Social Enterprise Breaks Into The Mainstream at NSW Award Night

An ethical ticket company is paving the way for social enterprise in mainstream business, after winning the NSW premier’s inaugural business award.

Humanitix picked up the “business excellence in social enterprise” award last week at the NSW Premier’s Harmony Dinner, with the category included in the run of awards for the first time this year.

The event was hosted by the NSW minister for multiculturalism, Ray Williams, and attended by Premier Gladys Berejiklian.

The enterprise is the world’s first not-for-profit online ticketing service, donating ticketing fees to charities that provide meals for disadvantaged students, Indigenous scholarships and literacy programs for young girls.

Adam McCurdie, co-founder of Humanitix, told Pro Bono News that winning the award, and the creation of a social enterprise business category reflected the trend of business being expected to give back to the community.

“I think it will continue more and more, and I think we’ll be the first of many to win this award,” McCurdie said.

He said it also represented the value and respect the government sector and general society held for social enterprise.                         

“It just shows these sectors really appreciate and respect a company that has a true social purpose, and an impactful one,” he said.  

“If a business is successful and has a true social purpose to it, it really resonates with a whole bunch of different bodies including governments and the wider community.”  

McCurdie said he hoped this would show established, and emerging social enterprises that breaking into the mainstream was possible.

“If you’re a social enterprise worried about whether or not your purpose-led organisation will struggle to resonate with governments and the wider community, I don’t think you need to worry,” he said.

He added that the award demonstrated and rewarded the hard work of the organisation since it was launched in 2015.

“This is a fantastic recognition of the hard work that everyone at Humanitix has done in order to get to where it is today,” he said.

“We are now ticketing thousands of events all across the country in Australia and New Zealand as well, which is really exciting.”