Soil is Capital – venture profile
Amanda Rowland has been pursuing a remarkable new venture since she was profiled in 2012 and is a past graduate of Catalyst. What is your venture? Edah Station In August, 2015 we (Amanda, Geoff, Angus and Toby) took possession of the lease of Edah Pastoral Station, a 250,000 acre former sheep station east of Yalgoo and the Spelt Project […]
Pollinators Business Planning for 2016 and Beyond
Post authored by Paul Dyer, Pollinators Chairperson. In mid-January I and other Directors and staff met to progress works commenced twelve months ago on developing a Strategic Business Plan for the organisation. We have been generously supported in this work by Pracsys, with Jason McFarlane facilitating the most recent session. The work with Pracsys and Jason builds on the Pollinators past and […]
Seven considerations for successful collaboration
Author: Andrew Outhwaite Here at Pollinators we recognise that no matter how hardworking, well-informed or creative we may be as individuals or organisations, there are limits to what can be achieved alone. Realising big ideas, pursuing breakthrough innovations or transforming communities are best done with others, in collaboration. Recently, I participated on Aboriginal land management in […]
New Membership Options And Even More Affordable Coworking
Pollinators has made changes to its services and pricing that will benefit members and enable the organisations sustainability. These changes are aligned with: Pollinators 2015-2020 Strategy, especially regarding catering for a diversity of needs, ensuring core services are financially sustainable and adding more options for digital delivery and participation from other regions in WA. Independent and in-house evaluations and surveys, especially the […]
Pollinators Inc 2015 AGM – Growing Our Impact And Planning For a Disruptive Future
Pollinators members gathered on Friday 22nd May to celebrate and reflect on the challenges and changes from the 2014 financial year, and share in the Board’s aspirations for a connected, collaborative, creative and ‘disruptive’ future for the organisation. Far from a traditional AGM, Pollinators ‘Awesome Gathering of Members’ featured the first GeroSoup crowd-funding event with 3 creative environmental projects receiving investment […]
GeroSoup Feeds Funding Into Local Ventures
Three local social entrepreneurs attracted cash investment from a well-fed crowd of micro-funders on Friday night. [alpine-phototile-for-smugmug src=”user_gallery” ugal=”49545659″ ugalkey=”NdX5kZ” imgl=”smugmug” style=”gallery” row=”4″ grwidth=”400″ grheight=”300″ num=”8″ size=”Th” border=”1″ highlight=”1″ curve=”1″ align=”center” max=”100″ nocredit=”1″] Lara from Leaning Tree Community School received investment to grow a vertical garden, Angie from Kids Hub got seed-funding to pilot a program of recycling that provides materials for children’s education, […]
Changes to Pollinators and CityHive services
This post is from March 2015 when it was published privately and only viewable be members. The proposed changes have now been implemented, with some improvements and clarifications based on member feedback. A common ethos across our Board, staff and members is that we are ‘always learning’ and applying that learning to grow the impact, resilience and health […]
Groundswell — enabling high-potential organisations to grow
Pollinators have invested in the initial development phase of “Groundswell” to create business support programs and investor networks that enable the growth of high-potential organisations in the Midwest. Groundswell is a response to the lack of structured business support for high-potential organisations e.g. organisations with $200k-$1 million turnover whose next phase of growth may required outside investment and […]
Recruiting: Project Manager with Pollinators
Pollinators Inc are hiring for a new part-time role within our team. Working from Pollinators is a highly desirable role in an ethical, healthy, professional environment doing very clever, creative and meaningful work. The first step (and we suggest you take it now — Pollinators are recruiting for an immediate start) for interested applicants is to contact Andrew at Pollinators on […]
Alliance to lead action and strengthen representation across the region
It could read like the start of a great joke: “An artist, a businessman and a social entrepreneur walked into a bar….”, however while this newly-formed Alliance got off to a light-hearted start, it is a serious endeavour with significant implications for the future of the region. This week the Midwest’s three leading representative organisations signed a new […]
Showcasing Geraldton’s Creative professionals
This post is a short summary of a Peer Learning Session hosted by Pollinators, focused on Professional Development for our Design and Creative professionals. Designers and creative professionals are highly-skilled, generate significant economic and cultural value, and contribute disproportionately to the look and feel of our regional. Participants included landscape architects, textile designers, arts teachers, graphic designers […]
Pitch, Plan and Projections
Each year we have several events and programs, like Catalyst and Startup Weekend, where participants present their idea for a new innovation or venture to an audience. This can sometimes be the pinnacle of months or preparation, or just a few hours. However people come to this point it’s usually a key moment in the development of […]
Peer Learning: Podio as an all-in-one management solution
Pollinators hosted a peer learning session to discuss use of Podio to enhance team productivity in different organisational contexts. This post outlines some general recommendations from the conversations, and has specific suggestions for particular users and purposes, This session was attended by people in executive or manager-level roles within small to medium organisations. This conversation continued pre- and post-session within […]
Field Notes on Collaborative Ecology — Blues for the Bush presentation
Blues for the Bush combines a open day with evening entertainment at Bush Heritage Australia’s Charles Darwin Reserve, east of Perenjori. As part of the open day, Gunduwa Regional Conservation Organisation hosted a series of presentations on ‘collaboration’. Guiding questions for speakers included: Why collaborate, what is it all about, and is it ‘old’ or ‘new’. Collaboration is one […]
Peer Learning: Which platform or CMS to use for your website?
Pollinators hosted a peer learning session to discuss the relative merits of different web platforms (which includes ‘content management systems’ or CMS) for different users, audiences and purposes. This post outlines some general recommendations from the conversations, and has specific suggestions for different users or purposes. This session was mainly attended by those who professionally build and develop websites, and […]
Entrepreneurs learn and launch at Startup Weekend
Geraldton Startup Weekend was held over the 19th and 20th September, providing a structured, fun and fast way for local people to launch new ventures or projects. A mix of participants from business, government and community formed teams and used new tools to form, test, then present their ideas for new ventures. The benefits go beyond the prizes for the winning […]
Recruiting: Grow yourself, Pollinators and our community
Pollinators Inc are seeking Expressions of Interest for three new roles within our team. Working from Pollinators is a highly desirable role in an ethical, healthy, professional environment leading an enterprise doing very creative and meaningful work. The first step (and we suggest you take it now — we’re recruiting for an immediate start) for interested applicants is […]
Flock peer mentoring program flies to new heights
Fifteen local organisations have just celebrated completion of the Flock program, run by Pollinators Inc and seed-funded by the City of Greater Geraldton. This innovative and unique program proved a new approach that enables innovators and entrepreneurs to ‘fly further, faster, together’. The program is a fantastic example of how collaboration can contribute to the development of individual enterprises and community groups, all […]
Limited office space available in West End of CBD
Private office space has become available at CityHive — Geraldton’s award-winning, innovative office, meeting and workspace located in the exciting West End of the CBD. Owing to the growth and expansion of two of our private office tenants, space has become immediately available. This is the perfect environment for small and growing businesses, NFPs and social enterprises. More information about CityHive is online: http://pollinators.org.au/city-hive/ with specific […]
Pollinators submission to CGG re: CBD incentives
Below are details of a written submission to the City of Greater Geraldton as feedback on their draft “CBD redevelopment and revitalisation scheme” presented at March Council meeting: http://www.cgg.wa.gov.au/meeting/ordinary-meeting-council-25-march-2014-mullewa-130pm Below is: A brief explanation of why Pollinators is involved, Links to related documents, Our submission and CGG’s response. Your feedback on any or all of this is most welcome! […]
