Social Ventures Australia (SVA) has marked another successful year of venture philanthropy with the release of a new report highlighting results achieved in 2016.
The SVA Venture Philanthropy Portfolio Impact Report 2016 demonstrates the significant impact SVA’s ventures are having across the portfolio’s focus areas of education, employment and working with First Australians, supported by a growing community of engaged partners and strategic funders.
Last year saw both the Western Australian and Queensland Venture Philanthropy portfolios welcome their first ventures. Marnin Studio is an Indigenous arts enterprise empowering women in Fitzroy Crossing, WA, while Mimi’s House in Moreton Bay, QLD, supports primary school aged children at risk of falling out of the school system.
Also joining the portfolio in 2016, First Australians Capital – an Indigenous-led organisation supporting enterprising First Australian businesses to build capacity and become investment ready; and Vanguard Laundry Services in Toowoomba, a non-profit commercial laundry providing employment opportunities for people previously excluded from the workforce predominately due to mental health conditions.
Officially opened by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in January 2017, the laundry hired 23 long-term unemployed people with a mental health condition and provided 10 people with career development pathway support in its first month of trade.
As highlighted in the report, other ventures in the portfolio have continued to grow their impact. Since joining the portfolio three years ago, the SVA Bright Spots Schools Connection has developed into a program supporting exceptional school leaders engaging 15,500 students across three states.
This year, through the multi-year commitment of Samsung Electronics Australia, The Connection is expanding to include a specialised hub of 14 schools specifically around best practice in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths).
The Industry Employment Initiative, a demand-led employment pilot improving outcomes for long-term unemployed jobseekers, was granted $2 million by the Victorian Government’s Jobs Victoria Employment Network (JVEN) to test the approach at scale, providing an additional 220 young people with pathways out of unemployment.
‘These investments… are ringing endorsements of SVA’s venture philanthropy model and the power of the corporate, social and government sectors working together to achieve better outcomes for people in disadvantaged communities,’ said Rob Koczkar, SVA’s CEO.
SVA has pioneered its venture philanthropy approach since 2002, identifying innovative, evidence-based solutions to some of society’s most complex problems and supporting these ventures with a tailored package of funding, capacity building, networks and evidence, which serves to amplify the impact of philanthropic funding.
Over an average partnership period of six years, the ventures in SVA’s portfolio achieve 50 per cent average growth in beneficiaries and 40 per cent average annual growth in turnover.
The ventures are diversified across different stages of growth. Some are small yet sufficiently established to show signs of significant promise. Others are being supported to grow their impact and over time may join a third group that are now operating at scale to provide effective services to many people in need.
‘Time and time again SVA has demonstrated its capacity to think through challenging social issues and apply tested and scalable approaches and insights to contribute to the strategic and operational development of high-impact organisations in the nonprofit sector.’ Diane Tsui, Head of Global Philanthropy for Asia Pacific at J.P. Morgan.
Moving forward, SVA plans to introduce a number of new ventures into the portfolio in 2017 and to continue to support its venture partners to realise their goals – not only to improve their impact but also to positively affect the systems they’re operating in. Just recently, two new ventures were announced, Dismantle and BackTrack.
Other ventures in SVA’s venture philanthropy portfolio include:
- AIME
- eBeacon
- CareerSeekers New Australian Internship Program
- Community Schoolyard project
- Evidence for Learning
- High Growth Jobs, Talented Candidates
- STREAT
A full list and information on the SVA venture philanthropy portfolio is available.
SVA is seeking additional funding partners to help support the work of our ventures. Contact us to learn more about how you can partner with us.
