It was founded by John Nicoll who has worked in the not-for-profit area for more than a decade, especially through helping organisations win grants. Over time he came to realise that many social practitioners were very interested in exploring alternative financing pathways for their programs. He also saw that project design was a crucial part of successful financing. And witnessed the rapid growth of new funding pathways such as impact investment, social procurement, social bonds and crowdfunding.

Prior to SocPlus John worked in grant acquisition and grant management for many years. He has more than fifteen years’ experience owning and managing businesses in both the private and not-for-profit sector, as well as more than ten year’s experience directing Government and community grant and investment programs. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and Commerce from the University of Melbourne, and is currently studying his Masters of Social Impact at Swinburne University.

SocPlus is based in Melbourne Australia.