Drinkers will soon be able to be called philanthropists, with non-profit bar Shebeen opening in Melbourne next year.
Sheebeen, a non- profit bar, will sell exotic drinks from the developing world with the profit from each drink sale supporting a development project in that drink’s country of origin. For example, buying a Vietnamese beer will support vocational training projects for street kids in Hanoi, and South African wine sales will support rape prevention and awareness projects in Durban. A key attraction of The Fund is that Shebeen’s business structure allows philanthropic investors to achieve a three to five times social‐return‐on‐investment over three years.
To raise money for the opening the company is holding art exhibitions this November in Sydney and Melbourne. The exhibitions, titled Pin Up Your Doodle (doodle as in illustrations and sketches), will auction off the best drawings from famous and ordinary individuals. The exhibition itself will house a temporary Shebeen pop-up bar serving exotic beers and wines from the developing world, giving exhibition goers a taste of the Shebeen to come.
The exhibitions will hopefully be a fun way to raise awareness about quite serious issues, Shebeen founder Simon Griffiths told Dynamic Business.
“I’ve been overwhelmed by the support that has been offered to Shebeen. To my mind, social entrepreneurship is a smarter way to make a difference in the world and a better way to approach running a business,” Mr Griffiths said.
“Everyone loves a mindless doodle, but we also like doodles filled with passion and meaning. We’re asking architects and designers to submit doodles from their workplace – the early development of buildings, their next clothing line, etc. It’s going to be great to see what stuff these people are made of,” Mr Griffiths told Three Thousand.
Contributions have already been gathered from famous and ordinary people, including the Australian artists Amber Wallis, Jake Walker, and Vexta.
