SVA News & Articles
SVA in the news
 Philanthropy bounces back
A new kind of investment boom
Money is important, but so is purpose and meaning
Chris Boys from SVA awarded Prestigious Scholarship
Leading Charities provide a new start for ABC Learning
SVA to manage Queensland Government's latest project on social enterprise
Trading for change
9am with David & Kim
Philanthropists gather they can do some good
Investing for the heart not just the wallet
Profile - Chris Cuffe
SVA receives $1.6 million through Federal Government ‘Jobs Fund’
Care needed to stop money going down the drain
School for Social Entrepreneurs: 'from big ideas, great things grow'
Cuffe's philanthropic fund delivers solid results in first year
On a course to give them help
Altruism pays off for SVA consultant
Something’s got to give, or maybe not
These directors, too, can be put under pressure
 Click on links to view other news sections  Portfolio ventures in the news
Community partners in the news
Philanthropy bounces back
4 January 2010
In this piece for Business Spectator, Lisa Cotton, SVA’s Director of Social Investment, highlights that despite the global financial crisis placing strain on philanthropy and the non-profit sector, paradoxically, it is also serving to significantly strengthen leadership in the sectors. Discerning non-profit groups are making decisive long term plans, examining their strategies and revenue streams, and working harder to forge trusting relationships with funders who are placing greater demands on outcome measurements and impact.
Lisa concludes that when combined with smarter, more sustainable practices across all sectors, these tougher times offer great possibilities for positive long-term social change. Read the full article.
A new kind of investment boom
31 December 2009
Writing for Business Spectator on the eve of a new year and decade, SVA’s CEO Michael Traill predicts a new hybrid ‘social investment sector', where the boundaries between private, public and non-profits are blurred, will offer significant development opportunities in the future. Traill cites the example of GoodStart, a syndicate of four non-profit organisations, including SVA, that was the preferred bidder on 678 of the ABC Learning childcare centres. GoodStart will be using this hybrid funding model to operate the centres within a non-profit framework, ensuring all surplus funds are reinvested to improve early childhood learning and care. Read the full article.
Money is important, but so is purpose and meaning
23 December 2009
The Australian Financial Review published an opinion piece by SVA’s CEO Michael Traill, reflecting on why we should think beyond the quarterly corporate grind to hit earnings targets and see ourselves and our businesses in more three dimensional terms that consider purpose and meaning as well as monetary goals.
Traill reflects on the emerging segment of the population that are doing just that and the demands they are now making on their employers to help them satisfy their deeper needs. Company leaders who recognise that offering meaningful community engagement and practical corporate social responsibility is beginning to play a role in attracting and retaining high-quality people, are converting this to a sustainable competitive advantage.
Chris Boys from SVA awarded Prestigious Scholarship Congratulations to SVA’s Director of Venture Development, Chris Boys, who has been awarded by the Stanford Australia Foundation its 2009 Dyson Scholarship. This scholarship provides the opportunity for Chris to study at the Centre for Social Innovation at the Stanford Graduate School of Business in June 2010. Read more here.
Leading Charities provide a new start for ABC Learning A syndicate of four non-profit organisations, including SVA, has been announced as the preferred bidder in the sale process for the acquisition of ABC Learning childcare centres, with completion expected pre Christmas 2009.
The consortium, GoodStart Ltd, involves SVA, Mission Australia, Benevolent Society and Brotherhood of St Laurence. GoodStart will operate as a non-profit organisation itself, ensuring all surplus funds will be reinvested to improve early childhood learning and care at the 678 childcare centres GoodStart will manage.
The syndicate believes the demise of ABC Learning Centres Ltd provided a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform childcare in Australia – its quality, funding and educational outcomes. As an organisation that will be driven by purpose rather than profit, GoodStart will reinvigorate the ABC Learning brand and transform these childcare centres to ensure thousands of Australian children get the very best start in life. Evidence shows that not only do children who receive high quality care in these formative years have reduced behavioural problems, but that there are strong links between quality of care and children’s language, cognitive development and maths readiness.
To fund the acquisition, GoodStart has worked with NAB, the Australian Government, and a number of private philanthropists who have provided ‘social capital’. SVA’s participation in this consortium does not draw on any SVA funds and will have no impact on our existing activities.
SVA’s role in the development of GoodStart is a great practical example of the evolution and maturing of SVA. SVA’s heritage has been in supporting and generating innovative solutions to social problems, and over time SVA has realised there is as much opportunity for innovation in the way in which solutions are funded, as there are in the solutions themselves.
Read more details about GoodStart here.
SVA to manage Queensland Government's latest project on social enterprise The Queensland Government's Department of Communities recently announced the Queensland Inclusive Social Enterprises (QISE) project. Managed by SVA, the project will provide investment for the development of social enterprises until June 2011.
The project is designed to support the development of social enterprises in Queensland which are focused on employing people who have been long-term unemployed due to mental health issues. Social enterprises that are supported are expected to be sustainable and self-sufficient by the end of the investment and support period.
Michael Traill, Chief Executive of SVA, commented:
'The QISE project will provide much needed capital and support to develop social enterprises in Queensland over the next couple of years. The businesses that are developed will make a real and valuable difference to the lives of people with mental health issues by providing sustainable, long term job opportunities that are otherwise unavailable to them.'
Trading for Change
8 October 2009
Continuing with their coverage of the Social Enterprise World Forum, The Age profiled some of the presenters taking part including Margaret Elliot OBE, founder of Sunderland Home Care Associates and Jimmy Pham, founder of KOTO International.
Read the full article here.
9am with David & Kim
7 October 2009
SVA’s Seri Renkin and Michael Gravina, founder of Elephant Pepper in Mozambique, were interviewed on Channel 10’s morning show, 9am with David and Kim, on 7 October. Seri spoke about SEWF and the growing social enterprise movement while Michael spoke about his work in Africa.
Watch the full interview here (search under Michael Gravina or Seri Renkin)
Philanthropists gather they can do some good
5 October 2009
The business section of The Australian provided a brief preview of the Social Enterprise World Forum, including comments from SVA CEO Michael Traill.
Read the full article here.
Investing for the heart not just the wallet
5 October 2009
Writing in The Age on the eve of the Social Enterprise World Forum, SVA’s executive director Jan Owen AM argued that we need to stop obsessing about the financial structures that existed before the Global Financial Crisis and instead look at what role social enterprise can play in shaping alternative models of business and investment.
Read the full article here.
Profile – Chris Cuffe
23 September 2009
Lucinda Schmidt from the Sydney Morning Herald talks to Chris Cuffe about Third Link Growth Fund. The Fund provides investors with an opportunity to participate in a professionally managed investment. Importantly, all fees received from managing the Fund’s investments, net of expenses incurred, support the non-profit sector via ongoing donation to SVA.
Read the full article here. SVA receives $1.6 million through Federal Government ‘Jobs Fund’
4 September 2009
SVA has been awarded $1.6 million in funding from the Australian Government’s ‘Jobs Fund’ initiative.
The funding will be used to support a number of SVA’s existing successful Social Enterprise Hubs (Hubs). This Hubs model is currently operating in Parramatta, Brisbane, Logan, Ipswich and the ACT, offering business support services that are otherwise inaccessible and unaffordable to social enterprises. These services include tailored advice in business planning, assistance in exploring and developing new market opportunities and access to professional resources in areas such as legal, accounting, marketing, HR or IT support.
Specifically the project funding will be used to: - provide social enterprises with services and resources that will enable them to accelerate employment growth;
- expand coverage of the Hubs to additional surrounding areas with high unemployment and spatial disadvantage.
SVA Executive Director, Jan Owen AM said: ‘We believe economic participation is the first step towards social inclusion and anticipate the lives of some 100 Australians from marginalised backgrounds will be significantly changed as a result of this funding. We’re absolutely delighted with the outcome.
‘There is a growing acceptance that supporting social enterprises is an effective way of tackling the high unemployment rate amongst marginalised individuals. These new partnership models, which combine business discipline and skills with the ability to engage and employ those marginalised and excluded from the workforce, have been emerging globally in recent years. There are already a number of Australian examples and this funding will help develop the sector even further.
‘Reflecting the rapid growth of the social enterprise movement globally, the Social Enterprise World Forum will be held in Melbourne next month. This event brings together global leaders in the social enterprise field and is attracting significant interest from practitioners, enablers, investors and policy makers. SVA is proud to be co-hosting the event and playing a role in the development of this important sector.’
Care needed to stop money going down the drain
1 August 2009
Michael Traill, Chief Executive of SVA, published an opinion piece in the Australian Financial Review on 1 August 2009.
The article focused on the announcement by the Federal Government of a $650 million Jobs Fund package and offered input as to ways in which the funds could be allocated to ensure a real and sustainable difference is achieved.
• Allocating funding to people and organisations with a track record of running sustainable enterprises.
• Supporting new partnership models that combine business funding and skills with a social purpose to create social enterprises.
• Adopting practical evaluations tools such as Social Return on Investment, to measure social and investment outcomes.
School for Social Entrepreneurs: ‘from big ideas, great things grow’
16 June 2009
An article in the Sydney Morning Herald by Nick Galvin profiled the School for Social Entrepreneurs and how it’s helping people turn their socially-minded business ideas into successful enterprises. The article featured a number of the innovative Sydney school’s first cohorts, including Rosalinda Perido-Roberts who hopes to help her community in Claymore by teaching them to grow nutritious food in their own back gardens. You can read the full article here.
Cuffe's philanthropic fund delivers solid results in first year
9 June 2009
Lucinda Beaman from Money Management reports on the first year performance of the Third Link Growth Fund, explaining the fund outperformed its index by more than 17 per cent. The fund was established last year to provide an income stream for Social Ventures Australia. Click here to view the full article.
On a course to give them help
15 April 2008
Australia’s first school for social entrepreneurs (SSE) was launched in Auburn last week, providing learning and skills development for individuals wanting to help marginalised people, reports Olga Gerloff in the Parramatta Advertiser.
The school will support 18 enterprising individuals to help them with their projects. Based on a UK model, the program of support includes group study sessions, one-to-one tutorials, mentoring sessions and project visits.
Parramatta's Mars Hill Cafe owner Kevin Crouse is a social entrepreneur whose cafe will provide employment to marginalised young people in the area.
‘Parramatta City Council recommended that I take part in the SSE program because my cafe already supported community-based arts and music,’ Mr Crouse said.
‘Through the school I hope to offer barista training as well as setting up a coffee cart to provide employment for disadvantaged young people.’
SSE Australia is supported by Social Ventures Australia, the School for Social Entrepreneurs UK and Steve Lawrence.
To read the full article, go to the 14 April 2009 edition of the Parramatta Advertiser http://digitaledition.parramattaadvertiser.com.au/
Altruism pays off for SVA consultant
11 February 2009
SVA consultant Tabita Roorda has been offered a $50,000 scholarship to work towards her MBA at the INSEAD business school near Paris. The scholarship, from the Macquarie Foundation, has traditionally gone to aspiring high-flying corporate executives. Ms Roorda said she wanted to use the MBA to continue developing her professional skills.
‘I want to be sure that I’m up to speed with organisational and human-resources tools so I can keep creating value in the non-for-profit sector,’ she said.
Macquarie’s support of Ms Roorda, writes Andrew Trounson in The Australian, reflects a global trend in business education, moving to embrace the growing social and environmental responsibility of students and business people.
Ms Roorda will study for a year at Fontainebleau, just outside of Paris, starting in August.
Something’s got to give, or maybe not
10 February 2009
As corporate donations start to diminish, charities have begun to cut back on the programs they offer, writes Emma Connors in The Australian Financial Review. Mission Australia has been forced to drop one of its youth programs after a key corporate sponsor pulled out. The Smith Family’s executive director, Paul Henderson, says he expects 2009 ’will be a very challenging year’.
SVA chief executive Michael Traill says he is ’guardedly optimistic’ about the year ahead, believing organisations with proven programs will continue to attract support. SVA will focus on existing programs rather than pursuing new ones.
'We used to get calls from individuals who had done well or from organisations that had more funding than expected and were prepared to be generous,’ Mr Traill said. ’We can’t expect that to happen this year.’These directors, too, can be put under pressure
7 February 2009
As the economic crisis places pressure on non-profit organisations, those groups should take the time to ensure that their board is fulfilling its role, writes Michael Traill in an opinion piece for The Australian Financial Review.
Mr Traill suggests that board members should not be held to lower standards simply because they are volunteers. Regular reviews of performance should be undertaken and directors should be added or removed where necessary.
Board members should also, where possible, use their skills, experience and time to aid their organisations. Ideally, a board member would bring a balance of 'work, wealth and wisdom' to the table.
Directors should take the time to understand the organisation and its programs, and to be actively engaged with the organisation. And they should assist to attract funding funding, either by giving directly or through their networks. Finally, board members should be able to provide perspective and guidance to the organisation they direct.
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