Soft launch of new research findings into philanthropy’s role in funding the social enterprise ecosystem
Over the past two decades, philanthropic funding has played a catalytic role in shaping Australia’s social enterprise ecosystem. With growing government interest and a refreshed national strategy led by Social Enterprise Australia, the sector is at a pivotal moment.
This session is the official soft launch of “Shaping & Fuelling Change – The role & practices of philanthropy in the social enterprise ecosystem in Australia”. Drawing on extensive sector engagement, the report is the first to track how philanthropy and other actors have funded and supported the ecosystem’s development over many years. Its insights highlight the diverse roles philanthropy can play and offer guidance on adopting a stronger ecosystem lens to unlock greater impact.
Research lead May Miller-Dawkins will share key findings and recommendations, followed by a Q&A with funders — the Siddle Family Foundation, English Family Foundation and Westpac Foundation.
We will also hear from Jess Moore CEO of Social Enterprise Australia on the latest developments in the national strategy which kicked off in October 2025.
Online event
Details will be provided after the registration is submitted.
Date and time
Thursday 12 March 2026
12:00pm - 1:00pm AEDT (ACT, NSW, VIC)
11:30am - 12:30pm ACDT (SA)
11:00am - 12:00pm AEST (QLD)
10:30am - 11:30am ACST (NT)
9:00am - 10:00am AWST (WA)
Audience
This session is for Philanthropy Australia Social Enterprise Funders Network members. We welcome other funder members at the New Gen,Engage (individual/organisation) or Impact membership tier who are interested in funding social enterprises.
If you are already a funder member of Philanthropy Australia, register through this page or reach out programs@philanthropy.org.au to sign up to this funders group.
Not yet a Philanthropy Australia member? Please email membership@philanthropy.org.au.
Note
Presenters will share their thoughts and views in conversation but will not offer any financial advice.
Speakers
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Jess Moore - CEO, Social Enterprise Australia (SEA)
Jess Moore is coordinating a national strategy to unlock the power of social enterprise. It is a sector-led roadmap, so that the efforts and energy of diverse people and organisations can align to make big change possible. In late October 2025, they kicked off a six-month process to strengthen the strategy. Jess will talk about learnings and direction for the national strategy, and the ask of philanthropic organisations.
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May Miller Dawkins
May has over 20 years experience working with community groups, social enterprises, for-purpose organisations, coalitions and social movements to support and understand effective and long-term social change efforts and build collective leadership capability. She is a highly skilled facilitator of catalytic discussions that identify pathways to impact and of action learning amongst leaders within or across sectors.
May is an Adjunct Senior Lecturer at the UNSW and a Fellow of the Centre for Policy Development. She holds a BA (Hons – Politics and International Relations) and LLB from UNSW and an LLM (Legal Theory) from NYU.
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Peer Network Co-chairs
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Belinda Morrissey - Chief Executive Officer, English Family Foundation
Belinda Morrissey is passionate about how we collectively build forward just, sustainable and inclusive economies. She is the CEO of the English Family Foundation, one of the few Australian foundations with a sole focus on driving transformational change through the growth and development of social entrepreneurs and social businesses.
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With deep experience within the Australian social enterprise sector and an extensive leadership background in both corporate and not for profit organisations spanning three continents, Belinda works across sectors to develop systems-based solutions that will mobilize capital and the ecosystems needed to create long term social change both within Australia and globally.
She is the Deputy Chair of Social Enterprise Australia, the national peak body for social enterprise in Australia, and is Co-Chair/Founder of the Social Enterprise Funders Network within Philanthropy Australia. In her personal capacity, she is also Chair of ActionAid Australia.
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Sally McGeoch - Senior Advisor, Westpac Foundation
Sally is a senior advisor at Westpac Foundation, a philanthropic organisation, independent from Westpac Group. Sally works on the design and delivery of grant and capacity building programs for community organisations and social enterprises that create jobs and employment opportunities for Australians facing complex barriers to work.
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Sally has worked at the intersection of philanthropy, business and social enterprise for close to 16 years and is a founding member of The Bread & Butter Project. She is also currently undertaking a practice-based PhD at the Centre for Social Impact Swinburne on the role of cross-sector collaboration in supporting Work Integration Social Enterprises (WISE) to scale.
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Peer Network Lead
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Brianna Kerr - Director, Knowledge and Practice, Philanthropy Australia
Brianna (Bri) Kerr is a social entrepreneur, academic, facilitator and consultant, with a decade of experience turning insight into action, knowledge into practice.
After an array of early career experiences in international development – spanning work in Papua New Guinea, India, Malawi and Indonesia – Bri co-founded social enterprise Kua – an organisation dedicated to improving the livelihoods of smallholder coffee farmers in Uganda.
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When Kua was acquired by Commonfolk, Bri stepped into the higher education space – developing and delivering social impact and sustainability courses at the Centre for Social Impact UNSW and Monash Business School.
In recent years, Bri has consulted for a range of for-purpose organisations, both independently and in partnership with Pale Blue. Notably, in 2025, she managed the She Gives National Research Project – the largest mixed-methods study into women’s giving ever undertaken in Australia.
Bri holds a Bachelor of Arts from UNSW (Distinction) and a Master of Human Rights from the University of Sydney, where she studied as a distinguished Westpac Future Leaders Scholar.
Alongside her role at Philanthropy Australia, Bri is the doting Founder of Five Bucks and an eager Non-Executive Director of Think Forward.
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