Australia’s social economy collaboration infrastructure.
Impact Report
2024 - 2026
Stories, connections, and impact from a movement for good.
Social Enterprise
✳︎
B Corp
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Place-based
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Charity
✳︎
CSR & ESG
✳︎
NGO
✳︎
First Nations
✳︎
Co-op
✳︎
Academy
✳︎
Philanthropy
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Sustainability
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Social Enterprise ✳︎ B Corp ✳︎ Place-based ✳︎ Charity ✳︎ CSR & ESG ✳︎ NGO ✳︎ First Nations ✳︎ Co-op ✳︎ Academy ✳︎ Philanthropy ✳︎ Sustainability ✳︎
Acknowledgment
Business For Good Network (BFGN) acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we operate - the Turrbal and Jagera people - and pay our respects to Elders past and present. We extend our acknowledgement to other lands we commonly work on, including Gubbi Gubbi, Yugambeh, Bundjalung, Gadigal, Cammaraigal and Wurundjeri Countries, as well as all other First Nations people.
Photography: Bundjalung Elder, Mark Cora, leads a session at the Reignite Impact Leaders Retreat 2024.
Explore the Impact Report
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A Story Of Collective Action
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Over the past years, the BFGN has grown from an idea, designed directly in response to a variety of problems, into a thriving, independent initiative that’s growing the business for good movement.
What started as a behind-the-scenes project is now a living example of what’s possible when we put collaboration before competition.
We are incredibly grateful to the partner organisations who have come on this journey with us.
You’ve brought bold ideas, deep care, and a genuine commitment to working together across sectors.
Because of your belief and leadership, we’re now building a shared space where silos begin to break down, where insights flow, and where the impact sector starts to feel more like a connected movement and community.
At a time when changemakers are often overwhelmed, isolated, or close to burnout, the value of peer support and community can’t be overstated. The BFGN is helping to create those points of connection; places where people feel seen, supported, and ready to keep going.
Every act of collaboration shapes the whole. That’s collective power.
The generosity, energy, and willingness to co-create this network by the BFGN Partners and collaborators, have shaped everything that follows in this report.
Thank you for being part of it.
Tom Allen
Founder | CEO at BFGN
There’s something powerful happening when you bring together changemakers from all walks of life.
Over the past year, we’ve seen that energy come alive across the BFGN.
Communities on the platform are growing, connecting, and learning from one another. We’re seeing cross-pollination between partners, shared ideas, shared events, shared purpose.
It’s a joy to see new relationships forming and new voices contributing to the movement. From regional hubs to national networks, the BFGN is becoming a place where diverse efforts align and strengthen each other.
We’ve also been blown away by the wisdom flowing across the network. Through webinars, panel discussions, workshops, and informal moments of exchange, partners have generously shared tools, insights, and lived experience that benefit us all.
Community building isn’t always easy. It takes patience, creativity, and a lot of care.
But working alongside the incredible people leading these spaces, learning together, testing ideas, building momentum, has been one of the most rewarding parts of this journey.
The power of this network lies in how generously people share what they know and who they are.
This past year has reminded us that communities are built through shared effort and consistent care. What we’re seeing in the BFGN is the early shape of something powerful: a network of people showing up with purpose, sharing what they know, and helping each other grow. It’s not always easy, but we have experienced the outcomes. And I can say with conviction: it’s worth the effort.
We look forward to continuing this journey with those who believe in the strength of community and the value of building together the business for good movement.
Javier Casanova
COO at BFGN
The Problem and Vision
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The Problem
A disconnected, scattered and siloed business for good ecosystem that holds back change and struggles to address changemaker burnout.
Across Australia and beyond, changemakers are working towards a fairer, more sustainable and more inclusive economy. But the ecosystem remains too fragmented to turn shared purpose into shared progress.
Social enterprises, B Corps, charities, First Nations businesses, co-operatives, CSR teams, ESG professionals, philanthropists, academics, community-led organisations and impact investors are often working on connected problems from separate rooms.
Each brings different strengths, resources and ways of working, but too often they remain in their own circles and echo chambers.
Beyond these labels, countless local leaders and community builders are creating real impact without necessarily calling themselves changemakers or purpose-led leaders. They simply see a problem in their community and decide to act.
This fragmentation has consequences. Leaders burn out. Community builders are stretched. Regional changemakers face extra barriers. Duplication is extremely inefficient. And opportunities for collaboration are missed, especially when one part of the ecosystem holds the ideas and lived experience, while another holds the resources, structure or influence.
The business for good ecosystem is not short on passion, ideas or local action. It is short on connective tissue and collaboration.
To make business for good the norm, we need to move beyond rigid labels, echo chambers and “us versus them” thinking.
We need more crossovers, more collaboration and more shared momentum.
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Purpose-driven leaders are burning out and feel alone.
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Communities operate in silos, without shared tools or language.
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Community builders lack resources, capacity, and peer support.
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Regional changemakers face infrastructure and support gaps.
The Vision
Imagine a world where...
...business for good is the norm. People come together around a shared purpose to help solve the most pressing challenges facing our communities, society and planet.
Every individual has a role to play, whether they are working in a corporation, social enterprise, charity, First Nations business, local community, government, philanthropy, academia or any other space.
But they are no longer working in isolation.
They are part of a buzzing, diverse and well-connected ecosystem of supportive changemakers,
... relationships, resources, ideas and opportunities flow across sectors and places.
Purpose-driven leaders feel connected, supported and equipped to sustain their work, look after themselves and care for others.
The gap between grassroots local impact and impact at scale becomes smaller, as local wisdom, lived experience, resources and collaboration move through the ecosystem.
Together, we create the conditions for meaningful, collective and lasting change.
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Purpose-driven leaders find their tribe and care for each others’ wellbeing.
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Communities cross-pollinate & collaborate for collective impact.
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Community builders help each other build thriving communities.
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Regional changemakers are connected to the broader ecosystem.
We are each other's harvest; we are each other's business; we are each other's magnitude and bond.
– Extract of Paul Robeson, poem by Gwendolyn Brooks
A Reflection…
Are mainstream social media platforms hindering progress in the business for good space?
We open our phones looking for connection, inspiration or a useful idea. Yet too often, we find ourselves navigating an endless stream of noise.
Carefully curated identities blur the line between authenticity and performance, while individuals and organisations compete for attention in spaces designed to reward visibility over value.
Meaningful conversations are compressed into quick reactions, complex issues become polarised, and concerns around data privacy quietly sit beneath every interaction.
These platforms may connect us to more people, but do they help us feel genuinely connected?
For those working towards social and environmental change, this matters.
Clickbait, constant notifications and algorithms built to keep us scrolling can overwhelm us with information while pulling our focus away from the work that needs it most.
They shorten our attention, drain our energy and make thoughtful exchange increasingly difficult. In spaces where trust, collaboration and honest debate are essential, mainstream social media rarely feels safe enough for vulnerability or deep enough to create belonging.
We may be surrounded by content and contacts, yet still feel isolated.
It invites an important question: are the platforms we rely on to advance change actually making it harder to build the relationships, communities and collective momentum that change requires?
The Solution
Connective tissue backed by the digital infrastructure to build a healthy, accessible, silo-breaking, business for good ecosystem that enables deep collaboration and catalyses collective change.
The BFGN is an all-in-one digital platform and growing community of communities, designed to reduce fragmentation and unlock collaboration across Australia’s impact sector.
At its core, BFGN is a shared space for purpose-led ecosystem-builders to collectively build the business for good sector.
It’s more than just a tool, it’s connective tech infrastructure for a movement that has long been siloed, under-resourced, and stretched thin.
BFGN offers partners a powerful mix of functionality and community.
On one side, it provides the tech backbone: a custom-built platform with shared rooms, event tools, directories, resource hubs, and integrated communications.
On the other, it nurtures the human side of impact, building relationships, peer support, and a shared sense of momentum among changemakers and community leaders across the country.
Through tailored onboarding, co-designed engagement strategies, and a strong culture of mutual learning, the BFGN empowers communities, peak bodies, intermediaries and other member-based organisations to activate and sustain their own spaces within the broader network.
We provide an all-in-one platform connecting impact-driven communities and changemakers to support each other and upskill.
Collaboration & Connection Features
Our Approach
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Learning Management System
Events & Workshops Listing
Opportunities & Grants Curation
BFGN’s Theory Of Change
Our Manifesto
Our Journey
The Business For Good Network at a Glance
Our Network
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A Growing Community Of Changemakers
So far, the BFGN Partners have brought together 1,493 changemakers from across Australia and beyond, all connected through one shared platform.
We are building a national ecosystem that reflects the diversity, geography, and energy of the business for good movement.
From big cities to remote regions, changemakers are finding their place and connecting with others who share their purpose.
Our approach is intentionally place-based, designed to bridge silos, reduce isolation, and create real opportunities for collaboration across communities and sectors.
The momentum is growing, and we know this is only the beginning. As more partners contribute to this initiative and more communities come online, we see a future where the BFGN becomes the backbone of a global impact network.
Who is a typical BFGN Member?
The average BFGN Member is an Australian woman in her mid to late 30's who’s the founder of a purpose-driven enterprise.
The male/female distribution is an estimate. We acknowledge that some people may prefer not to disclose their gender or may identify outside this binary.
~16%
~4%
~8%
~9%
Social enterprise founders
& professionals
Place-based and First Nations impact
~63%
Corporate CSR and ESG
Charity and nonprofit professionals
Government, academia and philanthropy
BFGN Partners
(2024-2026)
BFGN Partners are the driving force behind the network.
Since launch, 21 Community Partners and 9 Collaborating Partners have contributed to building the BFGN, creating a more connected, collaborative and resilient impact ecosystem.
Each partner contributes to the movement while strengthening their own community.
By sharing tools, insight and leadership, they help build the infrastructure needed to make business for good the norm.
Together, BFGN Partners:
Support each other through cross-community collaboration
Grow the broader network for the benefit of all changemakers
Co-create content, courses and resources for purpose-led leaders
From cities to regional and remote areas, BFGN Partners are creating the conditions for changemakers to thrive.
We know this is just the beginning.
Meaningful collaboration takes time, trust, and a willingness to do the work together.
At the BFGN, we are committed to learning as we go. Every new partner brings insight and energy, moving us closer to a future where collective action is how change gets done.
Co-host local events that build connection and visibility
Run webinars and learning sessions that amplify impact
Shape the BFGN platform by contributing feedback and ideas
Walking The Talk
The BFGN is equitable, inclusive, and a proudly certified social enterprise.
For the BFGN to genuinely reflect the breadth of Australia’s impact ecosystem, access must extend beyond organisations with established teams, funding and digital infrastructure.
Small, community-led initiatives, First Nations organisations, and groups working across regional and rural Australia bring essential knowledge, relationships and lived experience to the movement.
Yet they are often the least resourced to invest in the platforms, tools and learning environments that help communities connect, collaborate and grow.
To help close this gap, we provide pro-bono and low-bono access to values-aligned organisations that may not otherwise be able to host and support their communities online.
This allows them to become part of the BFGN ecosystem on the same footing as any other partner, with access to the same opportunities for connection, learning and collaboration.
By reducing financial barriers, we are working towards a network that is not only diverse in principle, but inclusive and representative in practice.
Our Impact
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Supporting Those
Who Support Others
BFGN empowers under-resourced communities of practice by making knowledge, tools and network infrastructure more accessible.
$20,892
Value in webinar access provided
“BFGN empowers under-resourced communities of practice by making knowledge, tools and network infrastructure more accessible.”
Erfan Daliri
Founding Director, Newkind Conference
$109,773
Pro-bono and low-bono access for
under-resourced CoPs
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Our Impact:
Wellbeing
Retreats
For Impact Leaders
A total of 266 participants. Co-organised with:
with a total of 42 attendees.
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Wellbeing
Online Sessions
Enhanced wellbeing and feeling of belonging.
Note: In 2026-27 we are improving our impact measurement framework to ensure we are better tracking outcomes to measure impact in tackling loneliness and wellbeing among changemakers.
Our Impact:
Community Building
20k+
Private Chat
Messages
sent between members (2024 - 2026)
8k+
Posts & Comments on Feeds
across private and public rooms
(2024 - 2026)
19
Online Speed Networking Events
Hosted by:
7
In-person Networking Events
Alongside partners
Our Impact:
Community Building
“The BFGN is a central element of Tomorrow Makers. It supports connections not only between cohorts, but also with the broader ecosystem, helping founders continue to learn, collaborate and grow their impact beyond the program”
Lucy Watson
Program Manager, AMP Foundation
Since 2024, AMP Foundation has delivered six cohort-based programs on the BFGN platform, including three SPARK and three IGNITE cohorts.
Each group has had its own private space to share ideas, celebrate milestones, ask for support and access everything they need throughout the program.
Their community experience continues beyond the formal program. Through the Tomorrow Makers Alumni community and the wider Changemaker Hub, participants can stay connected, build relationships across cohorts and engage with Australia’s broader business-for-good ecosystem.
This reflects how we approach community building across the BFGN.
We create the digital infrastructure, shared spaces and opportunities that help community builders bring people together, strengthen peer support and sustain engagement over time.
Our goal is to move from community builders operating with limited resources, capacity and support to a network where they can learn from one another and build thriving communities together.
We will continue supporting community builders like Lucy with practical tools, shared knowledge and connections that make community building more collaborative, effective and sustainable.
The data shows that we have strong representation of social enterprises, and people in other impact spaces are starting to flow-in. We will continue working to even the % of all the silos, ensuring a well represented, diverse, business for good ecosystem.
*This data is an estimate based on our data available on our platform analytics system.
Our Impact:
Breaking the silos
Our Impact:
Breaking the Silos
“For too long we’ve been operating in echo chambers. If we’re serious about taking business for good mainstream we need to bridge the different movements. And that’s exactly what BFGN is doing.”
Luke Faccini
Founder, GoodNorth
Breaking down silos is not always comfortable. It can challenge familiar ways of working, established identities and the spaces where people feel most understood.
But if we want to build a stronger business-for-good ecosystem, we need to move beyond echo chambers and create more opportunities for different parts of the sector to learn from one another.
Every piece of the puzzle matters. Social enterprises, B Corps, charities, First Nations businesses, community-led organisations, CSR/ESG teams, philanthropists, academics and impact professionals all bring different perspectives, resources, networks and approaches. No single group can create the future we want on its own.
Real progress depends on connecting these strengths, making knowledge easier to share and creating the conditions for new partnerships and solutions to emerge.
Many of our current members and partners operate within the social enterprise space, and we recognise that there is still significant work to do to engage more communities from areas such as corporate social responsibility, B Corp, philanthropy and the charity sector. Building a truly representative network will take time, trust and intentional outreach.
We are already seeing the value of looking beyond labels. By opening up the reach of the work changemakers are leading in their own sectors, we are helping ideas travel further, connecting people who may not otherwise meet and creating a richer ecosystem shaped by diverse perspectives. Over time, we believe this diversity will become one of the BFGN’s greatest strengths.
Our Impact:
Connecting The Regions
“Regional leaders in our Fairley Leadership Program now feel more connected to Australia’s business-for-good ecosystem, with more opportunities and a stronger sense of belonging.”
Jesse Mitchell
Executive Officer, Goulburn Murray Community Leadership
Geography should not determine whether changemakers can access the relationships, knowledge and opportunities they need.
Yet regional and rural leaders often face limited infrastructure, fewer support services and less access to networks concentrated in major cities.
Since 2024, the BFGN has worked to connect regional changemakers with Australia’s broader business-for-good ecosystem.
Through partnerships with organisations such as Ready Communities, Social Impact in the Regions,
and the Australian Centre for Rural Entrepreneurship (ACRE), we are helping leaders expand their networks, access new opportunities and feel part of a wider national movement.
There is still work to do. Many people creating meaningful local impact do not use terms such as social enterprise or business for good, and may not identify as changemakers at all.
Alongside our partners, we will continue finding better ways to identify, reach and welcome these leaders at scale, while ensuring regional knowledge, experience and perspectives are represented across the national ecosystem.
BFGN Partners & Stakeholders
Our impact was possible thanks to:
Creating Value Together
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Learning Together Through Shared Knowledge
The BFGN Webinar Series, brings changemakers together to share knowledge, grow skills and expand collective impact.
48
Webinars
107
Speakers
1741
Attendees
Unlocking Opportunities for Changemakers
In the Prime Opportunities section on the BFGN Platform we curate a selection of the best opportunities for purpose-driven leaders. Members have reported directly that this has led to successful grant outcomes.
211
Opportunities Listed
79 Funding Opportunities
60 Awards & Competitions
17 Exposure Opportunities
55 Programs & Fellowships
Collaboration to Boost Efficiency
“I think we all know that success is always about partnerships and connections.
Things that are done brilliantly and are ultimately successful are never done by just one individual or one organisation.
We’re proud to partner with the BFGN.”
Nicola Stokes
CEO, AMP Foundation
Collaboration to Boost Efficiency
Improving access to information, opportunities and participation for purpose-driven leaders.
Navigating Funding
Opportunities #1
We brought together Atlantic Fellows for Social Equity, Kenneth Myer Innovation Fellowships, Snow Entrepreneur Fellowships, and Westpac Social Change Fellowship, for the first ever collective briefing by four of Australia's fellowship programs for social entrepreneurs and purpose-driven leaders.
We gathered 555 people on the session.
Navigating Funding
Opportunities #2
After a first succesfull edition, we organised a second one. This time we brought together for the collective briefing Kenneth Myer Innovation Fellowships, Westpac Scholars Trust and Westpac Foundation and Atlantic Fellows for Social Equity.
We gathered 342 people on the session.
Strengthening Social Impact In Queensland
We organised a session for The Queensland Office of Social Impact for purpose-led leaders in QLD to provide their input on the draft roadmap via live Q&A. We gathered 71 people on the session.
AMP Foundation Information Session
We organised a session for the AMP Foundation to explain their 2026 -2030 strategy and vision for economic empowerment, and give detailed insights into the Tomorrow Makers program.
We gathered 143 people on the session.
In-Person Connection
Deep connection and strong community building can’t happen without the in-person component. That’s why we co-organise and support events to bring the ecosystem together and grow the movement.
We co-organised:
3
Social Impact
Bus Tours
in Brisbane
70 people each
We also supported:
7
Impact Leaders Retreats
266 people connecting
& prioritising wellbeing
Newkind Social Justice Conference (2024 & 2026)
AlterCOP (2025)
Social Traders Convene (2024, 2025 & 2026)
Social Impact In The Regions (2024, 2025 & 2026)
Queensland Philanthropy Week (2026)
Social Impact Summit (2025 & 2026)
Global Impact Summit (2026)
8
Networking
Drinks
808 people forming new collaborations
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We are focussed on progress over perfection and are proud of what we’ve collectively achieved so far.
There is lots of work to be done.
Here are our commitments moving ahead:
An enhanced impact measurement framework.
We acknowledge the need to develop the systems to gather stronger data that will allow us to effectively measure our outcomes for future reporting and to assess our success tackling the challenges presented in this report.
A strong focus on continuing to break the silos.
We are in the right direction and we want to double-down on onboarding new partners and changemakers in other spaces beyond social enterprise. We believe, overtime, that will be what will make this network a game-changer.
Listening, learning and delivering for the community.
We’ve put a lot of energy into delivering a great solution for community builders (BFGN Partners) so they can nurture their communities. We believe that’s working, and now it’s time to switch our focus into understanding in detail how we can make the BFGN something extremely useful and valuable for every changemaker in Australia. Alongside the community, we are commited to building the most relevant connective tissue and digital infrastructure for purpose-driven leaders in Australia.
More and more meaningful connection
In collaboration with our current and future partners and members, we will go beyond digital connection and organise more in-person gatherings to bring together changemakers from across all the different silos. We will generate new opportunities, synergies, and inspiration that wouldn’t be possible in a room with the usual suspects.
Looking Ahead
Together, we can create a world where business for good is business as usual.
