Adding social investment into your funding mix…
Social investment is on the rise; however it’s gaining prominence much more slowly than many people anticipated, for two main reasons.
First, the market is struggling to get to grips with what is probably the cornerstone of the concept – that the terms of the deal should reward the social impact, i.e. the greater the social return, the more modest the financial return should need to be. Progress is happening on that, but it’s taking its time.
Second, many of the charities that could benefit from social investment aren’t yet in the habit of developing programmes that generate both financial returns and social impact. More often, projects aim at one or the other. Part of my role is to help you overcome that challenge, and hopefully you’ll find resources and advice on this website, or through contacting me directly, that will start that thinking happening within your organisation.
But despite those barriers, social investment is gaining significant traction and offers genuine opportunities for organisations who understand it, and are sufficiently prepared to grasp the nettle. So, to help with that I’ve partnered with Bayes Business School’s Centre for Charity Effectiveness and Investing for Good, to create a handbook for charities interested in the concept, but unsure whether, or how, they should go about it.
The handbook has an excellent diagnostic to help you decide whether social investment is right for you and how ready your organisation is to begin the process of accessing it. You can download a complimentary copy of the handbook here.
In addition to the handbook, over the coming months we’ll also be organising a series of seminars around the topic with experts in their fields, and people who’ve “been there, done that”. If you think you might be interested, please drop me a note and I’ll make sure you get an invite.
As usual, if you have any questions, just get in touch.