We’re happy to share that TAT’s annual flagship ‘Social Impact Day’ was truly an influential impact night here in Sydney. 

The theme for the event was: “Community First, Profits Next“, wherein the Keynote of ‘The Real Impact story’ was shared by Virgina Bruce, followed by enriching discussions: a fireside chat with Australian RedCross, panel discussions with Palmera, GiveEasy & ICC T20 Cricket World Cup – where each of the businesses shared their impact story. 

Guest Speakers: Virginia Bruce, Jeremy Tobias, Abarna Raj, Nicholas Winfrey, Tristan Shaw, Vijay Kesha

World-Cafe discussions continued with each guest speaker moving around to groups discussing the Social Impact theme in detail, and here are some of the ‘Reflections’:

• To create sustainable, long lasting impact: thinking ‘community first’ should be an integral part of a planning and strategy.
• Different forms of capital can help solve different types of social challenges.
• There is a place for philanthropy, social investment and mainstream in capital markets. 
• The main thing is to keep capital flowing to help create a world where no one is left out.
• No organisation can do it all alone; the need for collaboration is painfully evident. What is gratifying is: there is recognition of this and more goodwill than ever before to work collaboratively, by capitalizing on our respective strengths to achieve outcomes for the people in need.
• There does not need to be a separation between doing good and doing good business.
• No single solution or template will work in every situation. Creating bespoke solutions is the key; whether that be supply chain solutions, NFP, corporate partnerships or fund-raising strategies.
• Building wealth and creating social impact can work side by side to create a better future.
• Partnerships and like-minded organisations working together fast tracks social impact.
• Test social ideas and concepts at a small scale to make sure they are making the desired impact. Failure is scary, but charities, funders and donors need to learn that failure is just part of the course of the new big idea.
• In regards to the current growth trajectory of women’s sport in our communities, it was agreed amongst all the attendees that there is a significant amount of support building both globally and locally. Everyone plays an important part to be an ambassador for this change, and help generate a conversation to bring as many people into the conversation as possible, and showcase the amazing stories of the women who play the sport. 
• Frugal innovation & ability to be a life long student and learn from the community helps us build our organisations with humility and flexibility.

Further pointers covered how:

• People loved the evening: being able to discuss and hear about different areas of social impact. The diversity was really positive.
• There was a strong interest in bringing social impact into businesses, and what that means from a structure and governance point of view, versus being a not for profit or charity. 
• It was great to hear how others are creating social impact; there was a common consensus around sharing, collaborating and the importance of shared value partnerships.

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Following our Social Impact event at Sydney, we continued TAT’s flagship event at Melbourne on 27 March 2019 due to popular demand. 

This event too was certainly a great success based on the energy and discussions throughout the night. 

The theme continued to be: “Community First, Profits Next“, wherein each of the businesses shared their impact story.  

Guest Speakers:  Jitto Arulampalam, Hayley Bolding OAM, Joanna White, Dhruv Saxena, Justin McLean

Here are some of the ‘Reflections’:

• There is a need for greater conversations and dialogue around impact investing, social enterprises and philanthropy in corporate Australia 
• Unconditional ‘Reciprocity’ breaks the intersectionality and helps cohesive thinking 
• Wealth creation and Social impact are not mutually exclusive 
• We need to connect more, be open to share and generate more interest in this space 
• A conversation through such forums build greater capacity, understand professional diversity across cultures, and helps us as a country to enhance our shared value ecosystem