Social Impact in the Regions (SIITR) Founder story with Kerry Grace
Social Impact in the Regions is the culmination of the many and varied experiences I’ve had in my career, my desire to create sustainable social change in regional communities and the experiences of the many and varied people who have been kind enough to join me in this journey particularly my Ready Communities Co-Founder Dr. Chad Renando and our advisory team who over the years has featured: Jo Taylor, Deb Samuels, Jesse Taylor, Jo Kelly, Sue Currie, Angela Martin and Liesa Davies.
Founding Social Impact in the Regions
In 2022 I was coming up to my sixth year as CEO of Regional Development Australia, Mid North Coast. Although I loved my role I really craved an opportunity to have more impact in regional communities. I’ve since realised the thing I really craved was to have a role in broader systemic change. Nevertheless, back in 2022 I resigned from the role and at the time had thought I would move into politics running as an independent in my community. Then something happened that changed my plans.
I went to the Social Enterprise World Forum in Brisbane. It was the second time I’d attended this event, previously I’d attended the event in Melbourne and been delighted to find a new language and tribe to hitch my cart to. In Brisbane I remembered how great it felt to be surrounded by like-minded people. As I left I knew I had to deliver something like this for regional people. The featured pic of this post was taken in that moment. What was going through my mind was something like “Really! Are you freakin’ serious?”
A year later, the first Social Impact in the Regions conference landed in Coffs Harbour, 165 people attended and I’d racked up a bill for $120K with expenses that were all pointed in my direction. I held my breath as the ticket sales and sponsorship came in – I breathed out as we broke even. I made a crazy commitment to run the event for at least the following decade.
The first year taught me many valuable lessons and I knew we had not only a viable business model, but also (and far as I’m concerned more importantly) we found that regional social impact practitioners REALLY needed this chance to come together, to refresh and to learn.
We did it!
At the end of 2023 I formed a partnership with Dr. Chad Renando and we co-created Ready Communities which would enable us to further embed the conference and a lead in and lead out program in the host community – in other words, deliver a comprehensive place-based program in the host community ensuring both economic and social impact was created as we worked alongside the local people.
In 2024 we delivered Ready Macleay, the Ready Communities pilot. We delivered SIITR24 from a disused retail space in Kempsey and ensured local businesses and community members benefited through the program.
With the lessons of 2023 behind us we delivered the conference for $99K spending 96% with small businesses based in the Mid North Coast (just over half of the budget was spent directly in the Macleay). We now proudly speak of our local procurement policy ensuring businesses based in the host community really benefit through the event – both our spend and that of our delegates.
We also made significant changes to the program establishing a day of masterclasses, one of workshops and a third for pulling apart some key themes. With 52 speakers in 2024 we are now working towards what alumni speaker benefits could look like (we know that exposure isn’t enough).
I’m very proud of what we’ve achieved in such a short time and really love hearing stories from our alumni about the connections they made at SIITR – about the processes they shifted after learning more about their practice – about how they felt more confident to go about what they are doing when they met people who think the same way and they realise although they may be the only social entrepreneur in their village they certainly aren’t the only one in their region, state or Country.
About Evolve Group Network
Throughout my career I’ve been driven to create social change (even though I didn’t always call it that). In 2004 I registered Evolve Network Australia as a catch-all to do the work I believed in (even though I didn’t even know what the words to describe it were then). I was only 30, a young mum of two and not long after three children and I’d just moved home to my regional base in the Mid North Coast of NSW.
I said yes to everything that came my way delivering services for all levels of government, not for profits and Aboriginal Corporations across strategic planning, training, facilitation and grant writing until I was invited to apply to be the CEO of Regional Development Australia, Mid North Coast, a role I would hold for 7 years working across six local government areas and one territory.
Over time I’ve been incredibly frustrated that the systems designed to support us can actually create a lot of harm, usually unintended. I never felt this more than when my dad was diagnosed with younger onset dementia. He didn’t fit in any system well and without adequate support the system expected me to take charge of his care. It was untenable. Over time the broader family and I found a way to make it work well enough but I was always left with a somewhat sour taste about systems that simply did not support in the ways at least I’d like them to.
Throughout these years I experienced many different sides of the service system first managing an Aboriginal Corporation in Bowraville, NSW where I’d also have my first experience of establishing and growing a social enterprise; working in a senior role in vocational education where I lasted a year before a colleague pointed out I wasn’t well suited to the constipated bowels of a bureaucracy. (she was entirely correct) and then taking on the mammoth role of CEO of Regional Development Australia Mid North Coast and Norfolk Island.
While Evolve has the rigour of a business that’s existed for twenty years we are small by design. That way we can bring in the best people (and we know them well) and remain agile so we can respond quickly.
My work now focuses on Social Impact in the Regions and also Ready Communities which now trades as a not-for-profit entity.
You can learn more about Ready Communities here Social Impact in the Regions here and my work including my book Spiraling Up here
