I am thrilled to advise that we have launched the  Greatest Good Australian Christmas Gift Guide. Over the last couple of months, we’ve been onboarding new members with a range of exciting products, as well as adding new products from existing members and having them allocate more stock for some of the product ranges that have run down. The result is that we now have the broadest range of products we’ve ever had to help you do your greatest good. The most pleasing part of all of this is that every product (or donation) you buy on Greatest Good supports an Australian social enterprise, B Corp, charity or not-for-profit. So not only do you get great gifts, you get to Shop Good, Gift Good, Do Good and Feel Good, as you support these for-purpose organisations do their greatest good.

So if you are looking to buy presents for family and friends, the office Kris Kringle, or provide corporate gifting to staff or clients, you can do this whilst staying aligned with your values. We know times are tough right now, but it doesn’t cost more to do good, with 85% of our range under $100. You can jump right on to our  Shop  and  Donate  pages, or if you are stuck for ideas and want some inspo, then check out the  Greatest Good Australian Christmas Gift Guide. We help you use the money you are already planning to spend on gifting to buy from organisations doing their greatest good, so it’s win/win/win/win – you get a great gift, you give a great gift, you support an organisation making positive social, environmental and community change, and the positive ripples of change flow out from there.

To be honest, this time of year always creates a moral dilemma for me. On the one hand, I really want you to support Greatest Good’s members by buying their products and helping them do more, have a greater impact, and make them less reliant on grants and donations. On the other hand, our key point of difference is that you choose your own impact journey by determining the impact areas and values that are important to you, finding the organisations creating impact in these areas, then you choose how to support them – via shopping, donating, attending courses and events, finding paid and volunteer jobs in the social sector, finding asks and offers, and a range of resources to help you do your greatest good. Everyone’s impact journey is different and we try to cater for each of you.

So, it’s really up to you to work out what doing your greatest good looks like to you. We know it’s hard, especially at this time of year to avoid all of the American sales our retailers seem to have adopted (trick or treat, anyone?). Over the coming month or so you will be inundated with Click Frenzy, Black Friday and Cyber Monday advertising on all forms of traditional and social media (I can’t help but wonder how long it will be before we are celebrating Thanksgiving and Columbus Day…). It’s easy to get FOMO when being bombarded by ads for things such as Black Friday (which started out as a day, but over the last few years morphed into a week, and now to over a month…). This creates your own moral dilemma as your brain gets hijacked by the ongoing onslaught of advertising (you can read the article I wrote on the impact this has on your brain). So, it’s over to you to decide if you want to support global behemoths with questionable employment and manufacturing processes or an Australian organisation making it a better world to be in (no pressure!).

Don’t forget to share your with feedback, thought, comments and suggestions with us, to help us to help you do your greatest good.

Jenni - Founder/Managing Director

Inspiration from our members

• It’s been a huge month for  Jam the Label. They joined  Melbourne Fashion Week  in the Closing Runway and a panel on the future of inclusive fashion. They have also announced that they are now a  registered NDIS provider. And if their name suddenly feels familiar, you might have seen them doing a deal on Shark Tank this week!
• Hotel Etico  have been announced as one of the 50 best hotels in Australia  recommended by Time Out  and were also featured on  Channel 9 's Our Way
• The 2024 Melbourne Awards for Community Impact highlight the individuals, projects, and organisations that make our city an inclusive, creative, and forward-thinking place to live and we’re thrilled that SisterWorks is a finalist! Plus the launch of their new  Dandenong Empowerment Hub  has been featured in the Dandenong Journal. If you’re not familiar with their work, discover the stories behind  SisterWorks’  achievements in their  Annual Report 2023-2024
• CuriousWorks  have welcomed thei r 2024-2025 Future Culture Cohort  onboard to help build a more relevant, sustainable and future-focussed arts culture – and if you’re in the area, don’t miss out on their  Open Door Days
• The  Dolphin Research Institute  are very proud to share that their  'i sea, i care'  program is a finalist in the 2024 Victorian Marine and Coastal Awards - and they are recruiting new schools for the 2025 program
• All of the Good Things  are celebrating the launch of their Fair Trade Gifts stall in Rozelle
• Melody Towns, CEO of  BeHers,  will be joining the hosts of th e Grace Lane Women's Event  for a day of empowerment, connection, and personal growth tailored to the needs of women
• October 14 was International E-Waste Day – which is celebrated by the  Reconnect Project  every single day of the year! You can help them by  donating your mobile devices,  visiting their repair workshop for affordable, quality  repair services  or financially supporting their work with a  tax-deductible donation.
• Kimchi Club recently won First and Second Prize in the Royal Adelaide Show for their locally and hand-made Kimchi

News and updates

For-purpose sector news

• Social Ventures Australia  has announced James Toomey  as their incoming CEO
• OpenAI, the organisation behind  ChatGPT,  has indicated that it will transform from a non-profit to a for-profit company in the next 2 years, so that it can become a Public Benefit Corporation and attain B Corp certification to ensure all stakeholders are considered. You can read  B Corp’s blog  on this as well

Opportunities to do your greatest good

You can find a range of both free and paid events for-purpose events from members and the broader purpose-driven community on our  Events/Courses page.  Here’s a few of the events we’ve added recently:

• Everything you’ll ever need for your online creative business and freelancers from  Creative Plus Business  including:  Creative’s Guide to Selling Online,  Creative’s Guide to Social Media,  The Freelance Five
• November is Social Enterprise Month and the Institute of Community Directors Australia (ICDA) are hosting free workshops for social enterprises:  Unlocking your Income Potential,  Strategic Leadership for Growth  and  Inclusive Investment

Jobs – Paid and Volunteer roles

Are you looking for a new role or to donate your time with an organisation aligned with your values? Check out the  paid and volunteer roles from our members we’ve added this month:

• SisterWorks are looking for a  cafe and catering Manager (paid role), and a  volunteer OH&S Expert  in their Dandenong office, amongst a range of other roles they have on offer
• Hotel Etico are still recruiting for their 2025  Independence Program  – which offers young adults with disabilities the opportunity to train in hospitality while gaining life skills and independence

Asks/offers and resources

There are so many great resources on our  Asks/Offers  pages to help individuals and organisations to do your greatest good. Here’s just some of the ones we’ve added for you:

• The Social Enterprise Council of NSW & ACT (SECNA) have launched thei r Women in Social Enterprise Program  offering networking, mentoring and learning opportunities to women in NSW
• The Victorian Government’s  Women in Manufacturing Strategy  aims to increase women’s participation in manufacturing by promoting inclusive workplaces and removing barriers to career advancement
• The Queensland Government has launched a  Wellness coaching  program to help small business owners with unique and personal business challenges, needs and opportunities in a free one-on-one, supportive environment

Regulatory Updates

(the sometimes boring, but always important stuff)

Legislative changes

Our regulatory update provides a summary of the key regulatory updates and announcements affecting the for-purpose sector:

ASIC has released its  2023-24 annual report.  The report highlights some of their key achievements last financial year, including its first successful greenwashing civil penalty action and the commencement of around 170 new investigations

Guidance and updates

The Australian Banking Association has released a  guide to help people avoid scams,  fraud and elder financial abuse

The Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) has released its  AICD Practice Statement  focuses specifically on a director’s duty of care and diligence in overseeing a company’s regulatory compliance obligations.

You can learn more on these items and other regulatory updates in our  monthly regulatory updates  and other updates posted on the  Blog Pages  (use the Regulatory Updates filter). We can't provide legal advice but you can find proposed and upcoming legislative changes to discuss with your legal advisers.

Legislative Changes

About the Greatest Good

Greatest Good is an Australia-wide one-stop hub that makes it easy for individuals and organisations to do their greatest good. 

We are certified social enterprise and B Corporation™ supporting Australian social enterprises, B Corps, charities and other not-for-profit organisations.

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