InTouch SOCIAL ENTERPRISE EAST OF ENGLAND
May/June 2004 • Issue 4
Inside: From the Editor
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Editor David Lloyd talks about research, social accounting and the bottom line.
Emmaus saves taxpayer £600K 4 Helping the homeless makes bottom-line sense and benefits the rest of society too.
Nigel Griffiths unveils new Phoenix Fund
Lend Me Your Fears – lending, borrowing, saving and earning
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Three East of England Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs) will provide financial support to social enterprise.
Security and opportunity
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Cambridge Housing Society provides its imaginative and affordable housing and financial packages.
Co-operation helps the elderly 6 The “Helping Hands” project provides care in an area with one of the county’s highest concentrations of elderly people.
Learning in the community
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“A school of regeneration” in the Eastern Region? EEDA and GOER show an interest in the North East model.
Feature: The Hollies
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The experts said it was not possible to build a successful community business on a hospital site. The “Hollies” in Ipswich proves them wrong.
Focus on …
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In this issue, Michael Avis, Sarah Charters and Andrew Saul look at six Suffolk social enterprises.
Networks unlimited …
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News and upcoming events from the six counties in the Eastern Region. And your chance to tell us what your doing.
Social accounting and social enterprise
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The balanced scorecard is a business approach to measure the impact of the voluntary and community sectors. Are you a social enterprise? Can you print this magazine within your own facility? If you are interested, pick up the tender details at nearbuyou.co.uk.
Internet: SEEE’s Web partner services are at: http://www.nearbuyou.co.uk http://www.socialenterprise-east.org.uk
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major new piece of research on social enterprise in the region has just been published. Lend Me Your Fears – lending, borrowing, saving and earning is a report on social enterprise finance in the East of England. The work was commissioned by EEDA and undertaken by The Guild. It covers two distinct areas of enquiry: • Finance available for social enterprises • Barriers to finance for some individuals The findings will enable funders and policy-making agencies to help improve the access to finance of these two groups – both of which have traditionally found it hard to find appropriate sources.
Social Enterprise finance The report raises some new and challenging ideas about social enterprise finance: • Not enough business advisers know about the different forms of finance that are available • Social enterprises don’t know about
specialist lenders in the sector • There is currently a surplus of loan finance in the region • There is too much emphasis placed on encouraging social enterprises to borrow rather than use grants – and not enough on maximising income through sales • Many social enterprises are unwilling to borrow and lack the skills to manage loans in a trading environment • Grant funding for social enterprise can be counter-productive as it can remove the motivation to earn income • Social enterprises need access to different forms of finance at different stages of development
Individual finance There are also significant issues addressed that relate to finance for individuals • People using social enterprise organisations such as credit unions or the New Horizons ➜ page 2
Finance ➜ cover
programme, value having the facility to save more than access to cheap loans • Lending agencies need to work closely with debt counselling agencies and other partners • There appears to be no learning opportunities in financial literacy for adults in the region • There needs to be an awareness raising process to enable people to find out about credit unions and other alternative financial services providers.
Not knowing the what and where of funding The research was funded by the SSEER programme as part of its Access to Finance actions. It was recognised that there are a number of new finance initiatives being set up, particularly under the Government’s Community Development Finance Initiative (CDFI). This has resulted in a range of new loan funds being made available to so called financially excluded individuals wanting to start businesses, to small businesses of all kinds and specifically to social enterprises. Few people seemed to know what funds were available where and whether what was available met the needs of those looking for finance
‘The social enterprise sector is risk averse’ Was the popular view. If social enterprises could get a grant rather than borrow money then that is what they would do and, in particular the part of the sector that is emerging from the voluntary sector was unwilling to manage the risk associated with borrowing. The research paints a more complicated picture. • Many organisations that have historically relied on grant funding do not have people with the specialist skills required to manage trading accounts – it is not something they have ever needed to do • Without these specific skills, borrowing money to invest would indeed be risky • Traditional commercial lenders ask for commitments that social enterprises are unable or unwilling to make. Individuals on boards of directors do not stand to make
International models The report looks at financial models elsewhere in the UK and beyond. In the region we already have the model of the Grameen Bank method of providing Microcredit – first developed in Bangladesh and used in the UK by WEETU in its Full Circle programme. There is also a profile of social enterprise finance in Italy through the Banca Etica – a national resource for social enterprise, owned by the sector and raising and using its own money to lend to social enterprises. Banca Etica is a partner in the CLIPS project – one of SSEER’s transnational partners. personal profits from the business so will not make personal guarantees against the loan • Many social enterprises don’t know about the social enterprise lenders that are in the market and don’t understand the different services they offer – in fact they offer loans without personal guarantees and offer a more developmental relationship with their clients.
Risk aversion is rational In fact the report makes clear that being risk averse is rational!
Why poor people don’t use banks
There were many similarities in the findings relating to individuals who are unable to access mainstream financial services. For many people the view they have of existing service providers is entirely rational. • Traditional lenders can cause people to get into difficulties if they do not understand how to use products effectively • Financial service products are expensive if you are only dealing with small amounts of money • People don’t feel in control of their finances and keep repeating patterns of debt because it seems the only path open to them • There are a number of social enterprise providers who offer a range of services at low cost and with support to help people manage their finances better The findings from both areas of the research will enable service providers to make informed decisions about how they • That business support and financial services for social invest resources into the financial support of social enterprises and excluded enterprises should be better linked individuals. Nicky Stevenson • The financial services for social enterprises should be owned (Nicky is a partner of The Guild, Norfolk)
The report recommends... by the sector – not by statutory bodies
• New financial services should be evaluated to show the impact in the community • New and existing social enterprise lending should be better promoted • There needs to be a better understanding and sharing of risk relating to borrowing • Funding agencies should review the impact of grants on social enterprises • A finance sub-group should be set up within the new regional social enterprise network to take the agenda further 2 InTouch
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About the research The research into social enterprise finance was undertaken between July and November 2003. A questionnaire was sent to over 400 social enterprises in the region. Many were contacted and interviewed about their experience of using finance and a range of lenders and other funders were also interviewed. The research team at The Guild included Professor Ruth Pearson, a development economist at Leeds University. Her extensive experience of how finance affects local communities added a new and valuable perspective to this issue.
Editorial
InTouch
David Lloyd is joint managing director of Business for People in Huntingdon. He is editor and contributor to various publications
Social Enterprise East of England May/June 2004 Issue 4 The SEEE network is co-ordinated by Business Link Hertfordshire InTouch is financed by SEEE (funded by the European Social Fund ) and published in its support by Business for People in partnership with Creative Touch, both of which are social enterprises 4 Archers Court Stukeley Road Huntingdon PE29 6XG Tel. 01480 455200 email: intouch@businessforpeople.org.uk SEEE Staff: Social sector manager: Jo Ransom Project manager: Elaine McCorriston Project executive: Kirsty Tanner Development worker: Peter See Web managers: Lin Evens Michael Waring Editorial Staff: Editor: David Lloyd Content editor: Peter Durrant Contributing editors: Sarah Charters Andrew Saul Michael Avis Creative/production editor: Austin Bambrook Please send PR and other information items to: Peter Durrant, e-mail: humberstone@pop3.poptel.org.uk Tel. 01223 262759
From the Editor P
erusing the articles that are featured in this issue of InTouch brings it home that much that is worthwhile, and even some things that are at the cutting edge of social enterprise, are going on in the East of England.
A lack of awareness about available financial opportunities
The Guild research on social enterprise access to finance, Lend Me Your Fears – lending, borrowing, saving and earning by Nicky Stevenson, is our lead article this issue. The research clearly shows that we social enterprises have much to learn, and much to profit from, becoming more knowledgeable about the various forms of finance that are available. My own company, Business for People, took part in the survey. As the telephone researcher took me through the various forms of finance and asked questions about my awareness of them, I began to feel a tad embarrassed at my ignorance in some areas. I was therefore surprised that she commented at the end of the interview that I seemed more informed than anyone else she’d spoken to so far! Clearly a few seminars or events on the subject wouldn’t go amiss. The Guild’s very informative piece of research is available from the trading website, nearbuyou.co.uk.
Emmaus builds on success Another excellent piece of research, by Cambridge University on Emmaus, is reported in this issue. The economic value of this particular social enterprise was robustly argued by Professor Christine Whitehead at the presentation of the findings, Building on Success, in London and Cambridge on 25th March. The Emmaus research underlines the importance of social accounting or auditing to weight the value of social enterprises in economic terms in addition to the social benefits. Lend me your fears was jointly funded by EEDA and the SEEE project, and the Emmaus research was funded by EEDA.
Social accounting and the double/triple bottom line In a similar vein, Social Accounting and Social Enterprise discusses social returns, the balanced scorecard and the methodology of the Social Audit Network. Co-ops UK’s “triple bottom line” approach (social, financial, and environmental) also gets a mention. The purpose should not to be to get organisations that trade for a social purpose utterly fixated on the bottom line for its own sake, but rather that they have nothing to fear from it. On the contrary, the social bottom line, if properly assessed, can be a powerful argument to present to stakeholders in the community, local government and financial institutions.
More support available
The opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publishers or of Business Link Hertfordshire, Business for People Ltd or Creative Touch. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in an information retrieval system or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the publishers. This publication has been prepared using information provided by contributors and, while we make every effort, accuracy cannot be guaranteed. SSEER is unable to accept any liability for the consequences of any inaccuracies, errors or omissions in this publication. No representations, warranties or endorsements of any kind are intended.
I recall a discussion with the leader of local council a couple of years ago, trying to get across the value of what my own organisation was doing in our locality for the benefit of its community. It was hard going. Much has moved on since then, with economic development specialists in local government taking an interest in social enterprise, and Business Links, EEDA and other organisations such as Social Firms UK, the Development Trusts Associations and Co-operative Development associations all providing substantial support. And there is a more developed financial system to tap into although – as the Lend Me Your Fears research reveals – this is not as well understood or utilised as it could be. The challenge is to be educated about what is available, what is relevant for your own organisation, and how to access it. We hope you find this issue of InTouch helpful in that respect.
© SEEE 2004
InTouch
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News
Building on success: Emmaus Cambridge saves taxpayer £600K a year
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55,000 50,000 45,000 40,000 35,000 30,000 25,000 20,000 15,000 10,000 5,000 0
Legal/justice system savings
75,000
Supporting people allowance savings
100,000
Housing and subsistancew savings
125,000
Discretional giving by Emmaus Cambridge
150,000
Recycling waste savings
175,000
Drug treatment savings
200,000
Asylum seeker support/NASS savings
£ 250,000
Death cost savings
Emmaus Communities offer homeless people a practical way in which they can move from homelessness and dependency on state benefit to taking responsibility for their own lives through working in self-supporting Communities. “No one in an Emmaus Community gets a handout – they work and work hard for their bed and board,” says Tim Page, director of Emmaus UK. The Emmaus Cambridge Community is not just self-supporting. It also makes an annual surplus which it donates to other charities. People once considered by society as worthless and a drain on resources are now supporting themselves and helping other disadvantaged people through their own hard work. The Cambridge University research team, headed by Professor
Savings and benefits to the wider community made by Emmaus Cambridge Donating goods to low income households
More than just self-supporting
Christine Whitehead used the Emmaus Cambridge Community as the basis for their study and found that: • Emmaus Communities fit the model of Social Enterprise: they rely on an enterprise orientated approach; they have specific social aims beyond providing accommodation, including capacity building for individuals experiencing poverty, exclusion and homelessness; and they are very much autonomous social organisations. • Emmaus Communities are involved in three types of social enterprise. They provide a good standard of accommodation for Companions (as the residents are known); they deliver a high level of support to these Companions; and all Companions are involved in productive activities such as recycling and furniture businesses. • The Emmaus Community at Cambridge is seen as the ‘flagship’ Community because of its longevity, management consistency and financial independence. It provides 30 (24 at the time the
A&E healthcare savings
ew research undertaken by Cambridge University – launched on 25th March to a packed audience at the House of Commons and later that day in Cambridge – has identified that Emmaus Communities offer large social and economic benefits both in the context of homelessness services and as social enterprises. They concluded that reduced costs to the Health Service and the criminal justice system together with assistance given to other charities, is of the order of £600,000 per annum, representing a direct saving to the Treasury and, ultimately, the taxpayer. The Emmaus movement was founded by a French priest known by his resistance code name “Abbé Pierre”. The first Community was set up in France in 1949 to meet the needs of people made homeless by World War II. The concept was brought to the UK in 1990 and Emmaus Cambridge was the first of eleven Communities to be founded in this country. The research was funded by the East of England Development Agency (EEDA) to help demonstrate the contribution social enterprises like Emmaus make to the region’s economy.
Skills/training savings
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News
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research was conducted) accommodation units, together with support services, linked to a recycling and furniture business and cafe. Emmaus provides services and donations to other local homelessness organisations. Notably, it provides a successful detox environment for some drug-users. The financial and economic evaluation of the strictly business element of the enterprise, based on accounts figures for 2001/02, show that the Community generated a trading surplus of around £153,800. Even allowing for the imputed costs of the business property – which is owned by the Emmaus Community – and for voluntary inputs and outputs, the pure business surplus is estimated at over £130,000 for the year. Taking account of all elements of the Community’s activities – including, accommodation costs and income sources, the financial surplus is over £100,000. Even including imputed potential costs of the whole property - the total Community surplus is still of the order of £30,000 per annum. A particularly important part of the Emmaus ethos has been that Communities take as little direct Government assistance as possible. The only source of Government revenue funding provided to the Cambridge Emmaus Community is housing benefit donated by eligible Companions. A reasonable measure of the savings to Government and the wider Community is of the order of £600,000 per annum. One
example of these savings is the capacity to reduce the most obvious costs of homelessness. When a comparison is made with local hostel rents (the most likely alternative accommodation option locally) the saving to Government is over £111,000. “This has been a fascinating piece of work to do. It is clear that the Emmaus organisation is unique in its approach to homelessness and it has the ability to provide value for money for Government and to contribute to society in such a positive way” said Professor Whitehead. Barbara Phillips, Director, Social Enterprise Unit, DTI, said: “Emmaus is both dynamic and sustainable. It embodies the values and characteristics of social enterprise with its bold social aims, its self-sufficiency, and its emphasis on people helping themselves”. Sal Brinton, EEDA’s deputy chair commented: “Social enterprises, or organizations which are run for the benefit of the community, make a critical contribution to the East of England’s £79 billion economy and that contribution needs to be acknowledged through research such as this”. A detailed summary of the research findings is contained in Emmaus UK: Building on Success. Summary of Findings by D Marshall, C Whitehead, R Lovatt and R Foreman. This is available free from Emmaus UK. 48 Kingston Street, Cambridge. United Kingdom. CB1 2NU. Alternatively, it can be downloaded from www.emmaus.org.uk
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Griffiths unveils new East of England CDFIs East of England CDFIs that will benefit from Phoenix fund boost for include: disadvantaged communities announcement Women’s Employment Enterprise Training Unit
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mall Business Minister, Nigel Griffiths, announced on 14th April £10.5 million funding for 25 schemes that will help to deliver significant investment to disadvantaged communities around the country, including three in the East of England.
Finance via CDFIs The finance, which comes from the Small Business Service’s (SBS) “Phoenix Challenge Fund”, will boost entrepreneurship amongst deprived areas by providing continued support to the burgeoning network of Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs). CDFIs provide finance and business assistance to potential entrepreneurs and small to medium-sized enterprises, including social enterprises, which are often unable to access the finance they require from banks and other conventional sources. “CDFIs are filling a vital gap in access to finance in more disadvantaged communities, forming a bridge between the public and private sectors”, Mr Griffiths said: This second tranche of Round 3 funding from the Phoenix Challenge Fund for CDFIs, announced 14th April, takes the total support to £42.5 million over the last two and a half years. (The first tranche of Round 3 support of £11.3 million was announced on 27 October 2003). Round 3 takes the period covered by the Phoenix Challenge Fund from 2000 to 2006.
Finance for social enterprises and under-represented groups The latest cash boost will help fill the gaps that exist in SME funding across certain parts of the country and will broaden the funding opportunities for underrepresented groups, such as women entrepreneurs, black and minority ethnic businesses and social enterprises, often unable to access mainstream financial support.
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Further information from: Department of Trade and Industry, 7th Floor 1 Victoria Street London SW1H 0ET. Public Enquiries +44 (0)20 7215 5000 Textphone +44 (0)20 7215 6740 (for those with hearing impairment) www.dti.gov.uk.
the
(WEETU) – £147,381 With Round 3 support, WEETU plans to increase Full Credit Lending Circle activity to cover the whole of Norfolk and roll out into other rural parts of the East of England region. The East of England Development Agency (EEDA) is supportive of WEETU and that its bid builds on the DTI’s “Strategic Framework for Women’s Enterprise” report, as well as EEDA’s strategic activity. WEETU is also marketing its Full Credit product in other parts of the country. Suffolk Reinvestment Trust (SRT) – £211,000 The creation of SRT will enable Suffolk to benefit more directly from the ESF Equal project, SEEE (of which InTouch is the newsletter), led by Business Link Hertfordshire. Initially sponsored by Suffolk County Council, SRT will become autonomous and separately managed from the Council. SRT will have particular emphasis on encouraging growth of social enterprises and co-operatives, especially in the disadvantaged rural communities of Suffolk. Other SMEs will also be covered, although joint working with Norfolk & Waveney Enterprise Services will provide the support in this and other loan management fields. Supported by EEDA. Norfolk & Waveney Enterprise Services (NWES) – (£490,000) NWES is a well-established Enterprise Agency and is active in other IMD wards across the region, with a good track record in delivering business support, including financial packaging. It is creating a subsidiary CDFI to work in conjunction with EEDA, the Business Links of Suffolk and Norfolk, local authorities, WEETU and the Banks. Linking with SRT, NWES will be targeting rural communities (where many banks have closed branches) and the more disadvantaged wards in Norfolk and Suffolk. Within this will be a focus on start-ups and early stage businesses, including a business training, development and mentoring package. Supported by EEDA.
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Initiatives
Security and opportunity –
real news from a real Housing Association C
ambridge Housing Society (CHS) is not only a major provider of social housing but also provide support services throughout the region. They have more (affordable) homes in Cambridgeshire than any other housing association and there are plans afoot for further new developments. But InTouch is especially interested in the ways through which the CHS provides a range of community investment services across East Anglia as they work at combating financial exclusion and helping people to develop their financial literacy skills. Their in-house New Horizons Saving and Loan Scheme works closely with Rainbow Saver Anglia Credit Union as well as the North Cambridge Credit Union (see InTouch March/April edition). In addition, they exceeded the
Treasury’s target of 200 people opening a Saving Gateway Account, which matches people’s savings pound for pound up to a total of £375. They also continue to provide support to the account holders up to account maturity, which is 18 months after they opened the account. In addition they have: • launched a new pay-as-you-go home contents insurance product for their residents, combining competitive rates, a range of payment options and cover from as low as £6,000 up to £30,000. • enabled more than forty people to use their Saving and Loan Scheme to access affordable loans and enhanced savings accounts through the high street branches of the Cambridge Building Society who on 19th March won the Cambridge Evening News Community
Andrew Church, Community Investment Manager, Cambridge Housing Society, with staff of Cambridge Building Society and new resident Kendall Riehl who has recently taken out a Moving In Loan.
Co-operation helps the elderly, provides rural social care, and eases unemployment By Graham King
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lderly people in rural Suffolk villages are receiving a new kind of domestic care. It’s not from the government. It’s not from the county council. It’s from a local co-operative. Suffolk ACRE – Action with Communities in Rural England – has launched a project that gives “floating support” in an area where one of the county’s highest concentrations of elderly people puts a heavy strain on Social Services resources.
Supporting Co-operative community enterprise Now the ‘Helping Hands’ project has received a £11,115 grant from Cooperative Action – which supports the development of new co-operative enterprises. Suffolk ACRE is, says Stephen YoudThomas of Co-operative Action, “meeting rural community needs with a multidirectional project that helps elderly residents to live more independent lives, promotes social inclusion, provides employment and relieves pressure on public care services”.
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The grant is being used to develop the co-operative structure of a group that meets personal and social needs with a range of home services, from simply befriending the lonely, shopping for elderly residents and helping them cope with new technology and administration processes, to giving practical advice on home safety and security.
Over-60s are 22% of Suffolk population The Waverney district – where the Helping Hands project was launched – has one of the highest concentrations of elderly residents in a county where the growing number of over-60s accounts for 22% of Suffolk’s population. Helping Hands is a three year research project into establishing a unique domiciliary Care Co-operative to promote social inclusion in rural areas and provide employment and training in an area where unemployment is nearly twice the county average and care workers are in short supply. With help from the Countryside Agency and Suffolk Social Care Services, contracts
have already been secured and support workers are already in place.
Shift from governmental and institutional care “There have been significant changes, over the past 15 years, in the way this sort of care is provided,” says Project Manager, Karen Lawson. “The presumption of predominantly public provision is long past. Government policy is now encouraging independent sector provision, partnerships between public, private and independent sectors, and closer collaboration between local authorities, health authorities and providers. “At the same time there has been a shift away from institutional, building-based care solutions to those focused on independent living in the community. But, meanwhile, many elderly people live in desperate situations, severely limited by physical or sensory disabilities or simply the absolute remoteness of their location. Changing technologies and administrative methods - such as new ways of pension payment, direct debits and bill accounting - causes confusion for many. Even a simple
Initiatives Business of the Year 2003 award for its projects in the community and the charity efforts of its staff.. At September 2003 affordable loans were made available at 4.45% interest – which is even cheaper than a credit union. • Helped residents to claim over £11,000 in welfare benefits and tax credits and continue to support the two credit unions mentioned above to develop their business. Including an office base for two development workers, Andrew Wilson and Keith Presence who is currently working hard on an ESFEqual round two bid for credit unions throughout the region.
And that’s not all Customers can borrow a laptop PC free of charge; In 2003, 93 people were helped to develop new skills by providing them with information, advice and guidance and 267 referrals were made to training and education providers.
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Cambridge Housing Society, Endurance House, Chivers Way, Histon, Cambridge. CB4 9ZR. T: 01223 713555.
service to help people manage their finances could prove a great benefit to reducing debt and associated worry.
Sustaining the economy and selfsufficiency “Helping Hands hopes to make an essential contribution through a selfsufficient co-operative, run by its members, but which goes beyond social care to also provide training and employment for local people and valuable support for existing care authorities.” Suffolk ACRE supports and sustains the economic, social and environmental needs of rural communities in Suffolk by forging effective partnerships between communities and agencies and promoting self-help. Co-operative Action promotes the development of co-operative, mutual and social enterprise solutions. Since the fund was established in 2002, grants and loans of between £5,000 and £50,000 have been awarded to co-operative projects from energy and agriculture to retailing and childcare.
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Promoting learning through sharing experience … … is the introduction on RegenSchool pamphlets, and this was the theme of the recent meeting in Cambridge, hosted by Go-East and convened by Regen and Community Renewal Network East (CRNE). The purpose was to discuss possible ways forward for a communitybased “school of regeneration” in the eastern region. The RegenSchool works on the principle of learning in the community – although there are some university connections – and the goal is to spread the concept throughout the country. John McGough, from the RegenSchool North East provided us with an outline of the how other regions are moving ahead in this area, a point not lost on a strong EEDA and Government Office Eastern Region representation. The session was introduced by Vicky Etheridge CRNE’s manager, and John’s presentation covered their apprenticeship programme, which involves a day and residential programme to work with people, as opposed to for people, on critically constructing their business plans. This is an intensive process which involves confidence building, the need to research the potential market and identifying sources of support. In essence it’s about start-ups and launching community businesses with the underlying theme of trading for a social purpose. Particular
examples concerned learning packages in schools, sports developments, wild life projects and filling service gaps within the public sector. This is an area which is also being explored in the eastern region, e.g. via the SEEE project. CRNE have some of the 102 projects on their books.
An exemplar from the eastern region But the underlying emphasis and experience on which these regional discussions were based came from nearer to home. The Dallow Experience (Luton), led by Sarita Jain and Janet Montgomery, vividly brought home the many challenges and difficulties – as well as the rewards – of beginning from scratch with a grass-roots social enterprise in a community setting. There was general agreement that the Dallow Experience might perhaps serve as a testbed experience, as possibilities of a RegenSchool-type approach in Norwich, Cambridge and Chelmsford were considered. RegenSchool had useful hand-out sheets, covering everything from local residents identifying various needs, proposals to the council, SRB proposals, hands-on work, and incorporation. www.regenschool.com
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For further information about Co-operative Action, email: @co-operativeaction.coop or see the website www.co-operativeaction.coop Suffolk ACRE is at Suffolk House, 2 Wharfedale Road, Ipswich IP1 4JP. Tel: 01473 242500; Fax: 01473 242530; email: info@suffolkacre.org.uk
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Initiatives
A First For Luton’s Social Enterprises
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uton’s first ever social enterprise conference took place recently at Stopsley Baptist Church and was hailed a success by all those who attended. Over 80 delegates attended the one-day conference, which included a trade fair showcasing 16 local organisations and social enterprises. Much interest was generated in the products and services offered by the exhibitors, who included Recycle IT, Kidz n Komputers and the Dunstable Disability Resource Centre. The event was co-organised by Business Link Bedfordshire & Luton, a service provided by Chamber Business; Luton Borough Council and Voluntary Action Luton. All these organisations are part of the wider local partnership that supports social enterprises across Bedfordshire and Luton.
Useful information, useful networking “The feedback has been very positive from both the speakers and delegates”, said Robin Lawrence, Business Link’s social enterprise business adviser. “All those who attended the conference said they found it beneficial and would put into practice the knowledge they had gained”. Community enterprise manager Wendy Tremble, from Luton Borough Council’s Regeneration Service, said: “We need more of these awareness events to encourage social enterprise in Luton. There’s lots of information available about support services, training and other local network events and of course it is always useful to network with others involved in social enterprise.” Among the exhibitors were: • Homes for Homeless People (HHP), providers of accommodation, support, resettlement, training and advocacy for 16-24 year olds.
Guest speaker Steve Wallace, Social Enterprise Unit, DTI said that the Government aims to tackle the barriers to the development of social enterprise
• Khidmat, a community group providing services for Luton’s Asian community including training for those wishing to become social care workers. • Business in the Community (BITC), which runs a Partners and Leadership programme where business people from the commercial sector are matched with community enterprise leaders to gain an insight into different ways of working. • Voluntary Action Luton, one of the support organisations supporting the growing number of voluntary and community groups in the Luton area.
Government three-year strategy for social enterprises Steven Wallace from the Government’s Social Enterprise Unit was one of the guest speakers. Mr Wallace said: “The Government has a three-year strategy to promote and sustain social enterprises. The strategy aims to tackle the barriers to the development and growth of social enterprise by creating a supportive environment. Lead responsibility for implementing the strategy lies with the Social Enterprise Unit, part of the DTI’s Small Business Service.” Mick Dillon, executive manager of the Disability Resource Centre based in Dunstable spoke to delegates about the “Road to Sustainability”. He said: “As social enterprises, we have to present a professional front. We need to not only promote the volume of work we do but the impact it has on the community”. Other guest speakers included Alan Wallace, assistant director of the Development Trust Association and Sarah Leeming from the Innovation Centre. This event is part of a programme of events that will take place throughout this year and up to May 2005 across Bedfordshire and Luton as part of the activity for the EQUAL project SSEER.
Launch of new partnership between the voluntary and public sectors through Futurebuilders
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he new Futurebuilders £125 million government investment fund was unveiled on 5th May at Westminster by chief executive David Gutch. Home Secretary David Blunkett was in attendance along with one thousand delegates from the voluntary and public sectors. “I’m delighted to be able to announce to the sector today that Futurebuilders will be open for its first applications on 5th July. Over the next three years we are hoping to invest in around 250 organisations with investments ranging from around £30,000 to several million, as well as providing development grants of around £10,000 to a number of other applicants” said Mr Gutch. The Futurebuilders website went live the same day and will show people how to go about it. More detailed information about
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the investment plan will be available on 5th July. David Blunkett said: “Voluntary and community organisations already add a great deal of value to the delivery of public services. They have a profound knowledge of their local communities and an ability to connect with people who are marginalised. Providing appropriate public services to those who need them is vital to building strong, active communities. By providing capital investment and development funding, Futurebuilders will enable the voluntary and community sector to play its role. It will encourage excellence by funding and promoting the best ideas. Futurebuilders will be managed by a consortium from the voluntary sector. It will provide a mix of grants, loans, and capacity building ie support, training and advice, to the sector.
It will work to five themes which were set by government after consultation with the sector. These are: • Community cohesion • Crime • Education and learning • Health and social care • Support for children and young people Consortium members include: lead partner Charity Bank, Unity Trust Bank, Northern Rock Foundation and National Council for Voluntary Organisations. The Minister for the Voluntary Sector, Fiona Mactaggart said: “The challenge for voluntary and community organisations is to become more independent and selfsustaining. Futurebuilders is an important step in that direction.
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www.futurebuilders-england.org.uk
Initiatives
New: Business Opportunities in Social Firms Franchising and Replication S
ocial Firms UK has been working with members, partners and associates to develop a range of business opportunities that will support the creation of successful new social firms over the next two years. Two events are being organised to present these business opportunities to members and interested organisations – In the North of England on Tuesday May 25th and in the South of England on Tuesday June 8th. This event is supported by The Phoenix Development Fund, Building on the Best Programme The programme will provide information about opportunities for franchising and replication for social firms, and presentation of business opportunities will include employment agencies, computer recycling, fulfilment and distribution, a social firm hotel, homecare social firms, aquarium rental and maintenance franchise, and soap company franchise. There will be workshops/group discussions Also presented will be Funding your business – options for capital, grants and loans and support available from Social Firms UK and Social Firm Regional/National Networks. If you wish to attend, or if you have a business opportunity you wish to present, contact: Social Firms UK, Aspect House, 2-4 Monson Road, Redhill. Email: info@socialfirms.co.uk .Phone: 01737 764021; Fax: 01737 766699.
There is no charge for this event but a strictly enforced £50 charge for no shows will apply. There is no closing date for bookings but it is expected that both events to be fully booked from an early stage and therefore there is a limit of 2 delegate bookings per organisation.
DTI survey on needs of social enterprise The DTI is conducting a survey on information needs of the social enterprise sector. The next stage of the survey is an online consultation which is being hosted by SEC (Social Enterprise Coalition). The consultation went live on Tuesday 11th May and will run for four weeks. SEC have requested you publicise the consultation to your members, and/or participate, especially if you are a social enterprise, or provide a web link or a mention in your members newsletter. The results will be used to inform both the DTI’s and SEC’s information strategy, the more social enterprises that respond, the better the picture of the information needs of the sector will be. All respondents will be entered in to a prize draw for tickets to the Social Enterprise Coalition’s Annual Conference in January.
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www.socialenterprise.org.uk/survey/
Keep InTouch SOCIAL ENTERPRISE EAST OF ENGLAND
InTouch is a bi-monthly publication with a circulation/distribution to 2,500 social enterprises, stakeholders and support organisations in the six counties of the East of England. A social enterprise itself, InTouch is creating employment and training opportunities in all aspects of magazine publishing including media sales. By advertising in InTouch you are accurately targeting customers in the social economy while contributing to the long-term sustainability of the InTouch project. Call 01480 455200 to book your ad.
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InTouch
NO 4 May/June 2004
9
Feature – The Hollies
Escaping from the public funding straitjacket by Sarah Charters
T
hey may look like a couple of aging rockers (although one used to be a mod), but the energy, enthusiasm and sense of pride for the Hollies and everything it stands for couldn’t have been more obvious. Greeted with beaming smiles and cheeky wit, Kenny Summers (Assistant Manager) and Richard Ambury (Acting Company Secretary) certainly made me feel welcome.
Positive empowerment The Hollies was set up five years ago to continue the work a of an occupational therapy department from the now closed psychiatric unit of St. Clements hospital in Ipswich. Whilst the the physical surroundings, machinery and culture of occupation as a therapy were retained, today the drive is to get people integrated into the community, not institutionalized. A more proactive model than the traditional set up, the Hollies’ ethos has always been about empowerment. Designed to help those who suffer from mental ill health, its pivotal aim is recovery, training and providing new skills where people (not patients) are encouraged to get back into the work habit and thus gainful employment. Kenny Summers, Assistant Manager for 4 years (a carpenter who ran a business for 10 years), admitted he feels a real sense of purpose working in such a positive environment. “I can do the business aspect, the work is stimulating and I get to witness people getting better”. With no medical therapy provided, people (or “the guys” as they’re called) are not known by their illness but their name. Instead of being told what to do, where to sit and when to go for breaks, they’re asked where they want to be. What can they offer us? What talents do they have? The tiniest bit of skill is teased out and providing they want to work and take part in the recovery process, staff will give them all the support they need. As part of a reward scheme, everyone who attends their sessions receives a incentive payment and many go on to become fulltime employees. By taking on responsibility and making decisions, there is a sense of feeling revalued by the community. As Kenny explained, the difference “is sometimes really quite dramatic”.
Transition to independence Currently running eight separate businesses, the Hollies’ current and most ambitious undertaking is to break away from under the NHS umbrella and aim for independence and self sufficiency. The firm’s manager, Jeremy Beckett, realized it was the right time to make this transition, and set about recruiting help from a number of organisations. Peter See, then with Suffolk ACRE, now development manager of SEEE was consulted, and suggested setting up two
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Breaking away from companies limited by guarantee, creating one as a under the NHS registered charity and the other as a trading arm of umbrella, the Hollies the organization. The charity would allow the Garden Centre plans to achieve independence business to raise funds through public events (which and self-sufficiancy. the NHS is not allowed to do) and provide great flexibility in terms of what can be done with the monies raised. Income received via the charity would therefore sustain the day-to-day running of the business and enhance the services it provides. Working tirelessly towards this transition is Richard Ambury. A member of the Hollies project team and specialist advisor for the NHS Trust for the past seven years, he describes himself as “The greaser who oils the wheels”. Proudly announcing they are on the brink of achieving independence, Richard anticipates complete self sufficiency within the next two years. With the aid of their agent, Co-operatives UK in Manchester, they expect to be registered before June. “These The “experts” said it was not possible are really exciting times” he to build a successful business on a explained. “It will enable us to hospital site, but the Hollies has proven get away from labeling people them wrong. Admitting it’s been an as mentally ill, be more enormous challenge, Kenny described socially inclusive in our how taking on a site where the patients outlook and help break down (as they were then called) had separate stigma, helping us better toilets and strict rules, staff had engage with the community.” uniforms and doors were locked for Suffolk ACRE and the three protection, can be a scary concept. One Primary Care Trusts (PCT) in member of staff who had a really hard Suffolk have provided the time accepting this transition took two Hollies with invaluable years to come to terms with it, but expertise, with the PCTs afterward admitted Kenny was right. agreeing in principal to He could see the results, was a lot underwrite their expected happier and received greater job trading deficit for about 18 satisfaction.
Overcoming a major challenge
Feature – The Hollies months. The PCTs will also pay the wages of the former NHS staff and cover the costs of the premises, allowing the separation from the Health Trust (who previously provided all revenue contributions). The membership of the boards for the two companies will be divided equally between staff, service users and interested members from the community (who have appropriate expertise). The Hollies team not only considers this a unique concept but a vital one.
A recipe for success So successful is the Hollies initiative that this little corner of the St. Clements site is buzzing. Last year the business turned over £176,000 (100% through trading) increasing from £25,000 3 years ago, whilst an optimistic growth pattern of approx 35% per annum is predicted. With a team of approximately 100, the workforce generates skilled carpentry, producing quality, made-to-order garden and domestic furniture alongside exquisite hand-painted silk wall hangings, cushions and cards. Commissions are undertaken. Light industrial packing and administration services are also provided, whilst The Pavilion Café offers visitors a warm and welcoming atmosphere. An array of culinary delights and refreshments are waitress served throughout the day, 7 days a week. Actively supporting goodwill trading, the shop is an Aladdin’s cave of competitively priced materials and carvings from Africa and Asia. The Garden Centre supplies customers with value-for-money plants, outdoor paving slabs, a garden and landscaping service and large sculptured features for the creative gardener. These include tables and seating sculptured into abstract works of art from the amazingly shaped roots of Balinese trees. Such items sell extremely well
Lunchtime in the with many of the large pieces selling for around £700. Pavillion Café – always Profits are reinvested back into the business, busy with customers enabling staff to be employed where appropriate. from the hospital and community dropping in With so much potential, it’s hardly surprising the for food or light business now trades via numerous satellite refreshments businesses around Ipswich and plans to lease the throughout the day building and surrounding grounds. By providing extra car parking and outdoor eating areas the aim is to make the site more visible, encourage a greater number of visitors and generate positive word of mouth publicity. Not something I consider this social firm has anything to worry about. My friends already know of this wonderful place and can’t wait to experience its warm, relaxing vibe. Once they have, I’m sure they’ll agree such business success is not down to luck, but great foresight. Why am I so convinced? Hollies Enterprises Ltd Well if you have to ask, as one Tel: 01473 329463 Fax: 01473 329095 customer did, “So which ones are the Email: david.apps@lhp.nhs.uk patients?” the answer is clear!
Case Study – Martin Flory aged 28
Martin Flory’s warm smile and polite disposition makes him a pleasure to be with. Especially useful for his voluntary stints in the Hollies shop every Saturday. Pictured Martin Flory and Ian Brown (Team leader) in the woodworking workshop
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Learning to cook for himself at the age of 14, Martin Flory began a career in catering in 1997 Working across the country, including a top-notch hotel in London, the hours were long and arduous. Martin accepted this was all part of the job, but when false accusations and bullying became a regular occurrence, things started to change. Moving from job to job, his dreams turned into dissolution and Martin’s confidence and self-belief dwindled. In a run of bad luck, Martin received a slash to the face in a mugging, was burgled in his home, and his granddad died. Family problems left him with little hope of support and Martin began to feel a black cloud hanging over him. No matter where he went, he felt like nothing was working out. Martin had many layers of negative experiences to deal with such as seeing his grandmother – who was like a mother to him – die in front of him while he was young. Today, it’s a different story. Since being referred to the Hollies, Martin’s love of making things has given him something both practical and rewarding to do. So much so he’s now studying a two-year City and Guilds Cabinet Maker Progression Award level II at college. Recently nominated and elected to join the Shadow Board as a director, Martin intends to use his qualification to become a full-time teacher at the Hollies. Martin wants to make a difference and help others like himself. As he explained, “The team saw I had potential, they had plans for me and that’s when they suggested college. The Hollies is a great, wonderful place to be in. They don’t put you down; they treat you as a person and respect you.”
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NO 4 May/June 2004
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Focus on: Suffolk Articles by Michael Avis
Local shop for local people M
onks Eleigh – with its thatched and pantiled cottages – is a quintessential “chocolate box” Suffolk village. When, as has been the experience of many rural villages, the local shop and Post Office was to close, the local community (population 350) decided to do something about it. In March this year they opened the Monks Eleigh Community Village Shop and Post Office. I spoke to Peter Maynard who is in charge of finance. To set the shop up, £10,000 was raised through fundraising and the remainder through grants from Suffolk County Council, Baberough District Council and the East of England Development Agency. The business operates from a small, refurbished barn belonging to the local pub and is incorporated as an industrial provident society called Monks Eleigh Community Association. This guarantees that all profits made are used to sustain the business or other projects within the village. The shop is supported by 40 volunteers who maintain the quite extensive hours of 7.45am-6.30pm weekdays, 9am-5pm Saturdays and 9.30am -12.30pm Sundays. It has a remarkable range of products, including a fine selection of cheeses – many of which are sourced locally – and it also sells newspapers which attracts passing trade. Monks Eleigh Community Shop is a credit to all who helped in its development, and it is well worth a visit if you are passing through – especially if you like cheese.
40 volunteers staff Monks Eleigh community shop which is open seven days a week
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Monks Eleigh Community Shop The Street Monks Eleigh Ipswich IP7 7AV
Wood N Stuff opens second shop at Haverhill
L
ocated on Station Hill in Bury St Edmunds, Wood N stuff looks like a pretty little garden centre and craft shop. But this is just the public face of a co-operative social firm providing occupational rehabilitation by making or growing everything that is for sale. It has recently opened a second shop at Haverhill. Wood N Stuff is made up of a labyrinth sprawling over four greenhouses, a woodturning room, workshops, a broadband-linked computer room and canteen – a hive of activity with members happily working on their latest projects. Holding this all together is John Mully, a man bubbling over with energy and enthusiasm. He supervises everything – workshops, administration, growing, sourcing, supplying, employing, and... the list goes on. John is assisted by a paid staff of 14 and three volunteers. The business was launched in 1995 as a cooperative Social Firm. By generating income as a business it has a large degree of freedom in its choices, including how it utilises disabled staff. As a co-operative it also gives the members a chance to have their say in the running of the business. Additional funding is received through the Day Care System or Social Care as it is now known. The co-operative serves 152 people working in both the Bury St Edmunds and Haverhill branches with an age-range extending from 18 to 93 years and disabilities ranging from slight memory problems to
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quadriplegic. This additional funding relieves the The Station Hill branch of Wood N Stuff is a pretty pressure on the members to have to produce goods little garden centre and for sale, very much a Wood N Stuff philosophy. craft shop, that also provides occupational Outings and trips are also organised for members rehabilitation. and last year they had an outing to France. The sense of wellbeing and confidence that the members get from making something and then experiencing a customer buy it from the shop is praiseworthy indeed. John Mully If any readers wish to Suites 1-4 Station Hill, Bury St Edmunds Suffolk IP32 6AD start up a similar venture, Tel: 01284 702 195 John Mully says he would 3 Rookwood Way, Haverhill, be please to help where he Suffolk CB9 8PB can. Tel: 01440 707 878
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Focus on: Suffolk Articles by Andrew Saul and Sarah Charters
SOLD and Side Step S
pecial Objectives for Local Disabled (SOLD) was established 17 years ago in Lowestoft. The business teaches woodwork, metalwork and crafts to disabled people; there are five staff, and up to twenty-five learners. Manager Stephen James showed me around the workshop. On the ground floor is the woodwork department, and an area being established for metalwork. In their previous building, they also had a horticulture department, and plan to erect a greenhouse to re-establish it at the current location. A recent grant from the European Social Fund has allowed them to build a kitchen unit, in which trainees improve their domestic skills. The ESF grant has also allowed them to install a lift to the upper floor, which is the location of the art and ceramics department, the administrative office and an IT suite, in which courses in digital photography are held. SOLD took digital photos, which were assembled into a calendar, to be sold to raise funds for Waverney Stardust, a boat for the disabled. “One charity helping another,” as Stephen James put it. The ESF grant also built a first floor fire escape suitable for wheelchair users. “Having put in a lift, we need to be able to get them out if there’s a fire,” Stephen pointed out.
SOLD has a block funding contract with the Suffolk County Council, and because it is near the Norfolk/Suffolk border it gets Ad-hoc funding from Norfolk County Council. The funding is supplemented by the sale of products from its craft shop in Lowestoft.
Taking a Sideways Step Side Step is a marketing co-operative set up as an off-shoot of SOLD. I spoke to Paul Barber whose own story is an illustration of the type of people the two businesses help. Having worked all his life as a merchant seaman, Paul lost a leg in an accident at sea. For some time afterwards he drifted through life without aim or focus until he came to SOLD. He had never tried woodwork before, but came to enjoy it so much that he now dreads weekends and holidays. Side Step members make woodwork under the umbrella of SOLD, then buy it and sell it as Side Step. They would prefer to have their own manufacturing business, but cannot find suitable insurance because of their disabilities. SOLD is insured only because it has a long-standing relationship with its insurers. It too would have difficulty finding insurance as a start-up in the current financial climate. Side Step was formed using money borrowed from a friend, who was later
Creating a garden planter in the SOLD workshop
paid back from profits, and sells wooden items for gardens – such as planters, fencing and trellises. The next step for the business is to purchase a van, but it is taking a long while to save up the £1000 needed. So reader, if you have a van you no longer require, please consider donating it to Side Step. SOLD and Side Step certainly improve the self esteem of those involved. As Paul commented,“It feels good to go past someone’s garden and say, ‘I made that.’” Andrew Saul
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SOLD – Stephen James Side Step – Paul Barber 01502 512617
Free support for social enterprise start ups I
pswich based Suffolk ACRE is a rural community council established over 60 years ago. Specialising in community development, it runs a number of advice, support and development projects including Suffolk Community Enterprise (SCE). Funded through the SRB (Single Regeneration Budget) and working with other organisations such as Business Link, SCE aims to facilitate community business development by offering access to a comprehensive advice and support service, completely free of charge. SCE has a staff of three (Suffolk ACRE has more than 50) made up of Business Advisor Cynthia Schears and two part-time credit union workers based in Lowestoft. In the three years SCE has been established, ten social enterprises have been successfully aided. These include a workers co-operative providing an after-school childcare club, a community transport
scheme operating services between rural villages and Suffolk ACRE Staff a garden centre, shop and café (the Hollies at St. during a brainstorming session at the Resource Clements) providing support and opportunity to Centre. External facilitators help find people disadvantaged by mental ill health. SCE promotes best practice in community alternative ways of accessing hard to reach enterprise via a quarterly newsletter, interactive members of the website and information sheets. Suffolk ACRE was community the first voluntary organisation in Suffolk to achieve Investors in People status in 1995, and in March 2003 was named one of the 12 Suffolk ACRE best employers in Tel: 01473 242500 Fax: 01473 242530 Suffolk/North Essex. workingtogether@suffolkacre.org.uk Sarah Charters www.suffolkacre.org.uk/workingtogether
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Networks unlimited This section of InTouch is for you to promote and report on the activities of your organisation. Send news of staff changes, business developments and examples of smart thinking to Peter Durrant on 01223 262759 or send an email to humberstone@pop3.poptel.org.uk Good News from STEng which stands for the “Social Training Enterprise Group” which has held its first roadshow in Cambridge. STEng represents an exciting inter-disciplinary style of working through which Branching Out, the Darwin Nursery, OWL, Wysing Arts, Burwell Community Print, FACET, Prospects Trust, Rowan and Turning the Red Lights Green are constructively working together to pioneer work experience and training opportunities with and for a wide range of disadvantaged people. More from Karen Devon on 01223 811662.
Scrapstore in Bedfordshire and cotton nappies in Hitchin We’re not sure if there is a connection between the two, but have you come across Scrapstore – on 01525 375437 – which promotes creative play in Leighton Buzzard for children? This demonstrates – through exploration of the materials offered by the project – how children and young people can be encouraged to value their abilities and so enhance their self-esteem. In Hitchin, Get Real – on 01462 636188 – was established by two mothers who were appalled by the lack of information available to parents concerning nappy options. Do get in touch with InTouch if you know of similar projects. If you want to know what’s happening nationally on the EQUAL front you can obtain a free newsletter via www.equal.ecotec.co.uk and we’ll even send you a copy, on
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request, of issue no.9 where David Lloyd and John Wilkinson discussed how “the SSEER partnership… ensures wider buy-in across the region.”
Small and local – the East Anglia Schumacher lectures At the end of last year a group of enthusiasts met in Cambridge to participate in the first East Anglia Schumacher lectures. The day’s objective was to think about regional sustainability in tune with the Schumacher principle of ‘small is beautiful’. If you would like a copy of the report contact John Rankin on 01223 276757 or email john.ranken@virgin.net. The report is full of useful social enterprise-type information such as sustainable lifestyles, local economic and strategic partnerships, East Anglia Food Links, and a really useful appendix on regional and national organisations and resources.
email at: helen.shaw@ cooperatives-uk.coop or by telephone on: 0161 246 2941.
On-line, and off-line, newsletters and other regional written information In future editions of InTouch we’d like to write about the many, and various forms of newsletters and similar dissemination vehicles available on social enterprise and associated fronts throughout the region. So do please keep us informed of who or what is ‘trading for a social purpose’ (and writing about it on a regular basis) out there. For starters, we can recommend Suffolk ACRE’s on-line newsletter from www.suffolkacre.org.uk; as well as the newsletter of the Marsh Farm Community on 01582 512555; COVER’s excellent quarterly Bulletin on 01223 893443 or office@cover-east.org; Networking East on 01842 754101; or office@crne.org.uk; and Helen Marini’s excellent Profit Plus from 01727 813561 or Helen@exemplas.com.
Co-operativeUK and their work on care homes Co-operativesUK provides information on funding, management and the legal structure for co-operative care homes – which provide a practical alternative to private ownership, putting people ahead of profits and helping to provide communities with a long-term solution to the care needs of older people. It can put interested parties in touch with experts and advisors to create an effective care home solution which meets local needs. For more information, contact Helen Shaw at Co-operativesUK by
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detailing tax advantages, fund-raising advice, auditing accounts and how to run an organisation. Plus there’s an equally helpful sister booklet – Just about Managing.
Launch of National Business Support Register for Social Enterprises Social Enterprise Partnership GB, announced the launch of a National Business Support Register in early March. The concept is for business advisers from all the sub-sectors of social enterprise to pool their details onto one collective, comprehensive database. This will enable potential recipients of business support to carry out online searches for the most appropriate source of business advice for their particular needs in their locality. The Business Support Register will become one of the most comprehensive and representative tools for the social enterprise sector to result from the Social Enterprise Partnership programme. SEP are seeking registrations from nonstatutory deliverers of business support to the social enterprise sector (excludes Business Links, for example). The invitation to register applies to both organizations and independent advisers. To register, log onto www.sepgb.co.uk and click on “Business Support Register.”
Community Development Finance 2004 – CDFI directory launched The comprehensive guide to legal structures Voluntary but not Amateur – available from the LVSC on 020 7700 8107 or info@lvsc.org.uk – provides comprehensive knowledge on u n - i n c o r p o r a t e d organisations, charitable trusts, con-stitutions, limited companies, and the road to incorporation. It consists of 200 pages
The UK’s first directory of community development finance institutions was launched in March. The 70page, full-colour directory provides a complete listing of the CDFA’s members and associates. It is broken down by the regions in which they lend. There is also a section with details of CDFIs that lend money nationwide. A series of lively case studies and articles also helps give a full understanding of the breadth
Networks unlimited and range of the products offered by the UK’s growing numbers of CDFIs. Essential reading for anyone who wants to set up or expand a business, social enterprise or charity in a deprived area, it is also an invaluable resource for anyone working in business support or the wider financial services industry. Community Development Finance 2004 is available at £15 including post and packing (usual price £17.50). To order your copy at the reduced price contact info@contentteam.co.uk or phone 020 7812 9341. The CDFA is offering substantial reductions on bulk orders to allow organisation to equip their staff with this important resource.
Training/conference opportunities Thursday 17 June: 10.00am – 4.00pm at Ashcroft International Business School, APU, Chelmsford. The new model credit union developed by netCUDA offers the potential for all socioeconomic groups who live or work in the area covered by the credit union to become members. This in turn provides the basis for the sustainability of the new model credit union. The conference will be of interest to individuals and organisations engaged in financial inclusion issues, debt
Are you a voluntary sector organisation already earning but eager to turn new ideas into additional income? A new short course from the NCVO, in association with COVER, could be your next step to funding sustainability. Getting Ready for Enterprise a 2-day training course for ‘earning ready’ organisations looking for outside business support. It will be an intensive 2 days: 1 day
training in hard skills, then a day testing ideas in a supportive environment. Two representatives from eight organisations have the chance to emerge with the energy and ideas to take their income generation to a new level. The first course, will be held in Cambridge in autumn. The course will combine presentations, small group work, and marketing plan development around participant’s own ideas. If your organisation wants to be considered for the first Getting Ready for Enterprise course in Cambridge, email the NCVO Sustainable Funding Project on sfp@ncvo-vol.org.uk.
HertSET
might like to try but ownership of the network will remain firmly with its members. Various members will host future events, so there will be a variety of venues. Initial suggestions are that the network will: • Provide suitable training events at the request of the network. These may be specific sub groups or for the entire network. • Have a ‘network’ page in Profit Plus • Hold lunchtime meetings with interesting and thought-provoking speakers.
Business Link will facilitate these for interested members. • Be the voice of social enterprise for Hertfordshire, with its opinions passed on to local authorities, the DTI, the Social Enterprise Coalition and other national bodies • Contribute to the regional body, SEEE • Provide support for its members by mutual trading, by joining forces to attract procurement officers and private buyers, by assisting each other when necessary
• Hold social gatherings Being part of HertSET will allow members access to many resources across the county. It will provide the opportunity to stage focused working groups when issues arise and deliver invaluable and relevant structured training. Information will be passed to all network members regarding county wide and country wide events and the network will act as a facilitator for discussions and events for its members. Contact Helen Marini on 01727 813561 or email helen@exemplas.com.
HertSET was recently launched in Hertfordshire to provide a network for local social enterprises and support organisations. The aim is to provide mutual support, participation in training, policy/strategy decisions and networking opportunities. The inaugural meeting of the network will take place in July to establish the objectives and activities of the network for the future. Business Link Hertfordshire will suggest some ideas around the type of activity the network
netCUDA conference: “new credit unions: new communities”
advice, money management, community development and regeneration. Contact: netCUDA T: 01245 496235, or email: netcuda@btconnect.com.
Ready for enterprise?
Encouraging Response to ‘Enterprise Accelerator’ As reported in the January/February edition of InTouch, the Community Fund awarded the Development Trusts Association £518,364 lottery funding to roll out the Enterprise Accelerator© Programme across England over the next three years. The Enterprise Accelerator will help development trusts and other communitybased organisations increase their trading for social purpose. Such community organisations often operate in disadvantaged areas or communities facing isolation or exclusion (both urban and
rural) where local economies are in decline or depression. Some have already developed trading operations with immense success – most have a long way to go to realise their full potential. The first Enterprise Accelerator Programme is being piloted in the Eastern Region and the first Introductory workshop was held on 21st April at Red Lodge near Newmarket. Regional Development Manager of the DTA, Nigel Boldero, commented, “The interest in this new programme has been very encouraging – we
have exceeded our target for participation in the first Workshop and a wide range of community based organisations are taking part from across the region. We are especially pleased at the developing links with organisations able to offer participants specific help and support as the programme unfolds. We had a lively and enjoyable introductory session where participants found out more about what’s on offer and what developing a community enterprise involves.” The DTA has also been
successful in securing further funding from the Voluntary and Community Infrastructure review in the region and is now planning to expand the pilot to include a group of voluntary and community sector infrastructure bodies such as Councils of Voluntary Service and Rural Community Councils. 'The potential for developing enterprising ideas, including between groups of such bodies, is tremendous', Nigel added. Want to find out more? Contact Nigel Boldero on 01603 754250 or email eastern@dta.org.uk
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Social accounting
Social accounting and social enterprise The ACU Strategy for Performance improvement
T
he Active Communities Unit’s strategy for performance improvement in the voluntary and community sector is the largest ever government consultation on the themes of quality and impact. It is linked to a series of ACU strategies which have a combined funding pot of £80 million. The Quality and Impact project has been actively involved in the development of the strategy. Hetan Shah, former manager of the Q & I project and a current SEP (Social Enterprise Partnership) director created a place for social enterprise in the key consultation, and was one of the experts interviewed prior to the strategy being drafted. It is hoped that this work with the ACU may help to unlock significant funds and support ‘proving and improving’ initiatives within the social enterprise sector for years to come. Organisations throughout the UK can draw upon the work of the project to help determine their forward strategies.
Layered social accounting
Social return on investment: when quality & impact collide!
Stage 3: Create Accounts & Present for Audit. Compile and interpret data to social accounts, and accounts to a panel of approved ‘social auditors’.
If you have ever wondered what happens when internal management approaches (quality!) and impact measurement methods (impact!) collide, you’ll be interested to know that Social Firms UK recently hosted a workshop on Social Return on Investment workshop for groups that are piloting a new qualitybuilding tool for management – the Balanced Scorecard. The Balanced Scorecard taps into key indicators of ‘quality’ or ‘health’ from five perspectives that are integral to the values of social firms. Social Return is one of the perspectives on the scorecard, along with the ‘employee;’ ‘financial’; ‘customer and community’; and ‘business development’ perspectives. Social return is a way of expressing a social enterprise’s impacts by comparing the value of the impacts, in money terms, to the amount of money invested in the organisation. This gives a compelling way of telling the ‘impact’ story in language that funders and government bodies can recognize – money! On 1st April Social Firms members and social accounting experts got together to look at ‘social return’ in greater depth. The result? Social firms now understand how looking at social return can benefit them in both proving and improving. ‘Social accountants’ now see how some of the methods that nef (new economics foundation) has developed to measure social return can be used in the social accounting process. For an introduction to social return and the SROI tool see Social Return on Investment: Miracle or Manacle or learn about the
Social accounting in the East of England Both of the initiatives (Social Firms’ balanced scorecard and Cooperative UK’s indicators for Co-ops) mentioned in this article are being successfully rolled out in the Eastern Region by CCDA (Cambridge Co-operative Development Association). See article CCDA cuts the mustard... in January/February InTouch. Business Link CamAdrian Ashton bridgeshire will also be Cambridge CDA 01223 360977 holding a workshop later this cambridgecda@connectfree.co.uk year on social accounting.
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Preliminary Step: Commitment & Resources. Organisation becomes acquainted with the resources and commitment needed to undertake Social Accounting and determines whether and how to proceed. Stage 1: Set the framework for the accounting process. Clarify the mission, objectives and activities of the organisation and identify stakeholders. Stage 2: Set the Scope & Collect Information. Determine the boundaries of the social accounting process reporting process, collect information through consultation, and keep the information in a ‘book-keeping’ system.
findings of nef’s pilot work on in this area in the report – Social Return on Investment: Valuing What Matters – available at www.neweconomics.org under ‘society’ in the ‘new ways of measuring’ section.
More for Your Toolbox! Both the Development Trusts Association and Co-ops UK have created new ways of showing that these social enterprises are meeting social, economic, environmental and other goals. The DTA successfully piloted a set of indicators – a health check – to help development trusts to check their ‘health’ in key areas. Co-ops UK has developed a set of 10 indicators for co-operatives to use to see how they fare along social, economic, and environmental lines. Indicators include measures of democratic participation by co-op members and employees and measures of diversity, customer satisfaction and looks at how the co-op invests its money and procures resources as well as environmental measures such as recycling as a proportion of the waste produced, and carbon dioxide production. Some indicators may be helpful across the social enterprise sector. An explanation of the indicators and guidance on how they were defined and used for the pilot project can be found at www.cooperativesuk.coop/live/welcome.asp?id=211. The Q & I project is building a contact list for its email newsletter to all who are interested in proving and improving. Email lisa.sanfilippo@neweconomics.org with your contact details.
New approach to social accounting For those who have wondered what social accounting is all about, here is the latest news. While social accounting has for years involved at least five steps, the Social Audit Network have been working on a clearer, easier-to-approach method. See box for a brief outline.
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For more information on social accounting, sign up to the Social Audit Network circular by contacting Claire Brady: clairebrady_cbsn@yahoo.co.uk
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