In March the Paul Ramsay Foundation invested $600,000 in its first social enterprise: the Vanguard Laundry in Toowoomba. Created by serial social entrepreneur Luke Terry, the commercial laundry business will employ up to 100 people with mental health problems over its first five years, providing a supportive workplace and a pathway to mainstream employment.

There were many reasons the Paul Ramsay Foundation made that investment, not least the variety of social investors and federal government funding already committed, and a robust business plan. Most importantly, Vanguard had secured a nine-year contract to supply laundry services to St Vincent’s hospital in Toowoomba, which gave the foundation confidence it was an investment for the long term and a model that, if successful, could be replicated in other sectors. It’s the first stop on a long journey for the foundation within the emerging area of impact investing. The challenge is to try to use social enterprise as a tool to work towards achieving systemic change in the areas in which it works. The more successful models that can be developed show that investing in social impact, whether by creating jobs, investing in education, disability support, social housing or the environment can be done while still achieving a financial return.

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Investing in social enterprise can drive social change and deliver returns