Lighthouse Business Innovation Centre (Lighthouse) in collaboration with Orana Steiner School held their first micro-granting dinner last week to support projects that benefit the local Canberra community.
HotPot is a micro-granting dinner, where projects that benefit the local community are funded through donations made at the door.
Youth in ACTion for Suicide Prevention's project 'Treat yo'self' was voted the winner by a sold-out crowd on the evening.
'Treat yo'self' will teach all Canberrans aged 15-24 the self-care skills they need to keep themselves safe from suicide through a combination of practical workshops and interactive theatre performances.
According to Maddeline Mooney who presented the project, the money received from HotPot will contribute to holding a pilot of the interactive self-care theatre performance that will allow up to 800 young people to start learning how to build their resilience and feel in control of their life through self-care. More specifically this money will contribute to covering costs such as the development of a custom made script, recruiting and training local actors, venue hire, event promotion and self-care packs for attendees.
"Pitching at the Orana HotPot was a fantastic experience, everyone there was very friendly and encouraging - not to mention generous! It's great to see organisations like the Orana Steiner School and Lighthouse Business Innovation Centre coming together to support social entrepreneurship, I'd love to see more initiatives like it here in Canberra," said Maddeline.
Projects for HotPot can be creative, entrepreneurial or focused on solving a local problem; the only criterion is that the project must benefit the Canberra community.
"We received applications from Canberra charities, community organisations and social entrepreneurs," said Candice Edye, Lighthouse Director.
"We've also had interest from a number of students keen to present at the Summer HotPot," she added.
Anyone interested in attending or presenting at the Summer HotPot can register their interest by emailing orana@lighthouseinnovation.com.au
HOW IT WORKS
- Attendees will be asked to make a donation upon entry ($5 per voting slip).
- Four to five pre-screened projects will be given 5 minutes to present and answer 4 questions from the audience.
- After the presentations, the audience is asked to vote for a winning project.
- Families are encouraged to bring a plate to share while the votes are counted.
- The project that receives the most votes receives all donations raised at the door.
- The winning project returns to a future HotPot to present how their project went, how the money was used and the success of the project for the community.
Photos by: Roslyn Clark
About Lighthouse Business Innovation Centre
Lighthouse has a strong track record of supporting entrepreneurs, researchers and inventers on the path from concept to commercialisation. Since July 2008, Lighthouse has worked with over 990 distinct enterprises and provided group and peer based services to over 3400 enterprises and individuals. For over five years Lighthouse has successfully delivered business advice, education, mentorship and networking opportunities to help these businesses commercialise their ideas and grow their companies. Lighthouse also delivers programs such as the ACT Microcredit Program for the ACT Government. Visit www.lighthouseinnovation.com.au for more information.
