ING DIRECT has launched its online crowdfunding initiative Dreamstarter 2015, supporting seven social change projects from across Australia with seed funding and crowdfunding campaign assistance. The projects range from a Mobile Shower Service for homeless people in Melbourne through to the Social Outfit, a fashion outlet in Sydney providing training and employment to refugee and new migrant communities.
In partnership with crowdfunding platform StartSomeGood and the School for Social Entrepreneurs, Dreamstarter is harnessing the power of social media to rally Australians to get behind some of the country’s most inspiring go-getters who are eager to make a positive change in Australian communities.
Jackie Ruddock of The Social Outfit, from Newtown in Sydney, which is part of Dreamstarter 2015, said: “The Social Outfit is approaching its first birthday and we are thrilled to be celebrating with Dreamstarter. One year in and we’ve been wowed by the skills and talents of the refugee and migrant community we work with, but we’re hungry to do more.”
Jackie added: “Dreamstarter gives us the opportunity to connect with valuable supporters to nurture more creativity and make a bigger impact with people in need.”
One of last year’s Dreamstarters, Natalie Woods of the Clean Coast Collective, said: “Dreamstarter 2014 gave us the opportunity to make one of our large scale clean-up projects a reality by reaching beyond our immediate group of followers and volunteers. In the past year Clean Coast Collective has removed almost 4,000 plastic remnants and 16,000 cigarette butts, and almost 900 bottles and cans from the coast of mainland Australia.”
David Breen, Head of Corporate Affairs, ING DIRECT, commented: “Dreamstarter is about helping individuals who have a vision of change and the drive to make it happen, ultimately leading to strong communities and social change. It’s great to be building on the success of Dreamstarter in previous years with such a diverse range of social entrepreneurs and projects.”
Since its inception in 2013, ING DIRECT has provided $117,800 in funding to projects, which has helped 31 Dreamstarters to leverage crowdfunding of up to $371,230. Their work has had huge impacts across health, education, the environment and social welfare.
Visit www.ingdirect.com.au/dreamstarter to support the current projects in Dreamstarter 2015.
Media contacts:
Rhonda Yanitsas
Communications Manager, School for Social Entrepreneurs
+61 438 691 097
Kristen Costandi
PR Manager, ING DIRECT
+61 2 9018 5160
+61 413 317 225
Dreamstarter 2015
The Social Outfit:
- Website: http://thesocialoutfit.org/pages/about
- Twitter: @TheSocialOutfit
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheSocialOutfit
- Instagram: @thesocialoutfit
About ING DIRECT
ING DIRECT changed the way Australians bank 15 years ago by launching the country’s first high interest, fee free online savings account. Since then, we’ve brought this low fee value to home loans, transactional banking and superannuation. With over 1.5 million customers – and $32 billion in savings and $38 billion in mortgages – ING DIRECT has the highest Net Promoter Score of any bank.
About StartSomeGood
StartSomeGood is a crowdfunding platform for social innovation. They aim to create an “everyone a changemaker” world, where anyone with an idea for creating a better future is empowered to make it happen. They connect your dream with the people and resources you need to make an impact. www.startsomegood.com
About the School for Social Entrepreneurs
School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE) Australia inspires and equips changemakers and social entrepreneurs to establish, scale and sustain social ventures that foster social and economic participation, and create a lasting impact within disadvantaged communities. Their vision is a community powering positive changemakers for a more inclusive and sustainable world.
http://sse.org.au/