About this organisation
Description of charity
At SisterWorks we believe Work Empowers Women. Over the past 10 years, we supported over 2,000 migrant, refugee, and asylum seeker women from 105 countries to build a better life in Australia through skills training and work opportunities. We are a certified social enterprise focusing on partnerships with industries to generate social and economic values for migrant, refugee and asylum seeker women in Australia.
Summary of activities
Our vision is an Australia in which all migrant, refugee and asylum seeker women are economically empowered. Our mission is to provide these women with opportunities to build their confidence, independence and skills to improve their economic outlook. At SisterWorks, everything we do is grounded in the belief that work empowers women. We provide education, vocational training and pre-employment programs to equip refugee and migrant women — ‘our Sisters’ — with the skills, knowledge and confidence they need to overcome barriers and enter employment or entrepreneurship in Australia. We also function as a social enterprise selling unique products which have been made by our Sisters. This not only connects many members of our community with employment, but also provides those who are budding entrepreneurs with the opportunity to sell their products via an established retailer. SisterWorks is more than just a service provider — we are a community. With established hubs in Richmond, Bendigo and Dandenong, a mobile hub and strong online presence, SisterWorks is a safe, inclusive space where women can connect with others who have faced similar hardships. Together, we learn by doing. Together, we are strong.
Mission or vision of the charity
Through work and entrepreneurship, our mission is to support women who are refugees, asylum seekers or migrants to improve their confidence, mental wellbeing, sense of belonging and economic outlook.
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Outcomes
Outcomes are self-reported by charities
Programs and activities
Name: Empowerment Hub Training and Employment Pathways
URL: https://sisterworks.org.au/about-us/
Classification: Women's services (Human services > Special population support > Women's services)
Beneficiaries:- Adults - aged 25 to under 65
- People in rural/regional/remote communities
- People from a culturally and linguistically diverse background (or people from a CALD background)
- Females
- Financially disadvantaged people
Name: Social Enterprise Employment and Entrepreneurship
URL: https://sisterworks.org.au/
Classification: Social enterprise (Economic development > Business and industry > Social enterprise)
Beneficiaries:- Youth - 15 to under 25
- Adults - aged 25 to under 65
- Migrants, refugees or asylum seekers
- People from a culturally and linguistically diverse background (or people from a CALD background)
- People in rural/regional/remote communities
- Financially disadvantaged people
- Unemployed persons
- General community in Australia
Name: Work experience through volunteering and internship placement
URL: https://sisterworks.org.au/volunteering/
Classification: Voluntarism (Community development > Voluntarism)
Beneficiaries:- Youth - 15 to under 25
- Adults - aged 25 to under 65
- Migrants, refugees or asylum seekers
- People from a culturally and linguistically diverse background (or people from a CALD background)
- Unemployed persons
- General community in Australia
Name: Targeted external referral through partners' programs
Classification: Job creation and workforce development (Economic development > Employment > Job creation and workforce development)
Beneficiaries:- Adults - aged 25 to under 65
- Migrants, refugees or asylum seekers
- People from a culturally and linguistically diverse background (or people from a CALD background)
- People in rural/regional/remote communities
- Unemployed persons
- Females
Finances
What is this?
This graph shows how much revenue (money in) and expenses (money out) the charity has had each year over the last few years. Charities have many sources of revenue, such as donations, government grants, and services they sell to the public. Similarly, expenses are everything that allows the charity to run, from paying staff to rent.
What should I be looking for?
First off, this graph gives a general indication of how big the charity is - charities range in size from tiny (budgets of less than $100,000) to enormous (budgets more than $100 million). You're also looking for variability - if the charity's revenue and expenses are jumping up and down from year to year, make sure there's a good reason for it.
Unlike companies, charities and not-for-profits aren't on a mission to make money. However, if they spend more than they receive, eventually they will go into too much debt and run into trouble. As a very general rule, you want revenue to be slightly above expenses. If expenses is reliably above revenue, the charity is losing money. If revenue is much larger than expenses, it means the charity might not be using its resources effectively. It isn't always that simple, however, and there's a lot of reasons a charity might not follow this pattern. They might be saving up for a big purchase or campaign, or they might have made a big one-off payment. If you're worried, always look at the annual and financial reports to understand why the charity is making the decisions it is.
What is this?
If a charity receives more money than it spends, that's a surplus (in business, it would be called profit). If it spends more than it receives, that's a deficit. This chart shows surpluses and deficits for the charity over the last few years.
What should I be looking for?
Unlike companies, charities and not-for-profits aren't on a mission to make money. However, if they spend more than they receive, eventually they will go into too much debt and run into trouble. As a very general rule, you want a charity to make a small surplus on average. A deficit means that charity lost money that year, which may indicate poor financial management or just a series of bad circumstances. If the charity always has a huge surplus, it means the charity might not be using its resources effectively. It isn't always that simple, however, and there's a lot of reasons a charity might not follow this pattern. They might be saving up for a big purchase or campaign, or they might have made a big one-off payment. If you're worried, always look at the annual and financial reports to understand why the charity is making the decisions it is.
What is this?
This chart compares the amount the charity receives from various sources, including donations (i.e. money given by the general public or philanthropy), goods and services, government grants, and other sources.
What should I be looking for?
Donations are an important source of revenue for some charities. Others rely more heavily on government funding, or on revenue from other sources. This is an indication of how much they need donors to accomplish their mission. Note that there is no 'good' or 'bad' amount of donations for a charity to have. It might be interesting to look at values over time - are they going up or down? A charity that gets less donations every year may be in trouble.
What is this?
Assets are things that the charity owns that are worth something. This could be anything from a car to investments. Similarly, liabilities are debts or obligations that the charity owes to someone else, like a loan or an agreement to pay for something.
What should I be looking for?
Firstly, in general a charity should have more assets than liabilities. If it doesn't, it implies that the charity might not be able to pay its debts, and you should look very closely at the charity's annual and financial reports to make sure they are taking steps to remedy this. Current assets should generally be above current liabilities - that means the charity can easily pay off the debts that are coming due soon. Beyond that, look for a large stockpile of assets. While a charity should have enough assets to keep it afloat in hard times (a 'buffer') if that stockpile gets too large the charity could be using that money more effectively. As always, if you have concerns check the annual and financial reports.
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