April 2024 Article – Journey to Impact Series: Why Catalytic Investment?

March 2024 – Landmark Announcement to Scale Impact-first Investment and Social Enterprise in WA. After 18 months planning we’re thrilled to announce several landmark initiatives that will help scale impact investment and social enterprise in Western Australia in 2024 and beyond.
– Launch of the 2024 Impact 2 Innovate Social Enterprise Growth Program (EOIs open now)
– Launch of the WA Impact Loan Fund targeting deployment of $2M catalytic impact capital to development-stage social enterprises in WA over the next two years
– Launch of the Investor Series of events of I2I in partnership with Philanthropy Australia (and supported by the State Government’s New Industries Fund XTEND program), commencing with the Journey to Impact event on 18 April featuring local and national impact investors

December 2023 – Impact Seed 2024-25 Election Budget Submission – With 12 months until Western Australia’s State Election, and every other state (and the federal govt) having committed to social enterprise/impact investment policy, an announcement from the Cook State Government in this election year could deliver immense and untapped impact from labour force participation and jobs growth through to sustainability and regeneration. 

November 2023 – Fuckup Nights Hits the Road (Settlers Tavern, Margs); Showcase-Investing for Impact WA (for funders and investors); and end of year wrap

October 2023 – ESGing it up for WA Startups – A Symposium; Impact Investment for WA Startups – A Workshop; And after a lengthy hiatus, Fuckup Nights Perth, Western Australia returns.

September 2023 – 8 Years of Growing Impact in WA through Impact Seed; Supporting Dismantle Raise $250K Impact Investment; Supporting Loop Enterprises Raise $250K Impact Investment; and Perth ESG Summit 2023

May 2023 -Impact Seed’s Federal Budget Snapshot;EOI’s for Impact Seed’s Flagship Social Enterprise Program Close Soon

March 2023  – There’s a lot happening in the impact and ESG space this month, with a fantastic feature on the state of ESG in Western Australia in Business News, looking at investing with social impact. Rowan Foley, CEO of Aboriginal Carbon Foundation and Director Sven Stenvers, were in the Pilbara meeting with Traditional Owners of the Pilbara Cultural Land Management Project, uncovering some truly exciting opportunities to be developed this year.

February 2023  – Bringing in the new year with the 2022 Impact Report outlining our biggest year of growth yet. This month, we welcome Ross Wortham, the new Chief Executive Officer of WA’s Social Enterprise Council (WASEC).

October 2022   – Big news for WA’s social enterprise ecosystem announced at the Social Enterprise World Forum: WA’s Social Enterprise Council Becomes Third State Peak Body to Secure Funding After Qld/Vic; Partnership of 12 Pilbara Traditional Owner Groups – Appointing Coordinator Role; Social enterprise and impact measurement workshops coming up.

August 2022  – 2 Perth Workshops, the Social Enterprise World Forum, and 2 grant opportunities.. coming up in the next 4 weeks.

July 2022  – Impact Seed Founder & Director, Sven Stenvers on Impact Boom Podcast Episode 318: Impact, Investment and Social Enterprise in WA; WA’s Social Enterprise event of the year; The West Australian Feature on Social Enterprise in WA; And Ignition social enterprise scholarships close Fri; and a round up of sector news from WA & beyond

May 2022  – Announcing WA Launch Events 16-19th May for Regenerating Australia Film, and the $2M Innovate to Regenerate Solutions Fund; Up to $250K Investment Available for WA Impact Ventures – EOI Deadline 8 May; Federal Election on 21st May – Do your part to voice your support for WA’s social enterprise sector

April 2022  – It’s been a while… our newsletter has been on hiatus, with a lot going on behind the scenes. Impact Seed announces Impact 2 Innovate – a multi-year $1.3M Program for Social Enterprise and Impact Investment Growth in Western Australia; Damon Gameau and His New Film Regenerating Australia – Coming to WA May 16-19; and the Social Enterprise World Forum Comes to Australia in 2022. SEWF2022 is the opportunity for Western Australia’s social enterprise sector to shine and together with WASEC (the WA Social Enterprise Council), we’ll be partnering in activation events through the year.

March 2021 – 2020 has seen disruption to ‘business-as-usual’ in a way that most of us haven’t experienced in our lifetimes.  At this time of unprecedented social and economic change, WASEC has been formed by leaders in Western Australia’s social enterprise sector to build a new economy that places community, employee and environmental impact outcomes on an equal footing with sustainable financial returns.

January 2021 – Launch of Council to Build Western Australia’s Inclusive Economy 2020 was a whirlwind.. but despite all the turmoil it heralded some of the greatest leaps forward for the impact investment and social enterprise ecosystems in WA in many years.  Here’s a few highlights from our perspective:

• Launch of the $20M WA Impact Fund in February
• Formation of the practitioner led WASEC – the WA Social Enterprise Council (with a launch event coming up in March)
• Launch of ASENA (the Alliance of Social Enterprise Networks Australia) in May with WA strongly represented
• Appointing the first regional social enterprise development consultant in the Kimberley with our partners EK in October.
• Awarding of New Industries Fund support for impact investment readiness for regional WA enterprises in November
• WA sector recognised in the 2020 Australian Impact Investment Awards to round out the year a few weeks ago (see below)

17 November 2020  – How long has 2020 felt like? Maybe you craved less noise in your inbox in this overwhelming year? We get it..so welcome to our first update in some time.  In this edition we bring a trove of reading, as well as let you know about a few happenings: We welcome Liz Jack as our new Social Enterprise Manager for the Kimberley, and our partnership with Environs Kimberley; Our Great Southern workshop/dinner series in Denmark and Albany; the ImpactInsights Corporate Social Investment workshop, the Perth UN Global Goals Jam..all next week.  And finally member pre-registrations are now open for the WA Social Enterprise Council.  Join us and the many other great homegrown social enterprises in the representative sector body that is helping grow social enterprise across the state.

23 June 2020: State Government Carries Significant ‘Old Economy’ Risks into the Post COVID World: We may have done well on COVID cases, but going into the second half of 2020, close to the end of the current State Government’s four year term, we have now had a massive COVID economic impact; We’ve had climate impacts and fires; Destruction of cultural heritage and continued environmental degradation. All the while the economy has stagnated and is now going backwards with the highest rate of job losses in the country. Trying to get back to business as usual without investing in the transition to a new, inclusive economic model creates a substantial risk to the WA economy. To be clear, nothing should go back to normal.  Normal wasn’t working.

23 June 2020: The West Business – Impact Investment WA Alliance urges McGowan Government to support the emerging sector amid coronavirus crisis: Proponents of impact investment are calling on the State Government to support the emerging sector, saying a lack of leadership is hindering progress despite a huge appetite for investments that have positive environmental or social outcomes.

June 2020: Impact Investment in The West Australian; Launch of National Social Enterprise Alliance; And 2020 local, national and global updates on the market from the Yunus Centre, Responsible Investment Association of Australia, and the Global Impact Investment Network.

April 2020: Australia’s gold standard social indicator mapping platform merges with Impact Seed;Building WA’s Social Enterprise Council as COVID catalyses a new economy..and a raft of timely links and articles

14 April 2020: Re-imagining Innovation, Finance and Business in a Post-COVID Economy

1 April 2020: Capitalism 1.0 Just Suffered a Virus Crash..what’s the System Upgrade? If Ever a Situation Called for Innovation its the Looming Economic Corona-crisis. What Can be Done to Build a New, Resilient Operating System that Works for All?

31 March 2020: Resilience and Regeneration: Supporting social enterprise to support us

March 2020: Building WA’s Blended Finance Fund – A Perth Masterclass & Case Study Showcase; Impact Management for Corporate Social Responsibility & Organisational Impact – A Perth Masterclass; Supply Chain/Provenance Certification & Protecting Traditional Knowledge – A Broome Workshop; Now in its 3rd year this perennial sellout series on entrepreneurship is on again 23 April.  All proceeds of each event go to a WA social enterprise. And more!

Jan-Feb 2020:  Reflecting on 2019.. and a focus for 2020. 2019 and the start to 2020 so far feels like an unbroken stream of bad news and catastrophe enveloping us in the form of climate-induced bushfires, ocean and land warming, species and habitat destruction; while extreme politics, and ‘alternative facts’ have dominated our news feeds on entirely unregulated social media platforms. It’s enough to make an eternal optimist question their world-view.

Having read so many thoughtful articles on these topics, one thread emerges – we can either sink into depression and inaction, or do something, anything, at a personal or professional level that can help contribute to solutions. And have gratitude for the good things in our lives, our families, our friends, our communities, a still stunning (if scarred) natural environment; and the blessings in our lives and our work. On that last note.. we bring you our first newsletter and a focus for the year ahead.

End of year 2019 News – Launch of Australia’s First Place-Based Impact Investment Fund in WA.  We are excited for the launch of the first place-based fund of its kind in Australia, and thrilled for the opportunities it affords the development of a thriving impact investment and social enterprise market that supports positive social, cultural and economic impact for WA communities.  Early in the new year we will be holding information sessions on the WA Impact Fund.  Funders, investors, advisors and entrepreneurs are encouraged to attend these sessions which will outline the investment mandate and potential opportunities for WA investors, funders and entrepreneurs.

October 2019 – Impact Collective Expressions of Interest Now Open for Social Enterprises Seeking Development Support and Impact Investment
-Masterclass: Growing Impact in Creative, Culture and Arts Industries
– Join us and 3 of WA’s Leading Impact Entrepreneurs for a special event on the Impact Investment Readiness Journey.
– Fuckup Night Perth: 2nd Anniversary Edition (and end of year celebration)

September 2019 – On September 10 we had the pleasure and privilege of hosting the launch event for the new Impact Investment Alliance (IIWA) with the Treasurer, and Minister McGurk in front of leaders from the State’s government, finance, philanthropic, community and business sectors.  Also, if you missed Our Impact Investment & Blended Finance Masterclass and Panel session with SEFA and Impact Investment Group, you can now catch up on the video stream. Plus book now for our upcoming social enterprise development workshop in Broome on 18/October, and our WA Impact Measurement Masterclass for Investors and Funders in Perth in November

August 2019 – An exclusive masterclass for managers and trustees of foundations, private ancillary funds and not for profit organisational investors – the Perth Impact Investment and Blended Finance Masterclass in partnership with Impact Investment Group and SEFA Partnerships (Social Enterprise Finance Australia); Welcoming Daniel Mackey & Emma Tomkinson to the Impact Seed team; and a callout to impact businesses+social/enviro enterprises – 1 week left to be counted in the WA enterprise map! 

July 2019 – Help Build WA’s Social Enterprise Map; And Expressions of Interest are now open for social enterprises in the West Kimberley and Gascoyne region to seek Impact Seed’s incubation and development support under the Regional Social Enterprise Incubation Pilot to be delivered under the McGowan Government’s $4.5M Regional New Industries Fund.

22 July 2019 – New WA Container Deposit Scheme to Deliver up to $40M pa for Social Enterprise Sector Development.

May 2019 – Impact Seed Receives B-Corp Certification; Get Ready to Hear From Local and National Thought Leaders at the Inaugural 2019 Housing-Impact Investment Forum; The 2019 State Budget, Impact Investment and ‘Aboriginal Wellbeing’

April 2019 – $140K Impact Growth Grant, Launch of the WA Impact Investment Alliance, Inaugural Forum on Impact Investment in Community & Affordable Housing; Wait List Open for our Social Enterprise Development Workshop

March 2019 – Our March newsletter features Impact Seed Analysis Paper on the State Government’s ‘Our Priorities’ Launch, a collaboration with RegenWA for Impact Investment in Regenerative Agriculture, details of our second sector development workshop for 2019 on social enterprise development, new resources on ‘Purpose and Profit’, and a trove of articles

End of year 2018 –  A January impact investment and impact measurement masterclass with our new partners; Release of Government Options Paper on Social Impact Investment in WA; Impact Investment Growth Grant Launch, and Building a Supportive Framework for Aboriginal Social Enterprise Development, in regional WA.

October 2018 – Winners of Pitch for Good 2018; The New Economy and return of co-ops; The State of WA social innovation; Impact workshops, and launching F*up Nights vol#2.

September 2018 – Finalists confirmed at WA’s 1st Pitch for Good(still time to book)| End of year impact investment conferences|Funding opportunities |plus Andrew Outhwaite’s guest article on what makes a good incubator

August 2018 – In a big month of firsts for WA..
Watch: Keynote Address from 2018’s Impact Investment Showcase
Book: WA’s 1st Pitch for Good live crowdfunding event
Apply: For a one of a kind role in WA (we’re hiring!)
We’re in the 1st edition of ‘Australian Incubators & Accelerators for Social Impact’
Bringing the world’s largest creators movement (over 300 cities) to WA with our 1st F*up Night; Our recent interview on Simon Beaton’s The Mag
A wrap of WA’s 1st Startup Weekend for social impact

23 July 2018 – Climate educators take out top award in Impact Seed’s Social Impact Pitch Night 2018.

July 2018 – Finalists Confirmed for Pitch Night 2018. Last Chance for Tickets!

June 2018 – Dan Madhavan (CEO Impact Investment Group, Founding CEO Impact Investing Australia) joins us as keynote speaker for our 3rd annual WA showcase event; The 2018 Social Impact Festival is here with four Impact Seed events as part of the festival, and our ImpactSpark 2018 inaugural cohort graduates are on show on 19-20 July at UWA Business School.

May 2018 – Call for Submissions: 2018 Pitch Night; Budget News; Funding opportunities; And join us for our upcoming impact measurement for mission driven businesses workshop, and mission aligned investing for NFPs workshop

April 2018 – Introducing Our First 2018 ImpactSpark Cohort; Announcing Our New Director of Strategy & Innovation..And Join Us for WA’s 1st Ever Startup Weekend for Social Impact, prize-sponsored by Impact Seed.

March 2018 –  The Changing Face of Business and Venture Capital..and Blockchain for Impact Ventures

January 2018 – Happy 2018! ImpactSpark EOI Closes Soon. Plus, a wrap of our visit with our European and Hong Kong counterparts; And momentous impact news from the world’s largest investment fund – Blackrock.

Nov/Dec 2017 – We Saved Our Most Exciting News Til Last..Launching WA’s only impact-venture focused incubator program. Plus: An opportunity for the WA Govt to support a growing social innovation ecosystem….and the story of a fast growing mission-driven business – AtlasTrend – right in our own Perth backyard.

October 2017 – End of Year Event; Impact Startup Investment.. Stories and Battle Scars. Impact Investing survey.

September 2017 – System Failure: The WA Budget’s big, self-defeating blind spot;  Launch of Australia’s first platform for Impact Investment deal flow – the Impact Investment Hub; Tail end of 2017 brings home a convergance of global impact investment events.

July 2017 – Finalists, Panel and Speakers Announced for 2nd annual showcase pitch event; Impact Growth Grant Now Open, Starting Good Event at the Social Impact Festival, and more..

June 2017 – Your Invitation to the IMPACT SEED PITCH NIGHT 2017.. Showcasing WA’s Investable Impact Businesses. Our feature in Business News. ‘Social Enterprise’ – Moving from labels to intent.. and Social Impact Festival 2017 #SIFest17 #Impinv #SocInn #SocBiz

May 2017 – Calling all Social Innovators.. CoCre8 Givingbackathon with City of Armadale;  2017 Report on ‘A Year in the Life of WA’s Social Enterprises’: Unless we collectively bridge the business-investment gap, we destine ourselves to only ever have traditional business on one side of the ledger, and philanthropy on the other.

April 2017 – A Month of New Things.. Pitch Submissions Open for The Social Impact Festival Pitch Event, a new partnership with the team at Maker+Co..the south-west’s home of co-working, innovation and collaboration, and welcoming Minespace Co-Founder Jasmine Trethewey to the Impact Seed team.

March 2017 – We’re Growing.. We’re excited to announce a new program – Community Innovation, a new tech partnership with NamSource, and Chris Nurse, former Telethon Kids Institute tech transformation leader and CIO50 award winner joins the Impact Seed Board.

February 2017 – Considering the Impact We Make.. Unifying Innovation.. How can we better align the startup/innovation scene, the investment community, and the corporate sector to generate investments that won’t only pass a financial due diligence, but a broader innovation due diligence; a social and environmental one?