Community Engagement

Sunshine Coast Business Women's Network in the Community

The Sunshine Coast Business Women's Network is mindful to create a supportive and inclusive environment that connects women together.  Additionally, there is recognition for the need to show leadership and to engage with the community through a variety of avenues and programs.

The Community Engagement Portfolio Chair seeks to grow and develop opportunities for sponsors, supporting partners and members. This is done by collaborating with network and social connections through using existing and new initiatives which benefit both members and the community.

Through the amazing generosity of our members who donate prizes and purchase raffle tickets at events, a huge amount of funds are raised to support programs and projects that provide education and professional development for women on the Sunshine Coast who may not have access to these services and/or support through their family and school networks. 

We believe our responsibility as a network is to empower women to participate fully in the array of opportunities provided by our business community. To deliver this we have three main streams that have been created within the network or in collaboration with local services.

EMPOWER - Supporting our members build their knowledge and grow

Our newly created bursary has been designed to give back to our membership base to go towards specific business and professional development activities. Applications open each year at our annual Christmas Breakfast, closing on the 31st January 2023 and recipients announced at our International Women's Day breakfast. There are 10 x $250 bursaries available each year.

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ENABLE - UniSC Bursary Program

Delivered in collaboration with our sponsor, University of the Sunshine Coast, this bursary program is designed to support female students continuing in an undergraduate program with potential to make a significant contribution to business in the Sunshine Coast Region. In joint consultation finalists are assessed by representatives from both UniSC and SCBWN. There are four bursaries available annually at $500 each. The chosen recipients are presented with their bursary at the SCBWN Christmas breakfast event each year.

This bursary was founded by the Sunshine Coast Business Women’s Network in 2007 to assist deserving local women to complete their degree at USC. Karen and Keith Neuendorf, who established this bursary on behalf of SCBWN in 2007, generously provided two additional bursaries in 2022 to commemorate the 15^th Anniversary of the Sunshine Coast Business Women’s Network Bursary.

EMBRACE - Annual Giving Tree to women across the Sunshine Coast

Each year we have our Giving Tree at the Christmas Breakfast. We encourage all guests to bring a wrapped and labelled Christmas gift (please include a label indicating the suggested age range of the recipient). These gifts will be distributed through Laurel Place to women in our region who are experiencing or have experienced sexual violence.
Our focus for Laurel Place is to help these women feel extra special. Some gift suggestions include dining out experiences, special food treats, pampering beauty items, and upmarket items that are not typically considered everyday necessities. We appreciate your generosity each year.