BSSEC » 2011 » November

Social Finance issues first report on the Peterborough ‘social impact bond’

November 30, 2011

Further to this post on Social Impact Bonds, Social Finance has today issued the following statement regarding the Peterborough social impact bond which many of you will remember seeks to reduce reoffending amongst a defined cohort of offenders: Today Social Finance publishes a report

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URGENT — Serco offers used office furniture to good causes — must be cleared by Xmas

November 29, 2011

Courtesy of Business in the Community, this announcement made recently by Serco (Birmingham): ANNOUNCEMENT As promised here is the list of the furniture we have available, ready to go to good causes (community organisations/schools etc). This furniture is being disposed of following a

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World’s biggest social enterprise event is looking for suppliers!

November 25, 2011

Social Enterprise UK and Social Enterprise Scotland have joined forces to organise what is being billed as the biggest social enterprise event in the world. The Social Enterprise Exchange, to be held in Glasgow on the 27th March 2012, is expected to attract over 1200 delegates and 150

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Hurd says government must work with the sector to clarify what kinds of impact measurements are most useful

November 25, 2011

Further to this post, I notice that today third sector minister Nick Hurd has said something I wholeheartedly agree with. In a piece in today’s Third Sector Online Hurd says that although there is a “buzz” in the sector that impact measurement is necessary, he is con

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Food wholesaling and distribution giant supports small producers

November 24, 2011

I attended a session with Business in the Community this week where we heard from wholesaler, distributor and shopfitting company A F Blakemore & Co — the company, incidentally, that services the SPAR retail estate of 12,000 stores. A F Blakemore also operates a not for prof

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BIG Lottery comes out in favour of social investment

November 23, 2011

In the same week that New Philanthropy Capital warns that charities that take on social investment prematurely threaten to damage a “young market”, the BIG Lottery announces Next Steps: Supporting Social Investment in England, a new £6m fund intended to help pilot, test or

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EHRC report reveals elderly home care as the next frontline battle for reform and protection of rights

November 23, 2011

Anyone in the third sector involved in elderly care will doubtless already have been following the investigation that the Equality and Human Rights Commission has been conducting into care for older people delivered in the home. Close to Home, the EHRC’s report, published today,

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Grab a Slice of the Action with Think Catering

November 21, 2011

Last year Think Venue generated over £1.3m worth of business to local Social Enterprises and Third Sector conference and meeting venues, helping to secure valuable income for communities and businesses with social and environmental objectives. The launch of Think catering, aims to do

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User-led gardening services enterprise restarts life as a CIC

November 18, 2011

At iSE’s Social Enterprise Day event yesterday I bumped into Ian Wells, an old friend from work I have been involved in with Birmingham Chamber. Ian is now the co-ordinator for Cherry Orchard Gardening Services — COGS. COGS is a training and support opportunity run for and

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ART REACHES £10M MILESTONE

November 18, 2011

ART (Aston Reinvestment Trust) has announced that it has reached £10m in loans delivered to businesses, including social enterprises, based in Birmingham and Solihull. ART is a Community Development Finance Institution, which was set up in 1997 to fill a gap in the market left by the

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Social Enterprise Day @ iSE

November 17, 2011

I joined around fifty other guests at iSE today for a lunch to celebrate Social Enterprise Day. It was lovely to meet up with so many friends, old and new. The iSE team made sure that everything went smoothly. The lunch — homemade soup, bread, fruit and some of the best homemade

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‘Grow in a socially responsible way — and give young people a chance’ says Citizen Coaching

November 16, 2011

With youth unemployment officially breaking the 1m mark and 25% of 16-24 year-olds unemployed, Birmingham-based social enterprise Citizen Coaching is trying to do its bit to help young people get into work. In 2009, in a bold move for such a young company, Citizen Coaching took on two

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Nick Hurd’s open letter to the sector sets current policy announcements in their “strategic framework”

November 15, 2011

And now something for those of you who have not been keeping up. I only just found this — by accident. Maybe everybody else already knows about it… On the 11th October 2011 Nick Hurd published a long open letter to charities and social enterprises seeking to set a welter o

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New association of social impact analysts launched

November 15, 2011

A new fifty member-strong association of social impact practitioners – the Social Impact Analysts Association (SIAA) – has been launched to try and ensure that members can identify and sign up to an agreed framework on social impact measurement for the sector. Pressure to improve the

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Michael Gladwell on TED

November 09, 2011

I’m not a great TED fan but this morning a friend pointed me in the direction of Michael Gladwell’s superb little performance/lecture on the Norden bomb-sight and I had to set aside my prejudices. Watch it here. It is brilliant — and its call for a healthy scepticism

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More cash for social investment intermediaries

November 08, 2011

It seems suddenly that everyone is at it — pushing money in the direction of social investment intermediaries, that is community finance institutions and similar. Third Sector Online announced today that Deutsche Bank is the latest to set up a ring-fenced fund of £10m to lend to

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Evaluations for Birmingham’s WNF programmes now available

November 04, 2011

Social enterprises and third sector organisations involved in delivering programmes under Birmingham’s Working Neighbourhoods Fund may be interested to know that the evaluation documents are now available on the Birmingham City Council website here. Thanks to Judy Tullett at Cas

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Websites now from only £500

November 04, 2011

An update to the information in BSSEC’s really useful guide to support for social enterprises (see the sticky post on the home page), Colebridge Communications now offers websites from just £500 (+vat). We now offer 3 options – Starter, Main Course and Full A La carte. Ou

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I don’t care, I’m having a moan!

November 03, 2011

It’s been one of those weeks so, without any apology or naming names, I’m going to have a moan! I’m fed up of finding examples of organisations that promote the idea of supporting local businesses or social enterprises or even the local flipping sheriff, who then go

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Urgent — Ex-school/nursery furniture free of charge for third sector organisations

November 03, 2011

Alison Lawson at social enterprise rePC has a range of furniture and other items suitable for 0-9 year-olds which it is offering free of charge to third sector organisations on a first come, first served basis. These items come from a recent school clearance. You must be able to colle

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