As well as contributing to our members, we are committed to contributing to both our national and international communities. ABN initiatives will often benefit organisations that support and foster growth, health and wellbeing for working women.
Our beneficiaries include women's shelters, the National Breast Cancer Foundation, micro-lending programs in developing nations as well as popular charities such as the Smith Family.
Additionally, through its conferences the ABN has supported smaller charities such as: Sister 2 Sister (a group that provides mentoring to young women in need) and Clothing Can Make A Difference (which provides business clothes to displaced women attending job interviews.
Support for Business Owners in Developing CountriesIn March 2005 and March 2006, ABN members raised funds to start two trust banks in Indonesia and one in India to help entrepreneurs (mainly women) start and grow their businesses.
In 2009, through a series of silent auctions and web-based events, the ABN raised funds to support women through international organisation kiva.org.
Each year we continue to reinvest into Kiva programs and businesses in emerging marketings and developing countries.
In 2004 the ABN's Advisory Board travelled to Timor and Bali to visit with local women and to exchange ideas with businesswomen developing businesses in extreme conditions.
The Australian Businesswomen's Network is invited to attend international events hosted by women's communities. In 2008 ABN was represented at the Global Summit of Women in Vietnam where they spoke of the importance of mentoring and shared details of how the award-winning MentorNet program was developed.
Most recently ABN participated in the Dell Women Entrepreneurs Network forum in Rio. The ABN's Suzi Dafnis spoke about online branding to a group of over 300 women business owners.
The ABN was represented at the Global Summit of Women in Mexico City (2006) and Hanoi, Vietnam (2008) as well as the National Association of Women Business Owners annual conference in Phoenix, Arizona (2008).
The ABN's alliance with sister-organisations in other countries supports the development of international links.
In 2009 the ABN participated in an international research project - The Women's Economic Opportunity Index - which measures over 100 countries initiatives to support the economic development of its women.
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