Collective to support domestic violence charity

Women’s networking and mentoring initiative Collective will use its Melbourne event to raise funds for domestic and family violence charity Banksia Academy.

Collective – Inspiring Women in Business, powered by the IntoWork Group, was founded to empower and support women at various stages of their careers through networking events, mentoring and professional development.

Collective events have raised over $80,000 to date for female focussed charities across Australia.

The beneficiary of this month’s Collective Melbourne event is Banksia Academy, a not-for-profit organisation which provides support to women and non-binary survivors of trauma, especially domestic and family abuse, to overcome barriers to full social and economic participation. Sister company and primary employment partner, Scriibed, also provides safe, secure and flexible work in the digital economy to women survivors of domestic and family violence who often face multiple barriers to employment.

With 27 women killed in Australia so far in 2024 as a result of gender-based violence, Banksia Academy and Scriibed Founder & CEO Melanie Greblo said financial support is vital to support women and non-binary survivors in times of crisis, “We are experiencing heightened awareness around domestic and family violence at the moment. Sadly, through the deaths of so many women in 2024, several more than at the same time last year – it’s a problem that’s growing year on year,” she said.

Ms Greblo said Banksia Academy’s work in the recovery space supports women to rebuild after leaving violence, “By focusing on employment, the future of work and long term social and economic participation – it is all prevention in action. It’s so wonderful to work with partners like the Collective to increase the reach and impact of our work,” she said.

Collective National Lead Leeann Rayner emphasised the importance of providing individuals with safe spaces and specialised support to facilitate their recovery from domestic violence, “Having access to safe spaces and specialised support is not just a luxury, but a necessity for those rebuilding their lives after experiencing domestic violence. At Collective, we deeply understand the significance of these resources in empowering survivors and helping them regain control over their lives which is why we are so honoured to support Banksia Academy,” she
said.

Melbourne business and mindset coach Suz Chadwick will be the event’s guest speaker. Suz has established herself as a highly respected authority in building magnetic business brands with over 10 years in the branding space. She has worked with hundreds of women locally and globally to support them in building bold brands, profitable businesses and be seen as thought leaders in their industry.

She has been recognised as a Top 10 Branding Coach by Yahoo! Finance and contributor to Entrepreneur.com, Savvy SME and many other business publications. She is also the author of Play Big, Brand Bold, host of the popular Brand Builder’s Lab podcast and the creator of Brand Builder’s Academy. Suz is now a regular on the speaker and conference circuit, supporting women to become bold and powerful voices, claim their space with confidence and build profitable businesses without the burnout.

Suz is passionate about supporting women who may not have had the opportunity to build something for themselves in the past and works with Banksia to provide coaching and support to help women who have been through crisis to build their confidence and self-trust to create their own opportunities. She is excited to be speaking at the Collective event with Banksia Academy as the chosen charity partner.

After the event, women have the opportunity to sign up for Collective’s free national mentoring program, which is run online and is open to all women in business across Australia.

Collective Melbourne will be held at the Imperial Hotel Melbourne (2-8 Bourke St, Melbourne VIC 3000) on
Thursday May 23 from noon to 1.30pm. Click here to find out more and buy tickets.