social enterprise world forum opens in Melbourne.

Oct,2009

The forum is told by sector leaders and advocates that a “mission driven cause doesn’t have to be at odds with profit motivation.”

Australia’s first crop of students from the School of Social Entrepreneurs graduate with flying colours.

Feb,2010

The first research mapping the social enterprise sector is published.

Jul,2010

The joint Social Traders and the Australian Centre for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies research finds the Australian social enterprise sector is mature, sustainable and internally diverse.

The Gillard government announces two initiatives to provide support for social enterprise.

Jul,2010

The first initiative provides funding assistance to create and grow social enterprises, while the second connects employment social enterprises with advice and expertise from key professional service firms.

Victoria takes the lead on social procurement.

Oct,2010

A social procurement guide for local government is published to promote the concept.

New research finds social entrepreneurship is one of the fastest growing sectors of the Australian economy.

Apr,2012

The “grandfather of social enterprise” in Australia, Steve Lawrence, dies after a long battle with cancer aged 60.

May,2012

Applications open for the inaugural Australian Social Enterprise Awards.

Feb,2013

Queensland launches Australia’s first council for social enterprises.

Nov,2013

As the appetite for social enterprise development in the state grows, the Queensland Social Enterprise Council opens its doors to support the sector’s growth.

Social Traders launches Good Spender, an online service linking conscious consumers directly with Australian social enterprises.

Nov,2014

The School of Social Entrepreneurs commits to raising $1.5 million over five years to assist the neglected early-stage social enterprise sector.

Dec,2014

A new $100 million impact investment fund set to benefit social enterprises.

Jun,2015

The fund is believed to be one of the country’s biggest.

Social enterprise census finds a surge in the number of young social enterprises.

Jun,2016

The findings, released by Social Traders and the Swinburne University’s Centre for Social Impact, map Australia’s social enterprise sector for the second time.

Victorian social enterprises receive $6.5 million boost from state government.

Sep,2016

The funding drop is part of a vision to make the state the number one destination for startups and entrepreneurs in Australia.

The School for Social Entrepreneurs Australia shuts up shop.

Nov,2016

After seven years of supporting early-stage social enterprise development, the School for Social Entrepreneurs Australia (SSE) announces it is ending operations.

The Victorian government releases Australia’s first-ever strategy for social enterprises.

Feb,2017

It’s hoped the strategy will strengthen the sector and create more employment opportunities for disadvantaged Victorians.

Social enterprises across Victoria get connected with the launch of a statewide peer-to-peer network.

Aug,2019

The Queensland government releases its social enterprise strategy.

Sep,2019

The half a million dollar initiative is part of a wide-ranging strategy aimed at creating more jobs for disadvantaged Queenslanders.

Experts believe Australia is the world’s most improved nation for social entrepreneurs

Nov,2019

The sector fears it will fall through the gap amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Mar,2020

As coronavirus wreaks economic and social havoc throughout the social sector, social enterprise networks launch a new impact measurement initiative capturing the impacts of the virus on the sector to present to government.

A national alliance looks to the future and beyond.

Jun,2020

The sector unites, forging a plan to build the economy back better post-coronavirus.

For a deeper look at these key changes, you can check out our article examining how far the social enterprise sector has come since 2000 here.