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Straight from the horse’s mouth: News from our enterprises, *interview style*

It’s hard to believe that the three business owners we onboarded in 2023 are roughly two thirds into their year-long journey with All Good Ventures already. One year really does fly by about as fast as a viral product launch (to us at least!).In our last venture update, Michelle from Ripple Movement, “the Sam’s” (we fondly call them) from HEZA Initiative, and John and Julian from Jabulani Rural Health Foundation (JRHF) had just been paired with a business mentor tasked with guiding them ...

Want to submit a *standout* application? Here's FIVE top tips from us

We take applications from social entrepreneurs all over the world annually between 1 – 31 March. Each and every applicant is gunning for the same thing; Money, Mentoring and Muscle support to bring their people-helping business idea to life. Here are five top tips to help YOU stand out amongst the other applicants. Happy reading, and good luck!...

Why “staying in your lane” is KEY to successfully starting your social enterprise.

Well, it’s that time of year again. The time when we look forward to a new batch of social entrepreneurs bringing their ideas to All Good Ventures.  It’s awesome to see new ideas for businesses: businesses that can really make a difference by driving profits toward helping free people somewhere in the world from something that’s enslaving them!But, just what kinds of businesses or business ideas is All Good Ventures looking for? From the start, we have said that we support early-stage...

Gifts that give back: Five social enterprises to buy from this Christmas

'Tis the season of joy and giving! And we're here to make your holiday shopping not only less stressful – but impactful. This year, as in years past, we've curated a list featuring five of our fave social enterprises from New Zealand and beyond to purchase from this Christmas. Here we go…SawubonaIf you follow us on social media, you’ve already seen us flying Sawubona’s flag. As one of the social enterprises we supported in 2022, we’re big fans of this business. Business owner, Esther, ...

Meet our 2023 business mentors

Finding the right volunteer business mentors to lead Phase Two of our mentoring programme each year is a top priority for All Good Ventures. Annually we scout suitable candidates from our pool of past mentors, businesspeople from within our personal networks and, occasionally, businesspeople from outside sources like LinkedIn, mentoring sites, or other business groups to find just the right fit for our entrepreneurs. So which pros have we locked in for this year’s cohort? Read on to find out a...

Sawubona store opening marks new chapter for social enterprise

Original story by Janine Jackson, freelance writer and former editor at Waikato Business News. Adapted by Bethany Chapman, communications and operations manager at All Good Ventures....

Getting it done: What our 2023 enterprises are currently working on

Shortly after joining us mid-year, our four 2023 social entrepreneurs jumped into phase one of our mentoring programme. During this intensive eight week period they each tapped into the expertise of our founder, Rod, to craft a unique business plan and budget for their enterprise. As part of that process, they identified their high level strategic priorities, breaking them down into manageable and very specific tasks spread across the next three-year, one-year, and quarter periods. So what actio...

10 must-follow social enterprise blogs and websites for social entrepreneurs

At All Good Ventures, we've had the privilege of supporting 18 social entrepreneurs over the past five years.By experience, we know that launching a successful social enterprise requires much more than just passion and determination - it demands access to the right resources too.With that in mind, we've compiled a list of ten useful blogs and websites that we hope will help further equip you with tools to develop your social enterprise and make a lasting impact on the world.If you don’t have a...

Thinking about starting a business ‘for good?’ Here are 5 essentials to get right.

By Rod Claycomb, co-founder of All Good VenturesBill Gates was once a guest on David Letterman’s Netflix show, My Next Guest.  One of the dialogues from that episode stuck with me.  Letterman was trying to impress Bill Gates with his clever thoughts about what sort of businesses Bill should invest in.  Needless to say, they were awful – albeit funny - ideas.  After a few wild suggestions, Bill politely nods and says: “Having the idea is the easy part.”Why did that sti...

November 2022 newsletter update on Impact Partners

Click the link to view our newsletter highlighting our Impact partners updates, our new mentors and a happy Christmas message from our founders, Rod and Heather. ...

Christmas Gift ideas with a huge social benefit

Time for Christmas shopping.  Support our ventures by purchasing some ethically and socially responsible gifts from them.  We’ve also included a few other favourites of ours below in the list.  All Good Ventures:  African artisan products: Sawubona,  Ridi Trading,   Menstrual cups: Moraka menstrual cups  Candles: The Good Karma Company,   Donations that change people’s lives: Seeds and Stories, Strength and Stem UK,   Funding medica...

Making sales, leasing new land and securing sponsorships: Recent highlights from our 2021 social enterprises

It’s been over six months since we onboarded four new social enterprises with All Good Ventures. Come this ‘half way’ mark each year, we take time to virtually meet with each enterprise to hear their highlights and challenges, and see how we can further support them for the duration of the year. Thus far, we’ve caught up with three of our four 2021 enterprises; Seath and Peter (Restore Social Enterprises), Peninah (Adili Africa), and John (Thunderbird Studios); and we look forward to cat...

Five tips for putting in a STELLAR application with All Good Ventures

We take applications from social entrepreneurs all over the world annually between 1 – 31 March. Each and every applicant is gunning for the same thing; Money, Mentoring and Muscle support to bring their people-helping business idea to life. Here are five top tips to help YOU stand out amongst the other applicants. Happy reading, and good luck! Tip 1: Get familiar. It might sound simple, but it’s one of the best tips we can offer: get familiar with All Good Ventures and whether your social e...

What are our 2021 ventures up to? Find out…

Time has flown since we onboarded four more ventures in the middle of this year. Amidst the many unique challenges brought about by Covid-19, each project leader is working incredibly hard to get their social enterprise off the ground! We’re so proud of them. Here’s an update from each on what they’ve achieved since becoming an All Good Venture, and what their hopes and plans are for the coming months. Restore Enterprises: Brisbane, AustraliaProject leaders: Seath Holswich and Peter Murphy...

Presents with purpose: 10 social enterprises to buy from this Christmas

The countdown to Christmas is well and truly on. You might have already started dreaming or even buying (um… #organised!) gifts for family, friends and colleagues. Ticking off your gifts at this time of year can feel never-ending and a little overwhelming. The good news? We’re here with a list of 10 of our favourite social enterprises to buy from (in New Zealand and further abroad).  Not all our All Good Ventures social enterprises sell consumer products but a few of them do; so we...

Want your social enterprise to make an impact? Here's where to start.

Thoughts on building a robust business foundation from All Good Ventures’ Founder, Rod Claycomb . I’ve been involved in start-ups pretty much all of my career. I get excited about new ideas, new beginnings and new opportunities. So, it’s probably not a big surprise to anyone that Heather’s and my charity was set up to offer support to social enterprises that are just getting started. In fact, many of our funded projects are just an idea with very little substance behind them.&n...

A new partnership with international agency, Impact Consulting

We’re very excited to announce a development in our Mentoring Programme this year: a partnership with international consulting agency, Impact Consulting. Impact Consulting reached out to us earlier this year with an offer we couldn’t refuse. They saw our call for applications go out on social media and contacted us. Their consultants - who come from world leading universities and business schools - would like to come alongside some of our social enterprises each year in a business ...

BIG announcement: Who we're supporting in 2021

After receiving a record number of applications this year, and spending many hours thoughtfully and prayerfully considering who to partner with, we have selected this year's All Good Ventures projects!  Introducing: Thunderbird Studios (Canada), Ridi Trading (Africa), Restore Enterprises (Australia) and Ministry of Chai (New Zealand)! These four budding social enterprises come from all corners of the world, and although their business ideas differ significantly from one another, they have o...

Our five current ventures: What they’ve been up to

Our social entrepreneurs have been working hard to develop their social enterprises. Here’s a round-up of what they’ve been up to over the past few months. Our Remainders: Philippa Holmes Pre-Christmas was an especially busy time for Philippa as she geared up to host Auckland-based event, A. Social Impact Summit, in November. The Summit gathered dozens of people from across the food industry to explore food security, food sovereignty, and the food system in Aotearoa (New Zealand). At the Sum...

Now is the time to GATHER like never before

By Heather Claycomb, Director All Good Ventures VERBgath·er | ˈga-t͟hər As we enter the 2020 holiday season, the topic of gathering has never been as relevant as it this year.   At a time when Covid is preventing us from being with loved ones and governments are imposing stay-at-home orders across the world, I believe now is the time to ‘gather’ like never before.  This is a topic I’ve pondered all year and today seems like a great time to share my ponderings with you.&...

OneDay Health making huge impact in Uganda

OneDay Health in Uganda just sent us their annual report and WOW!  All Good Ventures (including funds matched by a donor) was proud to have provided 56% of their grant income last year, which allowed them to achieve the impact noted below in rural Uganda.Take a look at some of their key impacts they've made this year, below.  And for the full picture, have a quick read of OneDay Health's 2019 Annual Report....

Smartphone app tackles anger issues

Ron Vink, Whistlebox app: Lower Hutt, New Zealand     Police are called out to a Family Violence incident every 5 minutes in New Zealand, which takes up 43% of their time. In New Zealand a woman is killed by a partner or ex-partner every month. Children are being abused at one of the highest rates in the developed world and anxiety issues in the community is at an all-time high.Last year, Ron Vink met a gentleman who had come up with an app which connects to an Apple Smart Watch.&...

Making cents from scents for education

Bhavisha Kumar, The Good Karma Co: Auckland, New Zealand     Bhavisha was born in Fiji and came to New Zealand when she was 13. She always wanted to start a social enterprise and help underprivileged children get access to education. This passion came from her father who grew up in a poor family in Fiji.  He was one of the lucky children who did gain access to education, which provided a future for himself and his family.  However, Bhavisha has seen first-hand many Fijia...

Rescuing people through rescued food

Philippa Holmes, a Rescued Food Line: Auckland, New Zealand     Philippa has been working with rescued food products for the last two years; originally, she and her team were using it as a way to provide great food at community events for free.Over the last year, she has shifted to giving food parcels directly to families in need as she saw a huge increase in food security locally, in and around Panmure, Auckland.Up until March this year she was helping around 30 families per...

Our inaugural year - a success!

Wow, what a year!   All Good Ventures has just finished its first year of seed-funding our two inaugural social enterprise projects.Heather and Rod have personally mentored the first, mainly to give us hands-on experience to help us develop the mentoring part of All Good Ventures going forward.  The second project has been mentored by a volunteer mentor, John Birch.We are just about to launch our call for proposals for our second years’ projects.  We are aiming to keep this...