The latest round of ING DIRECT’s Dreamstarter crowdfunding initiative is giving people the opportunity to make a difference across a variety of social and community issues, from food waste to indigenous health and nutrition.

Eight social enterprise projects have launched crowdfunding campaigns on the Dreamstarter platform, running until 18 November, and are calling on Australians to get involved by making a crowdfunding pledge from as little as $10.

In return for a pledge, supporters can receive anything from ‘eternal gratitude’ and a social media shout-out to a pack of ‘Wash Away Poverty’ body care products or the opportunity to get involved in developing a children’s story book.

Mother and son team Jaya and Ankit Chopra, of Sydney-based social enterprise Eat Me Chutneys, are aiming to crowdfund $50,000 to turbo-charge their social enterprise that rescues food earmarked for the scrapheap and turns it into rescued chutneys.

Commenting on the Eat Me Chutneys crowdfunding campaign, Ankit said: “In Australia an estimated $10billion of food is wasted each year, including up to $5billion of fresh produce. We rescue this bruised, wonky and unloved fruit and veg and turn it into what we call ‘rescued chutneys’.

“We’ve already rescued 1.23 tonnes of fruit and veg and sold almost 9,000 jars of rescued chutneys.  Through our Dreamstarter crowdfunding campaign, we’re going to rescue more food that would otherwise be going to waste and we’re going to reach thousands more people with our message for change.”

The Dreamstarter projects include:

• Care Two Dance (VIC) – for every class taken at this new social enterprise dance school, a dance class, coupled with mentoring and life skills training will be provided to a child in need.
• Fergus & Delilah (NSW) – a picture book for kids that changes how we view disabilities and helps children be more inclusive.
• Eat Me Chutneys (NSW) – combatting food waste by rescuing bruised, wonky and unloved fruit and veg and turning it into delicious ‘rescued chutneys’
• Little Makers Club (NSW) – inspiring the next generation of inventors in a fun and supportive environment by offering primary school children the opportunity to use their natural creativity and curiosity to build their own electronic and hardware projects.
• Power Parcel (national) – a seasonal subscription package of socially conscious creations promoting emerging social enterprises who are seeking to attain greater impact.
• Taste Cultural Food Tours (NSW) – celebrating diversity through food with multicultural community food tours, offering employment and training and showcasing multicultural small businesses.
• Wash Away Poverty (VIC) – an organic body care range that helps fund life-changing water aid projects.
• Wirra Sports Program (WA) – a weekly sports program in which positive Aboriginal mentors deliver key fitness, health and nutrition messages to Aboriginal children and their families in the Great Southern region of WA.

The latest round of ING DIRECT Dreamstarter runs from Tuesday 20 October until Wednesday 18 November and the eight projects are seeking to collectively raise $200,000 for social good. Visit the Dreamstarter crowdfunding website for more information the projects and to find out how you can make a difference.

-ENDS-

Media contacts:
Kristen Costandi, PR Manager, ING DIRECT
+61 2 9018 5160, +61 413 317 225
E: kristen.costandi@ingdirect.com.au

About ING DIRECT Dreamstarter
Dreamstarter is an online crowdfunding initiative for social impact projects presented in partnership with StartSomeGood and the School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE).

For each successful Dreamstarter candidate, ING DIRECT provides seed funding up to 50 per cent of the ‘tipping point’ of the crowdfunding campaigns.

About ING DIRECT
ING DIRECT changed the way Australians bank 16 years ago by launching the country’s first high interest, fee free online savings account.  Since then, they’ve bought 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.

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.