ACT Social Enterprise Grant Program
GRANT PROGRAM
For Canberra based social innovation and impact
The Mill House Ventures has partnered with the ACT Government to administer the Social Enterprise Grant Program and provide matched funding between $10,000 and $30,000. The program is a competitive grant program, targeted at start-up social enterprises to address the market gap in funding between pre-revenue (seed) grant programs and the philanthropic, sponsorship and venture capital funding opportunities available to a scaleup social enterprise.
Applicants must familiarise themselves with the relevant funding guidelines and grant agreements. Grants can only be made to Canberra based applicants who have a current ABN.
The Mill House Ventures administers the ACT Social Enterprise Grant Program on behalf of the ACT Government. All submissions are assessed by an independent panel of business experts who make the decisions based on the applications.
For Canberra based social innovation and impact
The Mill House Ventures has partnered with the ACT Government to administer the Social Enterprise Grant Program and provide matched funding between $10,000 and $30,000. The program is a competitive grant program, targeted at start-up social enterprises to address the market gap in funding between pre-revenue (seed) grant programs and the philanthropic, sponsorship and venture capital funding opportunities available to a scaleup social enterprise.
Frequently Asked Questions
In order to be eligible to apply for funding you must:
- Have an annual turnover of less than $500,000;
- Be Canberra based;
- Have an ABN (you will need this to enter a funding agreement); and
- Agree to enter into a Funding Agreement with The Mill House Ventures
After the Information Session, you may submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) (using the following link using Chrome)
- After signing the Funding Agreement, you will invoice us for the first 50% of the grant.
- Future grant payments are made on a reimbursement basis after meeting milestones. We will work with you to ensure reporting requirements are met.
- You will need to provide evidence of all paid expenditure eg. receipts, paid tax invoices and bank statements. In-kind time and commitment to the project should be recorded through timesheets.
- Milestone claims require an online written report of activities undertaken and outcomes achieved. You should also provide relevant evidence to demonstrate the completion of the milestone.
See the Grant Guidelines of this grant.
Please ensure sufficient time to submit before the deadline as late applications cannot be accepted (note that a draft cannot be saved on the application page).
If you missed out submitting before the close date or were unsuccessful, you will be able to reapply in the following round.
- Submitted full applications will be assessed by an independent panel of business experts from a variety of industries from the local innovation community.
- The Mill House Ventures staff do not make any decisions regarding the selection of applicants.
- Panel members who may have a conflict of interest take no part in the decision-making process for that particular applicant.
- All reasonable efforts are made to provide a fair process and we welcome feedback.
More Information
Applicants must familiarise themselves with the relevant funding guidelines and grant agreements.
Grants can only be made to Canberra based applicants who have a current ABN.
The Mill House Ventures administers the ACT Social Enterprise Grant Program on behalf of the ACT Government. All submissions are assessed by an independent panel of business experts who make the decisions based on the applications.
Social enterprise Grant Process map
In order to be eligible to apply for funding you must:
- Have an annual turnover of less than $500,000;
- Be Canberra based;
- Have an ABN (you will need this to enter a funding agreement); and
- Agree to enter into a Funding Agreement with The Mill House Ventures
After the Information Session, you may submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) (using the following link using Chrome)
- After signing the Funding Agreement, you will invoice us for the first 50% of the grant.
- Future grant payments are made on a reimbursement basis after meeting milestones. We will work with you to ensure reporting requirements are met.
- You will need to provide evidence of all paid expenditure eg. receipts, paid tax invoices and bank statements. In-kind time and commitment to the project should be recorded through timesheets.
- Milestone claims require an online written report of activities undertaken and outcomes achieved. You should also provide relevant evidence to demonstrate the completion of the milestone.
See the Grant Guidelines of this grant.
Please ensure sufficient time to submit before the deadline as late applications cannot be accepted (note that a draft cannot be saved on the application page).
If you missed out submitting before the close date or were unsuccessful, you will be able to reapply in the following round.
- Submitted full applications will be assessed by an independent panel of business experts from a variety of industries from the local innovation community.
- The Mill House Ventures staff do not make any decisions regarding the selection of applicants.
- Panel members who may have a conflict of interest take no part in the decision-making process for that particular applicant.
- All reasonable efforts are made to provide a fair process and we welcome feedback.
Social enterprise Grant Process map
Successful Recipients 2024/2025
For our 2024/2025 grant program we were able to distribute the $360,000 between 13 amazing early stage Social Enterprises. These start ups are addressing a diverse range of issues including disability, culturally and linguistically diverse individuals, environment and disadvantage, and feature 11 female founders. See the successful recipients below!
Allara Creative
Received $30,000
Allara Creative is a work-integrated social enterprise that aims to support women from refugee backgrounds with employment, assist them in making connections and finding a community as they settle into life in Canberra, ACT. Part of our grant was also to establish Allara Drives, Canberra’s first social enterprise driving school providing lessons to all, with subsidised lessons to people from refugee backgrounds.
Bright Smiles Mobile Dental
Received $30,000Bright Smiles Mobile Dental aims to make high-quality oral healthcare accessible to people who have difficulty leaving their home by bringing fully portable dental services directly to residences and care settings across Canberra and regional NSW.
Earthly Remains
Received $27,000Earthly Remains advocates for environmentally sustainable body disposition in Australia by promoting human composting as an affordable alternative to traditional burial and cremation with a lower impact on the environment.
Edventure Care
Received $30,000Edventure Care provides specialised support and activity programs for children and young people with neurodiversity, focusing on fostering social skills, independence and peer relationships in safe and supportive environments.
Himayat
Received $30,000Himayat is a Social Traders certified social enterprise and CBR-based care + community organisation, with a strong grassroots presence across the ACT. We provide culturally grounded support for people from all backgrounds.
Hydro-Sense Technologies
Received $30,000Hydro-Sense Technologies develops and deploys real-time autonomous water quality monitoring systems to help governments, industries and communities manage water resources more affordably, accurately and sustainably. Their goal is to advance accessible, low-maintenance water monitoring solutions that enhance data visibility and provide comprehensive insight to facilitate pre-emptive action and support long-term water quality management.
Inhabit Place
Received $30,000Inhabit Place provides a data-driven platform and methodology for systematically analysing and reporting how people interact with public spaces to support better planning, design and management, and help governments, developers and organisations create more sustainable and community-focused public spaces.
Mâtré
Received $30,000Mâtré, inspired by the ancient Sanskrit word for “Mother Earth” honours the bond between craft, nature, culture and community. Through direct collaboration with weavers, dyers, artisans, and partnerships with support organisations, Mâtré aims to turn heritage craft into contemporary fashion and sustainable livelihoods offering fair income, creative dignity, and long-term stability. Traditional weaving, hand-printing, and fabric-making crafts in India and Australia face dramatic decline and some are at the brink of extinction. Mâtré aims to revive endangered crafts forming an Australia – India bilateral economic, cultural and social platform with traditional artisans from India, including First Nations people, in ACT and region.
PKLD Conditioning
Received $30,000PKLD Conditioning delivers personalised, science-based health coaching to support clients and improve energy, regulate hormones and address conditions like PCOS, insulin resistance and menopause-related symptoms in particular.
Pathhub
Received $15,400Pathhub creates meaningful employment pathways for your people with disability, operating out of Pressed Coffee Co as a live training cafe and One Cup as a purpose driven product brand, where every purchase supports real skills and real futures.
Queer Food
Received $30,000Queer Food is an LGBTQIA+ led social enterprise creating retail food products and curated events that represent and share the stories of historic and contemporary LGBTQIA+ trailblazers. We also create employment opportunities for queer and trans people and reinvest revenue into a social impact fund to go towards increasing access to gender-affirming care.
Sapling Minds
Received $17,600Sapling Minds delivers early-intervention, evidence-informed, integrated learning pathways that strengthen resilience, emotional literacy, authentic identity and healthy inner voice development to create environments where lifelong mental wellbeing can take root. Through a distinctive dual-generation model, Sapling Minds works with primary school aged children and the adults around them, equipping parents, educators and workplaces to reshape the patterns that influence how people grow, learn and lead.
Sun Baby
Received $30,000Sun Baby creates naturally UPF 50+ sun-protective baby clothing using sustainable, non-toxic 95% bamboo fibres. Designed to help reduce sun exposure for babies in Australia’s high-UV environment, Sun Baby also donates 10% of profits to support Australians in need through local food banks.
Successful Recipients 2023/2024
Accessilife
Received $20,000
Accessilife is an online marketplace and directory that brings together accessible products and services in one central place. The project will support the development of a branding and marketing strategy as well as to upgrade and improve the website, building in e-commerce functionality.
Catalyst Living Skills
Received $30,000
Catalyst Living Skills supports the development of core life skills for marginalised and disadvantaged people through equine assisted learning combined with creative, nature and farm-based activities. The project involves the development and deployment of impact assessment tools, training in financial management and bookkeeping and the design and creation of a nature play area.
Endless Australia
Received $30,000
Endless Australia has identified an innovative way to close the loop on small plastic waste by repurposing millions of plastic bottle lids into premium recycled and recyclable plastic products for the adrenaline sports industry – starting with skateboard decks. The project will enable the development of a business and communications strategy, a website build, enable the piloting of prototypes, and support a launch event.
Fundraise for Australia
Received $12,500
Fundraise for Australia identifies, recruits, trains and empowers new fundraisers to help secure resources for underserved communities and entrenched social issues. Funding for this free program enables fundraising training and recruitment support to the not for profit sector.
GetAboutAble
Received $30,000
GetAboutAble is a leading Australian accessibility consultancy, supporting businesses as well as community and Government organisations to improve their access and inclusion. The project will support the renewed focus on B2B products by updating their brand and website to reflect their current service offerings.
Her Kitchen Table
Received $30,000
Her Kitchen Table empowers CALD women who are facing barriers to accessing meaningful economic opportunities to overcome these barriers by turning their passion for cooking into a profession and strengthening CALD women’s connection to the ACT community. The project will enable the development of training programs to encourage and support participants own entrepreneurial progress and pathways.
RecycleAbilities
Received $29,000
RecycleAbilities mission is to create customised, socially impactful employment opportunities for individuals with intellectual disabilities through improving the collection of Container Deposit Scheme containers from Canberra businesses. The project will enable a review of their legal structure, the development of a strategic marketing plan and the development of a comprehensive record of operating.
See Me Please
Received $30,000
See Me Please primary social purpose is to improve accessibility in digital experiences for people with disabilities and improve the overall digital accessibility landscape while aiming to create meaningful employment opportunities for people with disabilities. The opportunity is to develop a pilot with Canberra businesses on the development of digital components and video guides supporting the growth of the user testing platform.
ShowGo
Received $28,585
ShowGO is an Audio Description service and App for theatre, dance, museums and film to enhance access and accessibility for individuals who are blind or who have low vision and increases inclusivity across all abilities. The project will enable a full App review and updates based on user feedback, build a B2C website and develop a Strategic Marketing Plan, a Financial Plan and a Business Plan.
The Climate Factory
Received $29,915
The Climate Factory facilitates the creation of climate-cooling microforests in suburban locations promoting biodiversity and fostering community engagement in environmental initiatives. The project will develop a distinctive Microforest Collective brand, craft a comprehensive strategic marketing plan and develop a website.
The Easy Read Toolbox
Received $10,000
The Easy Read Toolbox strives to create a more inclusive community through accessible communication for people with disabilities, while providing accessible, award wage employment for people with disabilities. The project will enable the engagement of specific professional services to improve business processes, deploy a learning management system and review the membership product.
U Shape Us
Received $20,000
U Shape Us is seeking to transform disconnection into connection and increasing children’s sense of belonging through creativity. The project will support the development of strategic business and marketing plans and an evaluation framework for impact reporting.
Warehouse Circus
Received $10,000
Warehouse Circus is dedicated to improving the mental and physical health of young people through the medium of social circus. The project will support the development of branding and marketing strategies to support growth opportunities.
Womens Shed Canberra
Received $30,000
Womens Shed Canberra Inc. (WSC) is a space for women of all backgrounds, ethnicities, orientations, and ability to meet and to learn skills in building trades within a safe and supportive community. The project will support the development of a strategic marketing plan, upgrade and improve the website as well as provide website management training to enable ongoing updates to be managed internally.
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The Mill House Ventures supports social entrepreneurship in Canberra through programs, professional services, and a platform for innovation and collaboration.
