£5.5m Northern Impact Fund launches for social enterprises

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Imaginaitive with funding, secure in it’s mission for social enterprise – The Key Fund…

Key Fund, a long-standing investor in community and social enterprises, is delivering the Northern Impact Fund, aimed at new and early stage enterprises who are seeking finance to support growth.

Matt Smith, CEO of the Key Fund, said: “With this fund we’re offering finance of up to £150k, but typical investments will be around £50k, with up to 20% of the amount available as grant. The Key Fund was one of the early pioneers in this space, and our original model was based on a grant and loan mix, so we’re really excited to be going back to that original model. It’s long been our belief that grants can play a very important role in helping new and smaller social enterprise become more robust.”

Source: The Key Fund web site – thekeyfund.co.uk  Accessed 25.09.2016

A new blended grant and loan fund, the Key Fund package looks to secure sector deals in the £5,000 to £150,000 range. Applications are accepted from across the North and Midlands, with the Fund looking to realise 46 deals a year.

At a flat rate of 6.5% interest, the average loan term secured is expected to be three years.

Interested in business development on these terms, as a social/community enterprise.  See the links below…

Find a full copy/Press Release about the new fund here…

Find a full grant/investment profile for the new Fund on-line here…

Think Enterprise!

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A new magazine, Think Enterprise, from the IOEE.

‘The Institute of Enterprise and Entrepreneurs has been over 15 years in the making and exists to make sure that all those involved in enterprise are able to access the support they need, when they need it’.

Whether your interest lies in tracking SFEDI Centres of Excellence or in developing apprenticeships and wider learning in business, then Think Enterprise has something of interest for you.

Be sure to check out pages 16 & 17, with their 2016 Enterprise Awards almost upon us, if only to read of the developmental success of others can in itself an inspiring and confidence building thing as you grow your own business, whatever sector you are in.

You can find the IOEE on-line here.

Social Saturday – coming in October

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Find out more…

Will you be ready for Social Saturday this year again? A date for your diary, 15th October 2016.

A whole day dedicated to the promotion of, awareness raising about and the engagement with new customers, clients and service users.

Get your Social Enterprise in full broadcast mode with the readily downloadable Media Pack from the Social Saturday web pages. A great resource.

Check our the ideas for promotion, templates for everything from press releases to a letter to your MP or elected members to give  your enterprise a boost, support Social Saturday in 2016.  Celebrate the work of your community with invited guests. Makes great copy!

emailIconMiniYou can always support the team at Social Saturday and add interest to your own energetic promotion by emailing news of your events or occasions to socialsaturday@socialenterprise.org.uk

Give your enterprise a boost, support Social Saturday in 2016.

Social Investment by Charities

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 Making a social investment as a charity?

 

The Charities (Protection and Social Investment) Act 2016 (’the 2016 Act’) introduces a new statutory power for charities to make social investments. This came into force on 31 July 2016.

The Charity Commission have released yesterday interim guidance to charities to cover this new development in financial matters. The interim information is due for review in 2017, but the Commission are keen to underscore, for trustees, the power trustees now have to make ‘social investments’.

Below are some useful definitions and links to more information on this theme for those involved in charty governance and finance.

What is a ‘social investment’?

‘In the legislation, a ‘social investment’ means a ‘relevant act’ of a charity which is carried out ‘with a view to both directly furthering the charity’s purposes and achieving a financial return for the charity’.

A ‘relevant act’ means one of two things:

  • an application or use of funds or other property by the charity; or
  • taking on a commitment in relation to a liability of another person which puts the charity’s funds or other property at risk of being applied or used, such as a guarantee’

Source: Gov.uk Publications – Chariities and investment matters  See https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/charities-and-investment-matters-a-guide-for-trustees-cc14/charities-and-investment-matters-interim-guidance   Accessed 01.08.2016

What is not a social investment?

‘A financial investment is an investment made solely for the purpose of achieving a financial return for the charity.

A programme related investment (PRI) will not be a social investment unless the financial return to the charity forms part of the motivation for the charity making the decision to carry out the relevant act.’

The guidance issued goes on to review trustees’ general duties, the statutory restriction imbued by the 2016 Act, as well as the use of a charity’s permanent endowment processes.

In conclusion there is a succinct section of caution on the giving of ‘guarantees’. The guidance does recognise, however…

‘If a charity is asked to give a guarantee, the trustees will need to consider carefully whether they have the power to give it. The power to make social investments includes a power to give guarantees if they meet the definition.’

You can find the new Social Investment guidance on-line in full here.

Another section of the Commission web site offers the visitor downloadable documents and advice  – Charites and Investment Matters: a guide for trustees (CC14)

The documents are available in html or as pdf’s for review and download.

Finance Innovation – the film

Banking, Community Economics, Economic Thought, Innovation, SocEntEastMids, Social Investment, , , , , ,

The Finance Innovation Lab have just launched a short film that nicely encapsulates their work, featuring the collaborative, facilitative and encouragement of change aspects of their work.

  • The Finance Innovation Lab seeks to help create alternative business models in the the finance sector.
  • It is a movement for advocacy, promoting financial sectoral change to key actors.
  • They also work to effect ‘change from within’, campaigning for the re-alignment of finance professions to a more equitable and fair model.

The Lab web site has an inciteful article, written by Angela Clements, founder of Fair For You. It shows the journey that a finance sector principal can be driven to follow, when the inequity of access to mainstream credit, for example, makes even more difficult the life of an economically disenfranchised family.

If you’re a full-on corporate banker, do watch the fim and explore the Finance Innovation Lab web pages. You might even turn a corner yourself!

Cabinet Office – Social Investment Awards

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 Investing in UK social business…

The Cabinet Office Social Investment Awards recognise the impact social investment is having on communities across the UK.

Now entering its second year, the awards highlight the innovation and dedication of world leading social investors and enterprises, celebrating both the achievements of teams and individuals alike.

The awards are supported by NatWest. In 1999 the bank set up its own charity, Social & Community Capital, to help fund social enterprises and community lenders that cannot access mainstream finance and to help them on their path to the financial mainstream.

The awards have six categories that applicants can enter, free of charge, by nominating their own businesses or social enterprises.

Institutional Social Investment Award
Institutional investment deal or product that has created demonstrable social impact at scale.
New Social Investors Award
Investment deal or product that has attracted new savers and investors into the social investment market.
Social Entrepreneurs Investment Award
Investment deal into an early stage social organisation to create demonstrable social impact.
International Social Investment Award
International investor who has invested through the UK market to create social impact anywhere in the world.
Market Building Award
Organisation that has demonstrated innovative and diverse ways to grow the social investment market in the UK.
Public Service Transformation Award
Social investment deal that has delivered improved public services.

Categories 1-3 and 5-6 are open to nominations from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Category 4 is open to individuals or organisations based anywhere in the world.

The awards close to applications on 18 March 2016. Short-listed nominees will be notified on 1 April 2016 and the awards ceremony will be held in London on 3 May 2016.

For more information see the Cabinet Office Social Investment Awards website.

Starting your new social business in 2016?

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Planning your new social enterprise in 2016?

The Key Fund have a range of on-line resources available for the budding social entrepreneur, or social enterprise that is leaning towards developing its business in 2016.

You can find some simple and effective Key Fund toolkits below. Whether needing to survey and assess your income needs as an individual, or a family unit, or to calculate various loan interests.

You can also find a template for creating your Social Enterprise Business Plan. This will guide you methodically and clearly through the steps you need to plan your governance, your policies and your operational delivery – all focused on social enterprise creation and sustainability.

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View, print or download your cashflow template here (MS Excel file).

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View, print or download your Business Plan template here (pdf file).

internetIconMini View, print or download your Loan Illustrator here (MS Excel file).

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View, print or download your personal survival budget template here (MS Docx file).

The Key Fund main web pages also have a more comprehensive and detailed set of resources available on the Fund Start-up Advice web centre (Courtesy of Start-up Donut). This offers you more insight and detailed resources for creating a new social business and has links to a variety of services and information that new groups or companies will find useful.

So, wherever you are on your social business journey in 2016, from first idea to seeking social investment, you can contact The Key Fund Team here.

A happy and enterprising 2016!

Spark your inventiveness!

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The next deadline for the Design Council Spark programme is approaching on December 14th.

‘Design Council Spark is a product innovation fund and programme designed to fast-track products to market. Spark is looking for brilliant ideas at prototype stage.

              Source: The Design Council, December 2015

The short film below shows designer Wayne Hemingway, talking about the process of design and invention, and how the Design Council Spark Award fosters the creation of new products and enterprise to create and market your ideas.

Wayne Hemingway says ‘..ideas are free, now is the chance to make those ideas a reality…’

You can find out more about the Spark initiative from The Design Council here. The on-line access to the application process can be found here.

Your concept must be to create a physical product and you need to be UK based to qualify for entry. Up to 150,000 Pounds prize money is to be shared by the winning entries, as well as a period of development and design support to realise your dream.

Good luck with your entry!

Sheffield Social Enterprise Network: Development tender?

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Sheffield Social Enterprise Network (SSEN) is to commission business development expertise to sustain and develop the network beyond the end of the Lottery grant which expires on 31 March 2016.

‘SSEN requires a consultant to help the network become a sustainable entity beyond the end of the current Awards for All grant which ends on 31.03.2016. This piece of work is fundamental to develop SSEN’s strategy for the medium and long-term’. Source: SSEN Nov. 2015.

The main areas of work include:

  • Work with SSEN management committee and its members to understand its circumstances, problems and opportunities.
  • Develop a tender/funding resource (key information that SSEN can use to input directly into funding/tender bids).
  • Scope the external environment for business opportunities
  • Register SSEN with key contract opportunity websites, mailing lists and newsletters.
  • Identify and evaluate potential income-generating services and projects that SSEN could develop (short term and long term).
  • Write funding and tender bids with the support of management committee members.
The deadline for receipt of tenders is 12pm on Tuesday 10 November 2015.