Skip to main content

                    Social Enterprise Grant recipients

                    People presenting at  Melbourne Conversations event: The Future of Social Enterprise.
                    View our most recent recipients of the Social Enterprise Grants, featuring a diversity of ideas and innovations.

                    ​​​​​Social Enterprise Grant recipients ​2023

                    Congratulations to the 2023 grant recipients.

                    Open stream​

                    • Kinaway/ KIN-Fashion
                      KIN Fashion will take up residence at Koorie Heritage Trust in Fed Square to promote and sell a Curated Collection of digitally printed 'Item Jackets'​ cut in quality textiles designed by First Nation Artists, as rentable high-end fashion.
                    • For Change Co.
                      For Change Co. exists to support young people out of the cycle of homelessness through employment and training in coffee making.
                    • Villa Maria Catholic Homes
                      Establishing a hospitality cafe in East Melbourne providing work opportunities for people with disability to gain purposeful paid employment, training, and work readiness.
                    • The Nicholas Building
                      For more than 40 years The Nicholas Building’s iconic art deco edifice situated in the heart of Melbourne has housed every sector of the creative industries. 
                    • Recova Wear
                      Recova Wear is working with the Parkville medical precinct to help to provide dignified and appropriate apparel for customers managing long term injury.
                    • The Little Social
                      The Little Social is a social enterprise café of Youth Projects. Its revenue directly tackles underemployment for youth experiencing homelessness in Melbourne.

                    Circular Economy recipients

                    • City Compost Network
                      City Composting Network supports local communities to establish composting/food waste recycling systems on an individual and community level.
                    • Wholefoods Unwrapped
                      Wholefoods Unwrapped reduces single-use packaging through the distribution of ethical wholefoods in reusable bulk containers to suppliers, and stainless steel containers to customers. Since inception in 2021, it has diverted 14.5 tonnes of waste from landfill using these practices.
                    • Hanlen Australia
                      Hanlen Australia encourages customers to continue using their existing glasses frames and only replace them if their eye prescription changes, at an affordable price. It uses HOYA frame machines to cut new lenses to customers’ existing frames.
                    • Brainwave Australia
                      Brainwave Bikes receives, refurbishes and retails used bikes and donates bikes to low income and CALD families. It does this to reduce landfill and provide affordable bikes for families. It also enables young people living with disabilities to transition to mainstream employment through structured work experience and accredited training.

                    Social Enterprise City Impact G​rant recipients 2021-22

                    Startup and Expansion recipients

                    • DivTal
                      DivTal creates an online jobs board for Black, Indigenous, People of Colour (BIPOC) job candidates accessible to Australian organisations.
                    • Kinaway
                      Kinaway is the official Victorian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Chamber of Commerce. The First People's Fashion and Textiles program titled - KIN Fashion provides local product development and production opportunities for First Peoples in the fashion sector.
                    • Small Fires Publishing Pty Ltd
                      Small Fires publish multicultural and multilingual books and toys. By partnering with creatives and translators from different cultural backgrounds, they create space for underrepresented people in education and publishing.
                    • The Centre: Connecting Community in North and West Melbourne
                      The Centre: Connecting Community in North and West Melbourne aims to localise ready-to-eat food delivery with its "Local Eats" program.
                    • ArtsPay Pty Ltd
                      ArtsPay seek to establish a permanent, sustainable source of funding for the arts with an innovative payment solution by directing payment fees from every customer to the ArtsPay Foundation.
                    • Multicultural Minds
                      A City of Melbourne based enterprise, Multicultural Minds provides an accessible platform to support and connect people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds experiencing mental health challenges.  
                    • Aubot
                      A City of Melbourne based enterprise, Aubot teaches kids aged 5-17 computer science skills like coding, through an online platform and in-person through collaborations with other companies and events for students.  
                    • Linkmate
                      Linkmate offers a peer-to-peer social network for individuals seeking emotional support and community connection due to loneliness.
                    • VCPS Pty Ltd
                      VCPS  is establishing a dedicated clinic to treat the increasing number of adults suffering from ADHD due to COVID-19.
                    • San Marco in Lamis Social Co-Operative Club Limited
                      A City of Melbourne based enterprise plans to reinvigorate their community-based club through improvement to their online presence while creating new events and initiatives to retain connections and introduce Italian heritage and culture to new audiences. 
                    • Local Transit Pty Ltd
                      Local Transit provides accessible and consistent transportation solutions for mobility-restricted clients. They plan to integrate a digital platform to build their clientele base, increase visitation to the city and improve the overall customer journey. 

                    Circular Economy recipients

                    • Rollup recycling
                      Recycling carpet into new products whilst aiming to reduce the volume of carpet waste that fills council landfills. They also provide recyclable plastic materials to local universities to support waste and recycling productisation programs
                    • Kelland Environmental Technologies
                      Enterprise recycles nappies into cat litter with a tested viable waste collection and recycling process available to customers in the City of Melbourne and the wider metro area. 
                    • Farmwall
                      Farmwall offers high-tech, hands-on learning tools for schools and educators to offer project-based learning to students of all abilities, instructing them about sustainability, closed-loop practices, environmentally conscious farming and food security.
                    • City Compost Network
                      A City of Melbourne based organisation focused on providing composting education for apartment dwellers. 
                    • Coffee Service Solutions
                      A CoM-based social enterprise providing zero waste coffee machine rental and bean supply/collection. 
                    • Billy Bubbles
                      Long-lasting soda bottles made from locally sourced recyclable materials. Billy Bubbles provides a circular service to CoM residents and businesses with zero waste and encourages their community of customers to repair/reuse rather than discard. 
                    • Reground
                      Social enterprise provides waste collection services to the hospitality sector, retailers and offices diverting coffee waste products and soft plastics from landfill. 
                    • Precious Plastic Melbourne
                      A community-focused recycling workspace manufacturing products from 100% locally sourced plastic waste. 
                    • STEM Sisters
                      A City of Melbourne based social enterprise connecting migrant women with reused business clothing through new Be You program.

                    Circular Economy Measurement and Reporting Training course recipients

                    • RNTR.
                      Fashion rental platform and logistics service 
                    • Sustainable Stripout
                      A City of Melbourne based enterprise diverting office fit-out waste from landfill and donating second-hand items and profits to charitable organisations. 
                    • Fruit2Work
                      Corporate food delivery service, eliminating food and packaging waste whilst providing employment opportunities for marginalised groups.  
                    • AV Help
                      A City of Melbourne based electronics repair and e-waste recycling service with a focus on education for businesses to avoid and reduce waste. 
                    • Open Table
                      Provides access to healthy food for people experiencing food insecurity and runs workshops that aim to inspire people on their journey to reducing food waste.
                      Was this page helpful?

                      If you'd like to give more feedback or ask a question, please contact us.