Dear Subscriber,
Welcome to this special Mentors' Edition of the Grow Me The Money eBulletin. As the program continues to grow and develop, we will focus these newsletters on particular issues from month to month – if you’ve got an idea for a special edition, send us an email.
 We have seen many more Industry Mentors join the program in the past two months and we now have 20 Mentors from different industries ready to work with Grow Me The Money businesses. We therefore felt it was time to dedicate a newsletter to celebrating their commitment and this milestone and telling you a bit about the Mentor Program and how it can work for you.
The Grow Me The Money Mentors come from a range of industries and are keen to work with participating businesses. We heard from several mentors at the inaugural Bronze Club Luncheon earlier in the month which was a great opportunity for the participants and mentors to network and get to know each other and get to know the business needs. Read about the event in the article below. We’ve also put together a page of mentor profiles for Grow Me The Money participants on the website, you can find these profiles here (this page can only be accessed by Participants of the program. Mentors can email helpdesk@growmethemoney.com.au for a copy of this page). If you are a participating business you can access a Mentor by ringing the Grow Me The Money Helpdesk on 1800 309 650.
Don’t forget to check in on the website regularly as it is constantly being updated and new resources added, particularly in My HQ. If you’ve got ideas for information and resources you’d like to see on the website then send us an email and we’ll follow it up.
I look forward to keeping you all up to date with developments to the Industry Mentor Program in the future.
Kate Nicolazzo
Program Director
Grow Me The Money
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PROGRAM EVENTS:
Information and Skills Session for Mentors: Thursday 30th August 2007
Mentors had the chance to meet the Grow Me The Money team, participants and each other at the recent Bronze Club Luncheon. However, newer Mentors may not have heard from Grow Me The Money yet, as we are busy developing the program further and recruiting participants for you to mentor! To get to know all of our Mentors better, and for you to get to know the Grow Me The Money Mentoring program, we are offering Mentors the chance to find out more at an Information and Skills Session. In addition to listening to how you want to interact with the Grow Me The Money participants, there will be a workshop to help you develop your mentoring skills.
For our regional Mentors we would like to reimburse travel costs to facilitate those outside the Melbourne Metropolitan area attending this session. Please indicate whether you will be taking up this offer when you RSVP. |
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And for those mentors who are eager to take some action before this session, make sure you have filled in the ‘Areas of Interest’ activity, accessible from your Mentor HQ. This will allow Grow Me The Money to match you up with suitable participants who you may be interested in mentoring.
We look forward to sharing information and building skills with you at this exciting session!
Date: Thursday 30th of August 07
Time: Please join us for lunch from 1pm. The session will run until 4pm
Location: VECCI Head Office
486 Albert Street
East Melbourne Vic 3002
RSVP : By the 23rd of August to events@growmethemoney.com.au (for catering purposes) |
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VECCI Members Exclusive Grow Me The Money Event
Bring along your top three business sustainability issues to this select VECCI members' event to get real answers, from environmental, financial and marketing experts, to the questions or concerns that are most relevant to your business.
Date: Thursday 6th September
Time: 3.30 – 5pm with drinks and networking from 5pm
Location: VECCI Head Office
486 Albert Street, East Melbourne |
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RSVP: 30th of August to events@growmethemoney.com.au (for catering purposes)
For those VECCI members that have not already done so, check out the Grow Me The Money website and register your business for a head start on thinking about how sustainability issues affect your business.
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OTHER EVENTS:
George Monbiot: What Australia Should do to Stop the Planet Burning
George Monbiot (www.monbiot.com) presenting via interactive video-conference. Focus: Climate change; what we need to do in Australia.
6.30pm- 8.30pm Tuesday 3 July Economics and Commerce Wood Theatre, Melbourne University Parkville. Gold coin Tel: 9419-8700)
Refreshments provided. Supported by City of Yarra globalisation@foe.org.au www.foe.org.au |
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Water Conservation in your business - Funding Opportunities & Initiatives
Where: City of Ballarat Town Hall – Trench Room
When: Thursday 12th July, 2007, 10am – 12pm
RSVP: by COB Friday 6th July to:
Elizabeth Wood,
Ph: 5320 5831
Email: elizabethwood@ballarat.vic.gov.au
Download the full details here.
Please submit notifications for Regional and Metro events to kate.e@growmethemoney.com.au by July 31st to be included in next month's eBulletin. |
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PROGRAM NEWS:
Interested in becoming Carbon-Neutral?
Climate change has been one of the hottest topics of recent times and businesses and communities in Victoria and all over the world are recognising that they can play a part in slowing and even reversing this change. Global warming caused by human actions - which has the potential to badly effect Australia in particular - was described as “unequivocal” this year by the UN’s ‘Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’ (IPCC), (click here for the full article )
The need for action is clear and in many regards businesses are taking the lead in resolving this issue, and actively looking for ways in which to lower their carbon footprints. At Grow Me The Money, we realise that many of our participants may be very interested in how they can get involved and become carbon-neutral, but we also understand that it is complex issue that is complicated by an overwhelming amount of information and numerous organisations, programs and certification schemes. It’s hard to know who to trust and what you can do to genuinely make a difference.
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As such, we are currently developing detailed content that will be viewable by participants on the Grow Me The Money website shortly. This will include some background information on the climate change problem, advice on what strategies you can adopt to reduce your carbon footprint, and information on ‘carbon credits’, carbon-offsetting and certification schemes.
As participants on Grow Me The Money are already aware, REDUCING your energy consumption is a simple way to make savings, but it is also the most effective way of reducing your carbon footprint. Until our new content has been added to the website, we encourage all of you to continue to REDUCE your energy needs as much as possible and if you would like to read some further information on the issues, then you can read about the Australian Greenhouse Office’s ‘Greenhouse Friendly’ national certification project here or you might want to have a look at some of the in-depth information provided by Sustainability Victoria and the EPA here.
David Keddie, Grow Me The Money Helpdesk officer. |
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Recent Events Update:
You can't manage what you can't measure
Whether you're new to improving the environmental performance of your business or if you're an old hat - "you can't manage what you can't measure!" Measuring how much energy and water you use or the waste produced is an essential step in knowing how much of your resource use is being reduced and the savings to your bottom line. On Friday July 8, Grow Me The Money businesses had the opportunity to hear from special guest presenters about how to begin measuring energy and water use and waste production.
Copies of the PowerPoint presentations on energy, water and waste measurement are available for all registered Grow Me The Money participants. Please login to your My HQ page and click on the link in the bottom right hand corner of your screen to view the presentations. |
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First Bronze Club luncheon...introducing GMTM Mentors!
The first ever Bronze Club luncheon was held immediately after "You can't manage what you can't measure" and it was a great success. The event introduced participating businesses to our fantastic mentors. Grow Me The Money mentors are available to participating businesses and offer advice on how to improve your environmental performance or other business related activities such as producing a communication strategy for your business.
To learn more about mentors and what they can offer visit your MY HQ Help page (available to participants only).
Many thanks to Upstream Print Solutions for sponsoring the first Bronze Club luncheon www.upstream.com.au |
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OTHER NEWS:
Survey Reveals Strong Sustainability Awareness Among Victorian Tourism Operators
Special questions included in the recent Victorian Tourism Industry Council (VTIC) Survey of Tourism Performance and Outlook show a high level of awareness of the importance of environmental sustainability to Victorian tourism, with customer demand, Government policy and the ability to realise cost savings all being identified as major drivers of business awareness and action.
The survey found 27 per cent of respondents reported that they plan to take steps to reduce their carbon impact over the next 12 months.
In terms of recycling practices, over one-third of respondents (35%) reported that they currently recycle between 1 and 20 per cent of their waste.
In respect of water use, eight in ten respondents indicated that their business had reduced water use over the past 12 months |
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(compared with the previous year), while almost half believe their current water use practices are either ‘very efficient’ or ‘efficient’. However, most surveyed businesses also concede that they could do more, indicating further scope for reductions in water use.
Asked what would motivate businesses to make further changes to benefit the environment, specific Government incentives (including grants and subsidies, as well as rebates for energy saving technologies, practices or products) were rated highly by respondents, followed by social and community responsibility, productivity or efficiency improvements, and emerging customer demand.
A summary of the VTIC survey results and media release is available online at www.vtic.com.au |
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FUNDING AND GRANTS:
Small Business Grants:
What are Small Business Grants?
August 2007 funding round
The closing date for the August 2007 funding round is 5 pm, Friday 10th August 2007.
Information Session
Date: Tuesday, 17th July 2007
Venue: Swanston Hall, Melbourne Town Hall, corner Swanston and Collins Street Melbourne
Time: 5:30 pm-6:30 pm
Registration for the information session is essential. To register, please call the City of Melbourne Hotline on (03) 9658 9658
Small Business Grants provide financial support to small businesses. They form part of the City of Melbourne’s Business Development Fund, which directly supports economic and business development in the municipality.
The grant objectives are to:
- encourage the establishment, growth and retention of sustainable businesses that enhance the City of Melbourne’s reputation for innovation, business vitality and environmental sustainability;
- support innovative businesses that demonstrate solid market potential and a sound business model, including long term financial viability;
- increase the overall value and volume of exports from the City of Melbourne;
- create employment opportunities and increase the level of business investment in the City of Melbourne; and
- foster innovative partnerships and collaboration between businesses and/or business support groups.
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The objectives seek to encourage and support new, creative and different business activities and projects that will contribute to a thriving and competitive business environment within the city. In addition, the program seeks to encourage more city-based businesses to engage and expand their international activities.
For further information please click here.
Australian Government Community Water Grants - online applications close July 4
The Australian Government's Community Water Grants programme offers grants to help local community organisations save, recycle or improve the health of their local water resources.
Grants are available for projects related to:
- water saving and efficiency
- water recycling
- water treatment - improving surface and groundwater health.
Round 3, which was launched on 23 April 2007, is the final round of Community Water Grants funding under the programme's $200 million allocation.
For more information, please visit www.communitywatergrants.gov.au
Registrations closed Friday 22 June 2007
Hard Copy applications closed Friday 22 June 2007
Online applications close 11am Wednesday 4 July 2007 |
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