“This course was a great way to learn how to share our stories alongside other social enterprises. It can be really isolating working on our own, and that connection with others was really motivating and inspiring!” – Molly, SYN Media 

 

The background – for those who want to dive a little deeper

Social Enterprise Network Victoria or ‘SENVIC’ is a network that aims to connect, support and develop a thriving social enterprise community in the state of Victoria. With counterparts popping up across various states and territories throughout the country, including QSEC and SECNA, SENVIC is the and is dedicated to giving practitioners an independent and collective voice. 

Established in 2018, SENVIC’s mandate is also to facilitate access to learning and development opportunities for its members – which is exactly what the sector was crying out for during what was one of the most well-publicised and challenging lockdowns seen anywhere in the world. 

The challenge

Led by CEO, Nick Verginis, and supported by the Victorian Government, SENVIC needed to:

• Find a way to make the diversity and innovation of social enterprise sector visible during a time when brick and mortar stores were closed and help activate the enterprises trying to quickly ‘pivot’ online;
• Nurture and deepen the connection across the social enterprise community to overcome the isolation of lockdown, which cannot be underestimated;
• Increase the collective video storytelling skills of the sector through a shared learning experience no matter their level of video and editing skills; and
• Develop a bank of ‘story artefacts’ or films that would help to showcase their work and create a rallying cry for local communities to support these enterprises doing such important work. 
• Enter: Digital Storytellers’ Stories for Impact team – because what better way to do all of that, and more, than learning the art of impact storytelling?! It truly is the best way we know for building community and achieving visibility. 

Want a sneak peek of one of our favourites, Dumu Cafe?

The process

• APPLICATIONS: To begin, SENVIC put the call out to their community of members, seeking applications for the course and making sure that each organisation had the capacity to commit to the program in its entirety and to assess the existing level of storytelling capabilities amongst the team. 14 social enterprises were chosen as a result of the competitive process, and jumped right into the first session with Dani.
• THE STORY CANVAS: Not only was each participant creating a video for their own enterprise, but we also wanted to create a short film telling the vision story of the sector itself. How do we do that? The Story Canvas is a methodology that we have developed in-house, based on the popular Business Model Canvas. It provides a lens for telling stories that resonate with audiences and build into successful campaigns. (It’s free → check out The Story Canvas!) 
• 6-WEEK STORYTELLING PROGRAM: Over the course of six weeks, participants spent time learning how to find, edit, make and share their story through a series of webinars, DIY video tutorials and through our SFI Online Course, completing challenges along the way and honing their key messages.
• WATCH PARTY: the program was wrapped by a heart-warming YouTube Watch Party followed by a Zoom networking and debrief session.
• TAKING CENTRE STAGE: Three participants went on to present their final film at Enterprising Stories – a weekly live broadcast to share the stories of the national, and soon-to-be global, social enterprise sector in the lead up to SEWF 2020.

“I loved the fact that the course was so interactive and practical. What has really blown me away is the fact that you can tell your organisation’s story and promote your organisation with the help from Digital Storytellers so cost effectively – by using your own mobile.” – Sue Boyce, Ability Works

Three things we learned

• 1. Good leaders step up to the plate – when Melbourne’s Stage 4 lockdown was announced there was a decision to be made around whether the program continued. Credit to SENVIC’s leadership, as well as the leadership of the program participants – who understood that the work of gathering and telling hopeful stories was *exactly* what was needed to give purpose and connection to these trying times.
• Virtual storytelling programs work (and provide great outcomes) – through the power of Zoom, we were able to bring social enterprises from across Victoria together and create a whole host of ‘story artefacts’ including 13 films.
• Digital content and engagement is important for social enterprises – the rise of digital technology puts the incredible power of storytelling literally in your hands. This program showed participants that they can use smartphones and everyday technology to share their stories with the world, rally their communities, and raise funds or sales. Even if it’s beyond your capacity to invest in a bespoke program right now, our Stories for Impact Course is also available as a DIY online program to complete independently, in your own time, and there are scholarships on offer.

Could this work for your organisation or network?

According to our friends at Social Change Central, there are more than 20,000 social enterprises now operating, and that’s just in Australia. That means that right in front of us, there is a big, audacious story that needs to be told because of its potential to transform the world we live in: the story of the Aussie social enterprise movement. 

If you are part of an alliance or network of social enterprises, or perhaps are a social enterprise yourself and looking to upskill in the art of video storytelling – we’d love to hear from you! Get in touch to see what’s possible. 

NEXT: Read about why we need to be telling the story of the social enterprise movement →