Team Wild Yachting
TWY runs sailing trips to collect rubbish from remote parts of the Reef and Cape York, staffed by young people who are recruited via the juvenile justice courts or Job Services Australia agencies.
Team Wild Yachting was established to work with young offenders and at risk youth. They ran sailing trips to collect rubbish from remote parts of the Reef and Cape York, staffed by young people recruited via the juvenile justice courts or Job Services Australia agencies. They would visit and clean the local environment, whilst at the same time taking part in the ROPE program (Rights of Passage Entitlement) that assists young offenders and youth to rehabilitate and become positive contributors to society.
2014 Pitch
Funds raised: $20,300
Running a grassroots charity or social enterprise is rarely plain sailing. Nor, for that matter, is social investing or venture philanthropy. Both are targeting complex issues with new strategies and ambitious goals, which comes with a level of risk. At TFN Melbourne on 2 December 2014, CEO David Jackson pitched his hybrid social /environmental program to engage young repeat offenders from the QLD youth justice system in ecological cleanup and leadership programs aboard the Team Wild yacht. The funds raised were put towards the cost of the 2015 itinerary, which would support 10 primarily indigenous participants through the program.
The impact...
TWY had a successful track record in youth rehabilitation but shrinking government funding. So in 2013 David had proceeded down a social enterprise path by establishing Team Wild Enterprises and invested in a commercial reef tours operation to part-fund the charitable work. He had been supported in this endeavor by a number of reputable investors and social impact consultants.
Unfortunately, Team Wild Enterprises was put into voluntary administration in 2015. A consortium of investors lead by The Difference Incubator worked with the management team to find a solution for the charitable arm of the enterprise but has ultimately been unsuccessful to date, though discussions are ongoing. TWY and David Jackson are no longer involved and David has not been available to TFN during this reporting process. At this stage we are not able to confirm whether the TFN grant was, or will be, used as anticipated. All tax deductible receipts issued by TFN to donors are not affected.
