Social Enterprise Development Initiative (SEDI) Grants of up to $120,000 each are available to help social enterprises grow their business, scale their impact and further their missions of creating positive social change.
The grants are targeted towards supporting social enterprises, including trading Indigenous owned or controlled organisations with a defined social benefit, to be more effective and efficient in demonstrating and increasing social impact for the people and communities they exist to support.
The initiative supports social enterprises across all states and territories that are delivering services for people experiencing entrenched disadvantage, in a range of social outcome areas, including: communities, employment, education and First Nations Australians.
Grants are funded by the Australian Government’s Department of Social Services (DSS) and are to be used to purchase business and impact capability building services from intermediaries, such as financial services, evaluation and impact measurement, business consulting and legal advice.
To deliver SEDI, DSS partnered with two organisations from the sector – Impact Investing Australia (IIA), as the SEDI Capability Building Grants Administrator; and Social Enterprise Australia (SEA), as the SEDI Education and Mentoring Coordinator.
Eligible SEDI Grant applicants:
- Are a social enterprise (see definition below) or a trading Indigenous owned or controlled organisation with a defined social benefit.
- Have a direct impact in one or more of the approved Department of Social Services outcome areas.
- Currently provide direct benefit to those experiencing entrenched disadvantage in Australia.
- Are an Australian organisation.
- Have beneficiaries who primarily reside in Australia.
- Have a trading revenue that exceeds $50,000 per year.
- May be early stage but have progressed beyond the start-up phase.
- Are seeking to scale impact (now or in the future) in one or more of the approved outcome areas to address entrenched disadvantage in Australia
For those considering whether they are eligible to apply, Impact Investing Australia provides the following definition: “A social enterprise is a business that puts people and planet first. It trades like any other business, but exists specifically to make the world a better place. A social enterprise seeks to solve a social or environmental problem. It can be a for-profit or non-profit organisation, or a charity that trades.”
Social enterprises that are considering and eligible to receive a SEDI Grant should submit their Expression of Interest by 31 August and their grant application by Thursday 30 September 2025.
For more details see: https://www.dss.gov.au/social-impact-investing/social-enterprise-development-initiative; and https://impactinvestingaustralia.com/looking-for-funding-or-investors/.