Social entrepreneurs are set to take centre stage at Parramatta Town Hall with a full-day program of events in celebration of World Social Enterprise Day on 20 November.
Pitch for Good, Parramatta’s version of ‘Shark Tank’, will return for its seventh year, with six passionate organisations given the opportunity to pitch and raise funds for their projects.
The program also includes a sustainable procurement business expo featuring 25 social enterprises and First Nations organisations, a civic wealth creation forum with UNSW’s Centre for Social Impact, and a social enterprise 101 workshop with StartSomeGood. These events are free to attend.
City of Parramatta Lord Mayor Cr Martin Zaiter said this year’s program has expanded beyond the annual crowdfunding event to include networking and educational activities to support purpose-driven projects and empower locals to make a positive impact.
“We’re evolving into a global City and events like these help bring to light the social, cultural and environmental initiatives that help everyone in our community thrive,” Cr Zaiter said.
“Our annual Pitch for Good event is our commitment to social investment and community-led change in Parramatta. You get to decide which project you want to support and Council will help boost this by matching donations made from ticket sales.”
Pitch for Good is a Council initiative, delivered in partnership with StartSomeGood and Gateway Bank.
StartSomeGood Co-Founder and Entrepreneur in Residence Tom Dawkins said he was proud of the longstanding partnership with City of Parramatta and the growing impact it has enabled in the community.
“We’ve selected a fantastic group of local social enterprises to pitch at this year’s event, representing a wide variety of impact themes’, Mr Dawkins said.
“These social entrepreneurs have put a lot of time and effort into their campaigns, and now is the community’s chance to get behind the causes they care about most.”
World Social Enterprise Day Parramatta program
The following activities and events will be held at Parramatta Town Hall on 20 November:
- The Sustainable Procurement Business Expo (8.30-10am) – free, registration essential
- Making Social Value Visible Forum with UNSW (12.30-2.30pm) – free, registration essential
- Introduction to the Social Enterprise Formula workshop (4-5pm) – free, registration essential
- Pitch for Good (6-9pm) – $30 per ticket, includes a meal and three voting tokens
To book tickets or for more information, visit Council’s website.
