The future of charity

Dan Pallotta is an enigmatic speaker and entrepreneur from the US who has been committed for many years to finding better ways to support not for profits. I was lucky enough to hear him speak in San Francisco last year and he really challenged the current situation for many community based organisations.
His book Charitable describes the inequity between profit making and charitable organisations and he suggests that there needs to be a complete shift in our thinking about giving and management.
So check out his website and the new venture he has began which combines ethics, non profits and marketing.

Branching Out has been working with two pilot organisations (Interweave Arts and TRA-K, a volunteer branch of Tasmanian Regional Arts based in Sheffield) to explore social enterprise and its’ potential to build sustainability, strength and new opportunities for the organisations.

Early in the project we identified the need for new approaches that could meet the needs of individuals and groups, as existing programs focused almost entirely on individual and organisational skill development. Our consultation indicated that this approach was not sustainable or realistic for many, especially given the amount of work that was already being undertaken. This situation was impacting on the capacity of the organisations to maintain current operations and expand programs and services.

Rather than operating as consultants or mentors, we developed and then implemented a facilitating and coaching service whereby people with the relevant skills became part of the groups and projects; injecting the right skills at the right time. The response from the pilots was immediate and we soon saw a ripple effect as they achieved many of their identified goals. These groups had already been contributing enormously to the cultural, social and economic life of their communities; they just needed a little assistance to go to the next stage.

The approach we have taken has elements similar to the Sirolli model whereby Enterprise Facilitators work with individuals and communities to develop enterprise. We have found there is a need for the type of work we have been doing and increased skills within Tasmania and a willingness to look at new models to respond to these needs. That's why we are partnering with TasCOSS to present the Sirolli training. It's not the only solution but it is a valuable addition to learning within the sector. If you are interested in undertaking the training please email tim@tascoss.org.au 

Future of social enterprise and the arts

We are being approached weekly by arts organisations interested in social enterprise and developing ideas that can benefit them. Today is the launch of the Tasmanian Social Enterprise Study, which has seen the arts being very well represented.www.socialenterprisetasmania.blogspot.com It's exciting to see what is possible when you combine ideas, creative and productive minds together.