SVA's Role - The Importance of Connection 

The difference between a merely prosperous society and a truly great one lies in the strength of its non-profit sector – often referred to as the ‘social’, ‘third’ or ’community’ sector. With a strong social sector, we have within our grasp the means and opportunity to create the truly great Australia that we want for ourselves, our families and our neighbours. But this goal will only be accomplished if all sectors – business, non-profit and government – work together in new ways.

Awakening a nation

Many people believe that the responsibility for addressing social problems lies with government. However, the complexity of most societal problems calls for more than one response; more than one solution.

Australia’s intractable social issues can’t be addressed by government alone, which may be too risk averse and removed from everyday challenges to create and foster innovative solutions. Yet, the role of government is essential in stimulating and enabling social sector growth and in leveraging public resources.

Real, sustainable change requires all sectors to band together to create new partnerships that draw on each other’s unique strengths and capabilities.

Nurturing the entrepreneurial spirit

In any part of society the role of the entrepreneur is vital. The entrepreneur is the provider of new ideas, the experimenter, the person who looks at things differently, the change agent. As in the business sector, entrepreneurs can also be found in the non-profit sector, where they are called  ‘social entrepreneurs’.

Social entrepreneurs tackle society’s most pressing problems with innovative solutions aimed at the root cause, not the symptom. They are ambitious, persistent and committed to wide-scale change.

But the potential of social entrepreneurs is largely untapped in our community.

Investing in social change

To reach their full potential, social entrepreneurs require the right resources: capacity funding, management disciplines, the best people, strategic planning, cross-sector partnerships, mentoring and encouragement.

Unfortunately, the current environment does not provide social entrepreneurs with the support they need to build effective and robust organisations that can grow, scale and replicate their programs – organisations that can achieve sustainable social change.

Working together

Government and philanthropists - individuals, private foundations and corporations - need to be part of the entrepreneurial network, providing capital and support to help build resilient organisations that deliver results.

However, to be most effective philanthropists have to be engaged. They need to have a purpose and role greater than merely writing cheques.

They must understand the urgency of the issues and feel confident that they are making a difference. Philanthropists have a right to demand accountability, and they need to share a sense of what’s possible from the evidence of what works.

They must be connected. This is the role of SVA.