Social enterprises are businesses that trade to deliver social, environmental, or cultural outcomes — not just financial profit. Australia has an estimated 12,000+ social enterprises, employing approximately 206,000 people and generating approximately $21 billion in revenue. Social enterprises include op shops (Salvos, Vinnies), NDIS service providers, employment enterprises for people with disability, environmental enterprises, and community businesses. Grant funding supports social enterprise development, incubation, capacity building, and the market development that helps social enterprises grow.
The landscape
Types of social enterprise
The grant-enterprise tension
Social enterprises are different from charities:
- They generate revenue through trading, not just donations
- They need business skills alongside social mission
- Grant funding alone is not the model — revenue sustainability is the goal
- But early-stage social enterprises often need grant support to reach viability
Business Enterprise Centres
General small business support — available to social enterprises.
Department of Social Services
Social Ventures Australia
Government-partnered social investment.
State social enterprise programmes
The Paul Ramsay Foundation
Systems change including social enterprise.
Social Ventures Australia (SVA)
Major social enterprise development organisation:
- Consulting to social enterprises
- Social impact measurement
- Impact investment readiness
The NAB Foundation
Social enterprise development.
ANZ Foundation
Social enterprise capacity building.
Impact Investing Australia
Developing the impact investment market.
The Kilfinan Group
Pro bono executive mentoring for social enterprises.
STREAT
Social enterprise (hospitality training) and social enterprise advocacy.
Incubation and accelerators
Capacity building
Impact measurement
Impact investment readiness
Market development
Sector development
Work integration
Cooperative development
Rural social enterprise
The NDIS has fundamentally transformed the disability service sector — from grant-dependent charities to trading service providers. Many disability organisations are now social enterprises:
- Revenue from NDIS participant plans
- Market competition with for-profit providers
- Need for business skills alongside disability expertise
This shift has forced the sector to develop commercial capabilities — creating both opportunity and challenge.
Trading model clarity
Grant funding for social enterprise should support organisations on the path to revenue sustainability — not perpetuate grant dependency. Applications with a clear theory of how grants enable them to reach trading viability are more credible.
Employment outcomes
Work integration social enterprises that create employment for disadvantaged people have a clear, measurable social outcome. Applications with strong employment outcome data are compelling.
Market development
Individual social enterprise capacity is important, but market development — making it easier for all social enterprises to access procurement, impact investment, and market recognition — has more systemic impact.
Ecosystem approach
The strongest social enterprise funding strategies invest across the ecosystem: incubators for early-stage, capacity building for growing enterprises, investment vehicles for scaling, and sector advocacy.
Tahua's grants management platform supports social enterprise funders and social impact organisations — with enterprise performance tracking, social outcome measurement, investment readiness data, and the reporting tools that help social enterprise funders demonstrate their investment in Australian business with purpose.