Social Ventures Australia

In any part of society the role of the entrepreneur is vital. The entrepreneur is the provider of new ideas, the experimenter, the person who looks at things differently, the change agent. As in the business sector, entrepreneurs can also be found in the non-profit sector, where they are referred to as ‘social entrepreneurs’.

Social entrepreneurs tackle society’s most pressing problems with innovative solutions aimed at the root cause, not the symptom. They are ambitious, persistent and committed to wide-scale change.

But the potential of social entrepreneurs is largely untapped in Australia. The current environment does not enable them to build effective, robust and resilient organisations. Without this strong foundation, how can non-profit ventures grow, scale and replicate their programs? How can they achieve sustainable social change?

For this to occur, social entrepreneurs require the right resources: capacity funding, management disciplines, the best people, strategic planning, cross-sector partnerships, mentoring and encouragement. Government also needs to be part of these entrepreneurial efforts, providing capital and reach needed for building great organisations that deliver results.

And philanthropists, whether they are individuals, private foundations or corporations, need to have a purpose and role greater than merely writing a cheque. To be most effective philanthropists have to be engaged. They must understand the urgency and feel confident that they are making a difference. They have a right to demand accountability, and they need to share a sense of what’s possible from the evidence of what works.

They must be connected. This is the role of Social Ventures Australia.

Social Ventures Australia Limited (SVA) aligns the interests of philanthropists with the needs of social entrepreneurs to address some of our country’s most pressing community challenges.

SVA’s mission
• To improve the knowledge of non-profit sector participants and share best practices
• Ensure that the most innovative, effective ideas and social entrepreneurs flourish.


What SVA does

Venture Development
SVA provides multi-year funding and tailored support to a carefully selected portfolio of non-profit ventures led by outstanding social entrepreneurs. This support includes assistance with strategic planning, financial sustainability, measurement and performance evaluation. SVA leverages its networks to help these ventures scale innovative responses to entrenched problems, meet the challenges of organisational growth and communicate the impact of their work.

Before SVA supports a social venture by including it in the Venture Development portfolio, it conducts a detailed analysis on several key criteria including the performance of its social entrepreneur and leadership team, its likelihood for creating real social impact at the root causes – not the symptoms - of community issues, its ability to measure outcomes and its potential to scale and replicate programs.

The Incubator
SVA incubates promising new ideas and assists early stage ventures and social entrepreneurs to develop and grow their programs. It promotes collaboration and learning amongst and across sectors, partnering with innovative programs to strengthen outcomes in the social sector. This support helps those who are experimenting with promising new ways of making change happen and enables SVA to help replicate proven models for social change already established overseas.

Professional Services
SVA helps strengthen the broader social sector by providing customised consulting, mentoring, workshop programs and web-based learning services to non-profit organisations and philanthropists. By doing so, it is improving the environment in which all social entrepreneurs operate and therefore increases their potential to succeed.

Operating since 2007, SVA Consulting works alongside non-profit organisations and funders to develop solutions that meet their distinctive challenges.

It provides individualised, in-depth support to non-profit clients in ongoing engagements that focus on strategic planning, operational analysis and funding strategies to help them deliver on their mission and increase their impact.

SVA Consulting also supports funders – including foundations, philanthropists and governments – to make informed decisions about their social investments. Fees for SVA Consulting services are charged on a cost-recovery basis and are subsidised by several generous funders, which keeps them affordable.

SVA’s senior staff is comprised of experts from the non-profit sector as well as professionals from the business world who, like Chris Cuffe, are devoting their time and energy to help make a material and positive impact on the non-profit sector.

SVA has no religious or political affiliations. It has Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) status and therefore donations to SVA are tax deductible.

For further information about SVA, its portfolio of non-profit organisations (including the difference they are making to Australian lives) and the progress of SVA’s initiatives to strengthen the broader non-profit sector, please visit its website at www.socialventures.com.au.

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