blog posts
TDi News
An important message about the future of TDi
At the end of 2024 The Difference incubator closed its doors. The Board and Leadership made the brave, bold decision to invest in the future, transferring resources to our impact area of Locally-led Regenerative Economies, now known as Neighbourhood Economics. This was the surprising outcome of our deeply thoughtful strategic exploration, as we asked hard questions about our impact and future focus. Below are two letters shared in September 2024, from TDi Board Chair Corinne Proske, and from Annie Smits (CEO) and Anna Moegerlein (Deputy CEO). Dear Friends, We have momentous news to ... READ MORE
Decent Work for Women Exiting the Justice System: Employment Collaboration Project
Over the past few months we’ve been working closely with community organisations who support women and non-binary folk to rebuild their lives after contact with the justice system.In our previous blog post on Decent Work for Women Exiting the Justice System, we looked into the important need for more meaningful employment opportunities for women transitioning out of the justice system. Now, we’re excited the share that we have launched a new co-design process in partnership with Victorian Legal Services Board and Commissioner. The ‘Employment Collaboration Project’, funded by Victorian ... READ MORE
Ten years, a new chapter: Pioneering a new economy worthy of the human spirit
After ten years of learning and unlearning in economic development, our new strategy is a roadmap to an economy worthy of the human spirit. READ MORE
Acknowledging Country: A new way to connect mindfully with an important practice
We recently engaged YARN Australia for a series of team workshops on storytelling, focussed on creating relationships and intentional connections between First Nations Australians and settlers. We invite you into our world as we share a practice from these workshops, and gratefully acknowledge the land we call home. READ MORE
Kylie-Lee Bradford: Forging New Paths for First Nations Business
We recently welcomed Kylie to the TDi team. Kylie brings a wealth of experience in entrepreneurship as well as rich heritage and story from her Kakadu roots. Kylie is passionate about opening up opportunities for First Nations business to support and give back to their communities. Kylie-Lee Bradford officially joined the TDi team in July this year as our First Nations Lead, but she’s been a friend and partner with us for a number of years now. Bringing with her a rich experience from growing up on Country in Kakadu, Kylie’s knowledge of native botanicals and bush foods goes ... READ MORE
Why we’ve switched to Bank Australia
by Anthea Smits, CEO There's been excitement around TDi this month – we are now officially a customer with Bank Australia! Why the change? When I first started to think about impact investing many years ago, a dear friend and mentor challenged me to think about where I bank, and what my superannuation is doing. Most people don't think of themselves as investors but the fact is, we make investment decisions every week as we transact with a bank and invest our super. So why did TDi choose Bank Australia? Bank Australia has made a world-leading commitment to achieve net ... READ MORE
Surviving the campsite in the COVID-19 crisis
Two weeks ago, I shared with the team an analogy of a campsite. I reflected that our house has burnt down and we are struggling to reconcile the shock and the grief of all that is happening. I shared with them that I’ve been thinking that we need to set up camp, for now while we figure out how to reinvent for the new normal. We have a temporary place of residence and it’s not what we would have chosen but we can create from it. So, for the past two weeks, we have been focused on getting the campsite set up, trying to work out where stuff goes, who’s sleeping where and how to trade out of a tent. READ MORE
TDi enters a new stage of consciousness and clarity
What is TDi? This is a question we are asked all the time, and have struggled to answer with real clarity. TDi started as a private quest in response to societal problems, long before it became a public conversation which culminated into the entity today we call The Difference incubator, or TDi. It has been gathering momentum for a long time and slowly gaining a face and life. I took over as CEO two years ago and was keen to help TDi find its next stage of consciousness and clarity. Over the past 12 months we embarked on an intentional process to help this come to life. Through this ... READ MORE
YuMi Wins Shared Value Award 2018
Across the Asia Pacific inspiring and impactful shared value initiatives were selected as finalist for the Shared Value Awards 2018. We are so excited to share that last week from that fantastic group, YuMi Tourism Partners, a joint initiative between TDi, Carnival Australia and The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, won a shared value award in the category Shared Value Project by an Organisation or Collaboration. This partnership is aptly named YuMi which commonly means "together" in Pacific Bislama and Pidgin languages. Partnership is imbedded at every level of the program ... READ MORE
TDi in the Pacific: Q&A with our Head of Pacific Programs Anna
Anna Moegerlein works here at TDi heading up our consulting and business development in the Pacific. She recently sat down with Sam Cook at Pacific Legal Network (PLN) Australia to share about TDi’s work in the Pacific, and to shed some light on what drives everything that we do in the ‘do good make money’ space. *The following interview was originally posted on PLN’s blog here. Q: You currently work at TDi, can you please tell me more about what TDi does and why you get out of bed and go to work every day? TDi was founded by investors and entrepreneurs to awaken the ... READ MORE
Meet Our New CEO: Anthea Smits
With 2018 full swing ahead, so is TDi's new CEO Anthea Smits (or Annie to the team!), who is leading TDi into new directions throughout 2018 and beyond. In between meetings, working in the Pacific and helping to push forward the social enterprise movement - we managed to snatch Annie away for a quick chat to share with you what motivates and drives her, as well as her vision for TDi moving forward. So first, what did you do before joining the team here as CEO of TDi? I have a diverse mixture of commercial and nonprofit experience, as well as a long history of working to ... READ MORE
Melbourne Two Feet 2018 Cohort Announced!
We really can’t believe that Two Feet 2018 is already upon us, and are so excited to formally announce our Melbourne Two Feet 2018 Cohort. With organisations tackling issues ranging from environmental sustainability to gender equality, Two Feet 2018 is set to be another big year. Welcome guys – we are so excited to be working with you all! The following are our bold and talented Two Feet 2018 Melbourne cohort, check out what they are all about and how they plan to change the world. (From Sydney and want to take part in Two Feet? Applications are still open! Check it out ... READ MORE