North East businesses came together last month at an event exploring the support available for the region’s voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations.
The North East Investment Readiness Breakfast was held at CastleGate in Newcastle on Tuesday, hosted by regional venture capital firm Northstar Ventures and social financiers Numbers for Good.
The focus of the event was to look at the support currently on offer – from innovative grant funds, to social investment, to the six North East based businesses that have become approved Big Potential providers in the last 12 months.
Big Potential is a £20m Big Lottery Fund programme aimed at improving VSCEs sustainability, capacity and scale to help them deliver greater social impact. Grants from the fund help VCSEs pay for specialist and tailored support to help them become ‘investment ready’. Big Potential is managed by the Social Investment Business in partnership with Locality, Social Enterprise UK, Charity Bank and the University of Northampton.
In the North East, several established businesses are now able to provide consultancy services to the social sector through Big Potential, so that they are able to access social investment. Expertise such as developing business plans, financial forecasts and strengthening management boards are supported by the scheme.
The North East Investment Readiness Breakfast, which was sponsored by Big Lottery Fund, offered local charities and social enterprises the chance to meet the approved providers, as well as learn more about the North East Social Investment Fund (NESIF) which is managed by Northstar Ventures.
Speakers at the event included Deborah Smart, from Social Investment Business, Peter Gilson, from Northstar Ventures, Tim Davies-Pugh from Numbers for Good, and Jamie Sadler, CEO of Food Nation, a local social enterprise which is currently going through the Big Potential scheme.
Peter Gilson, Investment Manager on the North East Social Investment Fund, said: “We wanted to organise an event that looked at the growing number of options the social sector have, when thinking about how to become more sustainable.
“With NESIF the North East has had a dedicated social investment fund for about a year now and the rise in the number of businesses focussing more on how they can support the sector is really encouraging. Schemes like Big Potential and grants like Fresh Ideas Fund, which the Northstar Foundation awards, provide support for organisations that are looking for social investment but still need help to develop their business model in advance of fund-raising.”
There was also a panel discussion, chaired by Graeme Whitfield, Business Editor at The Journal. Representatives from some of the region’s approved providers discussed the business support they offer and the growing appetite amongst the North East business community to support the charitable sector.
On the panel was Jamie Ollivere from RTC North, Kevin Marquis from SES, Kate Welch from Social Enterprise Acumen, which works with UNW, and Tim Davies- Pugh.
Tim, who is Investment Director at Numbers for Good and has recently opened an office in Newcastle, said: “”Numbers for Good is proud to be able to help social enterprises and charities access social investment and contribute to the vital role they play in the North East.
“We believe charities and social enterprises are the organisations best equipped to support the most vulnerable in our region and champion the voiceless. In these straitened times finance is hard to come by and it is vital they can access the resources they need to survive and thrive.”
Anne Hallowell, Senior Audit Manager at UNW, said: “The number of intermediaries who attended last week’s event clearly demonstrates the growing awareness across the professions, of the Social Enterprise sector.
“At UNW we felt there was a need for more professional services firms to both understand the needs of, and become more accessible to, the social enterprise sector, which might not have approached us previously if it felt we wouldn’t understand or be able to help. By working with Social Enterprise Acumen and becoming Big Potential providers we have been able to bridge that divide and demonstrate that we are interested and can help.”
Jamie Ollivere, marketing director at RTC North, said: “It’s a challenging time for many charities, and now more than ever they are being asked to operate more like business in terms of finding new sources of income.
“With the help of not-for-profit specialists at Tait Walker Chartered Accountants, RTC has set up a specialist team to help charities and social enterprises become more robust, achieve sustainable growth and as a result deliver greater social impact.”
Kevin Marquis, Director at SES, added: “I think the North East Investment Readiness event was a great success. SES is a social enterprise and therefore a part of the very sector Big Potential is targeting. I think the turnout does show my sectors willingness to embrace ‘enterprise’ in order to grow,become more sustainable and increase their social impact.
“SES became Big Potential provider in order to use our extensive experience, skills and knowledge to help grow the social enterprise and co-op sector generally. Integral to this will be the use of our long list of successful co-operative and social entrepreneurs who want to help other VCSE projects reach their true potential.”