FAQ

The Social Enterprise Awards are the only national awards for Australian social enterprise.
The Awards are run by Social Traders in partnership with Foresters Community Finance and will be awarded annually with the inaugural awards to be presented on 28 May 2013.
The aim of the Awards is to increase awareness of the role and diversity of social enterprises in Australia by creating a long term, high profile event.

In 2013 a total of 5 awards will be recognised.
• Social Enterprise of the Year - Small - presented by The Trust Company Foundation
• Social Enterprise of the Year – Medium/ Large
• Youth-Led Social Enterprise of the Year- presented by Foundation for Young Australians
• Social Enterprise Innovation Award
• Social Procurement SE Supporter of the Year - presented by Social Traders

For the Social Enterprises Awards categories you must meet the following criteria to be eligible for the award:
• Be led by an economic, social, cultural, or environmental mission consistent with a public or community benefit
• Trade* to fulfil your mission
• Reinvest the over 50% of your profit/surplus in the fulfilment of their mission
• Be incorporated and/or trading in Australia; and
• Derive a substantial* portion of your income from trade

*50% or more for ventures that are more than five years from start-up or
25% or more for ventures that are less than five years from start-up.

*Trade includes revenue from: membership, sponsorship, sales of products and services and income from competitively awarded contracts from government.

Trade does not include: Grants, donations or loans.

If you are in doubt about whether your government funds constitute trade look at the GST component. If the contract does not include GST it is likely to be a grant.

Social enterprises that have been operating for more than 3 years will be eligible for the Social Enterprise of the Year Awards.

The entire business does not have to meet the eligibility criteria for the Awards.  You can apply for the business unit that operates as a Social Enterprise. In that case include the Profit and Loss for that business unit in your application.

To be eligible for the Youth–Led Social Enterprise applicants must be under 30 as at 1 January 2013.

There is no minimum operating period for social enterprise’s applying for the Social Enterprise Innovation award. The award focus is on a business that has significant innovation in achieving its mission. Examples of significant innovations may include: product or service offering, business financing arrangement, business structure or partnership creation.

The Social Procurement Social Enterprise Supporter of the Year is an organisation that can demonstrate how it has committed to social procurement by embracing the principles of social procurement in policies and processes.

The Applications are now closed.

Applications for 2013 are closed.

If you would like to apply in 2014 please sign up to our mailing list so we can let you know our timeline for next year.

They have now closed.

There will be two rounds of judging for the Awards.

Finalists will be announced late April.

Judges will meet in May to decided the winners.

All judging will be based on the award category criteria.

The Awards ceremony will be held in Melbourne  on 28 May 2013.

The Awards will be presented at a ceremony in Melbourne on 28 May 2013.

We are pleased to offer the following prizes.

1. Social Enterprise of the Year – Small - presented by the Trust Company Foundation

$10,000 prize

2. Social Enterprise of the Year – Medium/Large

$10,000 prize

3. Youth- Led Social Enterprise of the Year - presented by Foundation for Young Australians

Ticket, flights and accommodation for an international conference either The Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship or The Social Enterprise World Forum for one person. Foundation for Young Australians will offer an additional prize of in kind services to the value of $10,000.

4. Social Enterprise Innovation Award

Ticket, flights and accommodation for an international conference either The Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship or The Social Enterprise World Forum for one person

5. Social Procurement SE Supporter of the Year – sponsored by Social Traders

Respect, love and gratitude

Please be ready to upload the following as part of your application:

• Five photos of your Social Enterprise in action (at least 1 mb each)
• Your Company Logo as a JPEG.
• A 50 word company profile
• Your most recent audited accounts (if available) OR financial statements signed by a director or committee member
• Up to two pieces of supporting documentation - Material may include marketing and communications material, news clippings, feedback and testimonials or impact statements.

No, entry to the Awards is free.

Social Traders is a specialist social enterprise development organisation established in 2008. Based in Melbourne, Social Traders aims to support the growth of social enterprise in Australia.

Their work involves increasing knowledge of social enterprise, building the trading capability and investment readiness of start-up and early stage enterprises along with growing the market for social enterprise products and services.

Social Traders runs social enterprise tours and workshops, conducts capacity building programs and offers a range of tailored tools and resources.

Foresters Community Finance Limited is a Community Development Finance Institution (CDFI) providing finance and investment capital to the community sector in Australia.

Their goal is to employ community finance and social investment strategies to service and support people, organisations and communities who have limited access to mainstream financial institutions.

Foresters comes from the tradition of Friendly Societies in Australia and has been delivering community finance and social investment in Australia for more than 20 years.
In 2011 Foresters was successful in attracting the Federal Government Social Enterprise Development Investment Fund (SEDIF) capital of $6m matched by $6m of private investment from Christian Super Fund. Foresters lends this money to Australian Social Enterprises for property purchase, refurbishment or construction and for business development of equipment loans.