Membership and Mutualism
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Membership in AISE is open to all and based on the principle of mutualism and mutual obligation. Historically social enterprises have always been associated with mutual aid and structures such as cooperatives, Friendly Societies, mutual businesses, Credit Unions and others. These organisations were founded to provide mutual help for their members. They were self-helping communities where relationships were multiple, many-sided (that is, they were of many different kinds), and reciprocal (relationships ‘flowed’ both ways). Often mutual aid organisations were founded to help disadvantaged individuals and groups and those most in need.
Like the members of these past (and contemporary) social enterprise organisations, AISE offers you the opportunity to become a member on the basis of mutual help. Membership is therefore based on your contribution, your commitment to our strategic objectives, and on your participation in our activities. AISE members acknowledge and espouse the principle of mutual obligation where they act to support each other (self-help) and those communities and social entrepreneurs in need of help through active contribution of skills and knowledge development. This has been called the New Mutualism.
We invite all individuals and organisations including social entrepreneurs, persons engaged in social enterprise projects, experienced and beginning practitioners, consultants, funders, investors, and parties interested in social enterprise and the non-profit Third Sector and “For-benefits” Fourth Sector generally to consider joining us.
Once you commit yourself to the work of AISE, you will be joining a growing network of like-minded members who benefit from networking, from working together, and who engage learning through doing within the Institute.
Read the next section on "What is mutualism?"
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Click here to go straight to our Categories of Membership.
Contemporary social enterprises are characterised by the emergence of new organisational forms but they have in fact been around for a long time and exhibit most of the features of mutualism and mutual aid organisations from the past. For example, the advent of social enterprises predates the Industrial Revolution. The historian-philosopher E.P.Thompson recognised that the majority of enterprises were locally-based micro-enterprises with fewer than five employers in any one project; and that they took the form of craft-guilds extending back to the 12th century. Guilds were confraternities or associations formed for the protection of their members or for the furtherance of a common purpose or goal. Many of these associations were of mediaeval origin. They were therefore the first organisational forms of social enterprise based on a culture of mutual aid and mutualism.
In Australia, three definable periods of development of social enterprise characterises the emergence of social enterprises. They are:
- Charitable Enterprises (1814-1907)
- Public Enterprises (1907-1972)
- Social Enterprises and Social Businesses (c1975-current)
All exhibited some aspect of mutualism which involved:
- Networking within enterprise communities
- Social purposes and goals
- Stakeholder ownership by communities
- An orientation to innovation, resourcefulness and opportunity
- Sustainability through earned income strategies (as opposed to dependency
- The creation of supportive environments for the nurturing of communities
- Public rather than private benefit
AISE seeks to build and share approaches to better understanding and improvement of social enterprise as an example of a new mutualism which aims to strengthen the role of mutual aid as a third or fourth pathway/sector to addressing disadvantage and social justice, equity-access issues.
Read the next section on "How Mutualism Works for Members"
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Click here to go straight to our Categories of Membership
You may also refer to our Sales on Books about Social Enterprise:
Langdon, D. & Burkett, I. (2004) Defining Social Enterprise, PI Productions Photography, Palmwoods, Qld
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HOW MUTUALISM WORKS FOR MEMBERS
As a mutual member of AISE you will participate directly in AISE activities. This forms part of your mutual obligation in playing a direct role in advancing the social enterprise ‘movement’ in Australasia. At the same time you will accrue certain benefits associated with the kind of membership that best suits your interests and commitment.
Membership in AISE therefore is about doing work with like-minded community and social entrepreneurs rather doing work on or to them. You may also benefit as a member by entering into a formal partnership with the Institute and its members, and using its reputation and credibility to access funding for research, learning and technology grants. This can provide earned income for you and for the social enterprise project you undertake.
Examples:
Submissions, grant applications, and consultancies submitted by Fellows or Associates through AISE take responsibility for the effective outcomes of the projects they undertake in partnership with the Institute. The partner arrangements may vary from AISE’s full involvement in the work undertaken, to partnership in name only. In using the Institute’s name or work, member participants may expect remuneration for their contribution (an earned income). They also have the obligation to pay a small percentage fee from the grant or earned income for administration costs. These responsibilities and obligations constitute the kinds of relationships that are the basis for mutualism at work.
Affiliate or Student may access the benefits listed under this category of membership by meeting negotiated obligations such as part participation as assistant in a learning or research project, through agreed provision of information for posting on the AISE website, and by many other means proposed at the time of application for membership.
Arrangements will be negotiated with AISE’s CEO for each individual project as each (project) will be different and require differing conditions of work and external regulations.
There are three broad categories of mutual membership
- Affiliate and Student Member
- Learning/Research Associate
- Learning/Research Fellow
» More about individual categories of mutual membership.
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