Social Enterprise Council of NSW & ACT (SECNA)

With SXSW Sydney 2025 just over five weeks away, now is the perfect time to secure your free pass. If you're part of a social enterprise working with people living with disability, First Nations and other marginalized communities, or concession card holders in the creative sectors, you could be eligible. This is a fantastic chance to attend if you've ever wanted to experience the festival. 👇

Are your board meetings as effective as they could be? 🤔 Join fellow social enterprise leaders and board members for our next Learning Circle on Board Meetings and Papers! This is a fantastic opportunity to share insights and learn from the collective experience of your peers. What to expect: 💡 A one-hour peer learning session. 🤝 Share what's working (and what's not!) with your board papers and meetings. 📈 Discover practical ideas to enhance your governance. What it isn't: ❌ A lecture from a governance expert. 📝 A recorded session (the value is in being present!). 📅 Thursday, 16 October | 🕛 12:00-1:00 PM 🔗 Register at: https://lnkd.in/gf2tY-af Let's collaborate to make our board meetings more impactful and ensure strong governance across the sector. #SocialEnterprise #BoardMeetings #Governance #PeerLearning #Impact

The positive feedback from our 2025 Social Enterprise Festival has been truly inspiring! 🎉 A huge thank you to over 1000 attendees who joined us in celebrating the power of social enterprise. We were thrilled to see so many of you share your valuable feedback, and we're excited to announce the winner of our $200 social enterprise voucher draw: Lisa Tran! Congratulations, Lisa! 🥳 Lisa has chosen to spend her voucher at Goods 4 Good - Social Trader Certified, one of the amazing social enterprises that participated in our festival. We love seeing our community support these fantastic organisations! Thank you again to everyone who made this year's festival a success. Stay tuned for more updates and events! #SocialEnterprise #Festival #CommunityImpact #SECNAFestival #ImpactInvesting #GoodGifts

Feeling a bit lost when it comes to using LinkedIn to your full advantage? 🤔 You're not alone! It's a powerful tool, but knowing how to use it strategically can be a game-changer for your career and your social enterprise. Join us for our LinkedIn 101 session with our CEO, Kylie Flament, who will share her experience in utilising the platform. ✨ In this session, you'll learn: 💡 How to think strategically about your content. 🚀 Tips and tricks for optimising both your personal profile and business pages. 🗓️ Thursday 9th October ⏰ Time: 12:00-1:00 PM 🔗 https://lnkd.in/g4iCRk9U Ready to unlock a greater potential on LinkedIn? We can't wait to help you grow! #LinkedInTips #Networking #CareerDevelopment #SkillSessions #ProfessionalGrowth

Are you working to create opportunities, services, or support for young people? Or perhaps you're passionate about the sector and looking to get involved? This 'Find Your People' session is for you! 👋 We're hosting an informal online roundtable to connect individuals and social enterprises dedicated to supporting youth. It's a fantastic opportunity to: 🤝 Connect with others in the sector 💬 Share what you're working on 🎧 Hear what others are doing in the field 💡 Swap notes, ideas, and explore potential collaborations This is a relaxed, purposeful lunchtime chat – bring your lunch, your questions, and your curiosity. 🗓️ Tuesday 14 October ⏰ 12:00-1:00 PM 📍 Where: Online - link provided upon registration 🎟 https://lnkd.in/gsqqaE6e Ready to connect and collaborate for youth? Hit the link to register and join the conversation! #YouthSupport #SocialEnterprise #CommunityImpact #YouthFocused #Collaboration

Calling all passionate young social entrepreneurs (under 30)! 👋 Are you building a better future through your work? This is your chance to connect with like-minded individuals, share your journey, and discover new opportunities. Join our 'Find Your People' session – an informal online lunchtime discussion designed for you to: 🤝 Connect with others in the sector 💬 Share what you're working on 👂 Hear what others are doing 💡 Swap notes, ideas, and potential collaborations No formal agenda, just a relaxed and purposeful lunchtime chat. Bring your lunch, your questions, and your curiosity! 🗓️ Tuesday 30 September | ⏰ 12:00-1:00 PM 💻 Online - a link will be sent when you register 🎟 https://lnkd.in/gA2c7k8g Ready to expand your network and ignite new ideas?Let's build the future together! #YoungSocialEntrepreneurs #FindYourPeople #SocialImpact #YouthLeadership #Networking

We were absolutely blown away by the energy and enthusiasm at the Social Enterprise Festival on Saturday 16 August - and love how GoodChat captured it for us here. They packed a lot in to two minutes - just like we packed a lot into the day! There were 80 social enterprises, just over 1,000 attendees and the feedback has been outstanding - with 99% of festival attendees saying they were satisfied or very satisfied and 100% of contributors (stallholders / workshop facilitators / speakers / sponsors / volunteers) giving it top marks (4 out of 4). Some of our favourite feedback: 1. Team SECNA - you continue to astonish me with how much you can do with so level resources. And always with such a high degree of professionalism. You are an amazing team. 🙏 2. I am deeply thankful for the generosity of all of our sponsors. Making this event free to participate and attend makes it accessible to all. As a start-up Social Enterprise, we could not afford to fund an event like this. Knowing that an organisation has sponsored this festival makes me view them much more favourably. (Yes, thank you City of Sydney, University of Technology Sydney, MTC FutureReady, Westpac Foundation, Hotel Etico Australia, Gateway Bank and Community Bank Darling Square!!!) 3. The Social Enterprise Festival is a day of celebrating the power we all have to make a difference. When you come along you get to meet amazing people doing amazing things to improve our world and the lives of people around us. It is impossible to come away and not feel inspired. 4. Gives you hope, restores your faith in humanity. We're glad you loved it and are already dreaming up what the 2026 Festival will look like. #SocialEnterpriseFestival #SECNAfestival #SocialEnterprise

This morning we had an inspiring (and delicious!) behind-the-scenes glimpse into the incredible work of FoodLab Sydney. FoodLab exists to lower the barriers to entering the catering and hospitality industries through its three key pillars: 🎓 A training program for aspiring food entrepreneurs 🍴 A shared commercial kitchen space 🥗 A thriving corporate catering arm Walking through the kitchen, we saw it buzzing with cooks preparing authentic dishes from Syria, Pakistan, and Mexico. This isn’t just about food — it’s about impact. On average, FoodLab graduates employ 3.3 people within three years of finishing the program. From training and mentorship to affordable access to kitchens, FoodLab is multiplying impact by creating employers, not just employees. We also enjoyed a cooking demo from Racha Syrian kitchen (who reminded us, “cooking is easy, running a business is hard”) and Nadia (https://lnkd.in/gaJQD8rw), who prepared an order while her young son played happily in the next room. It was energising to hear how FoodLab is staying focused on its pillars to grow sustainably, and exciting to learn what’s coming next. Thank you to our peers from Westpac Foundation, AMP Foundation, and Social Enterprise Australia for joining us and to Managing Director, Jamie Loveday, for showing us around their incredible facilities. 🙌 👉 If you’re not already following FoodLab, now’s the time — their work is a powerful example of how social enterprise can create opportunity and community through food. #SocialEnterprise #ImpactMultiplier #FoodEntrepreneurship #PeopleAndPlanetFirst #BusinessForGood

🎨 Calling all social enterprises in the arts and creative industries — and anyone harnessing creativity to build community, amplify voices, and inspire new possibilities. Whether you’re creating through performance, visual arts, music, design, storytelling, cultural expression, or community-based projects — this session is for you. And if you’re curious about the role of creativity in social impact, or working in an adjacent space, you’re warmly invited too. Here’s what to expect: 🔹 Share what you’re working on 🔹 Hear what others are doing 🔹 Swap notes, ideas, and potential collaborations 📅 Tuesday, 23 September | 🕛 12:00-1:00 PM 🎟 https://lnkd.in/gEAJ_C9e No formal agenda — just a relaxed, purposeful online chat. Bring your lunch, your ideas, and your curiosity. 💡 #SocialEnterprise #ArtsForImpact #CreativeCommunity #FindYourPeople #ImpactThroughCreativity

We’re inviting those working in Work-Integrated Social Enterprises (WISE), those connected to employment services, and anyone curious about the sector to join us for a one-hour peer learning session. 💡 Social entrepreneurs are known for their generosity in sharing knowledge and experience, helping the whole sector grow. This session is your chance to be part of that exchange — the good, the bad, and everything in between. Here’s what you’ll get from the session: 🤝 Connect with peers across WISE and employment services 💬 Share your challenges, wins, and lessons learned 🌱 Learn in real-time — no recordings, only light notes 🔄 Build relationships that strengthen the whole sector 📅 Thursday, September 18 | 🕛 12:00-1:00 PM 🎟 Register: https://lnkd.in/g_F8Z8NU #SocialEnterprise #WISE #EmploymentServices #PeerLearning #BusinessForGood