Social Enterprise in School Evaluation Report ACRE Annual Report 2017 Final | Page 5

to make special mention to our pioneering
investors, the Yulgilbar Foundation, the
Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation, the
Helen Macpherson Smith Trust, the William
Buckland Foundation, the June Canavan
Foundation and the Grosvenor Foundation.
Thank you for your confidence in us.
It is also pleasing to see government take
an interest in the sector and our work. We
were encouraged by ACRE being recognised
as a key sector organisation in the Victorian
Government’s Social Enterprise Strategy.
Likewise, we wait with interest for the
outcomes and opportunities emerging from
the Federal Government’s review of tax
deductibility in the sector.
As an emerging social enterprise, ACRE is
demonstrating success in being less reliant
upon grants. With a plan to be financially
sustainable within the next five years, in
2017 we derived 34% of our annual income
through trading activities, up from 19%
the year before. With a small, talented and
highly committed team of 3.8 FTE (2016 - 3.0
FTE), led by our CEO Matt Pfahlert, we have
achieved much this year. My heartfelt
thanks, and that of the Board, goes out
to the staff team.
Thank you also to the many individuals,
organisations, community groups, schools,
youth organisations, advisors and consultants
who have helped us get to this point.
“I am excited to see young
people take ownership of
their lives through becoming
equipped with the enterprise
skills they need to become a job
creator, not just a job seeker.”
Jonathan Chapman,
Chair
We now have a clear plan to roll out our
services across Victoria and beyond. I look
forward to sharing this next stage of our
journey with you so that together we can
ignite entrepreneurship in young people
and their communities to build a thriving
rural Australia.
Jonathan Chapman
Chair
December 2017
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