Social Traders, one of the leading Social Enterprise procurement advocates and enablers, announced it received a $1 million four-year grant from Gandel Foundation, in support of the Social Traders’ 2030 vision to unlock more than $5 billion in demand for social enterprises and create 44,000 jobs.
The Gandel Foundation was established in 1978 by John and Pauline Gandel, and today achieves its vision by empowering communities to deliver programs and activities that create a positive lasting impact on the quality of life of people in Australian and Jewish communities. The Gandel family has a long history of supporting a broad range of activities and initiatives across the spectrum of the Social Enterprise (SE) eco-system, because they see SEs as an integral part of helping address many of the challenging social issues in the Australian community.
Established in 2008, Social Traders has been a pioneer in the growth of social enterprise sector across the country. Social Traders have certified over 450 social enterprises to date, supporting them to deliver goods and services to a network of over 120 business and government organisations.
Today, Social Traders is the trailblazer of social enterprise procurement in Australia, acting as the connector between certified social enterprises with business and government buyers, leading the charge in doing business ‘for good’. Social Traders creates positive impact through jobs, community services and support for the most marginalised.
The Gandel Foundation grant will enable Social Traders to invest in SE sector capacity building that will help the sector create over 44,000 jobs, deliver 6 million training hours, and deliver community services and donations of some $128 million. Social Traders will scale and embed social enterprise procurement nationally, advocating for and driving major reforms in government and business procurement policy over the next decade.
The support from Gandel Foundation will propel Social Traders further towards their Vision 2030 goal to unlock over $5 billion in demand for social enterprises by the end of this decade.
Social Traders thank Gandel Foundation for sharing the passion for the social enterprise sector and for joining forces with their other key philanthropic partners, The Ian Potter Foundation and Helen McPherson Smith Trust, who are also helping them bring their vision to reality.
Social Traders welcomes other trailblazing philanthropists nationally to join them by investing in Vision 2030, to scale and embed social enterprise procurement and enable a thriving social enterprise sector throughout Australia.
For Media enquiries, please contact:
Mike McKinstry
CEO, Social Traders
0439 519 901