Blog

Social Value Bill takes one step closer to being law

Chris White MP talks about the progress of the Social Value Bill. As the newly elected Conservative MP for Warwick and Leamington, he tabled a Private Members Bill in June last year which aimed to strengthen the social enterprise business sector and make the concept of 'social value' more...

Nearly 500 credit unions to benefit from changes to restrictive law

Bill Hudson, Programme Manager for our All Wales Credit Unions Support Programme highlights a landmark change in legislation which will finally allow credit unions to recruit corporate members.Credit unions across Britain finally have the opportunity to free themselves from, what was seen by many,...

Changes to funding of the advice sector

Nicola Wilson, Investment Analyst at the Social Investment Business brings some interesting insights from the last meeting of London Funders which looked at how the advice sector has been impacted by the recent changes in funding. On 18 January I attended a members’ meeting held by London Funders...

Social enterprise and the road to 'responsible capitalism'

Jonathan Jenkins, Chief Executive of The Social Investment Business is optimistic that social investment can deliver a better capitalism.More buzzwords - marvellous - just what the sector needs. "Responsible capitalism"   "Moral capitalism" ...

Helping faith organisations embrace social enterprise

Sarah Brown, Director of Marketing and Communications talks to faith organisations about investing in their ideas and starting their own social enterprise. I had a great time at the Faith Action Network Event. It was packed with people wanting practical tips on how to get a social enterprise going....

Supporting families through the early years

Ciaran Osborne, Policy Manager at 4Children talks about the exciting work the Early Years Strategic Partnership are doing. It’s been a busy few months since the launch of the Early Years Strategic Partnership in June this year. 4Children, ably supported by our partners: Children England, Contact a...

Can faith organisations embrace social enterprise?

Daniel Singleton, National Executive Director of FaithAction Network casts an encouraging eye at Social Enterprise.When I came to FaithAction one of the questions that the voluntary sector were considering as a whole was "Can we take public money and pursue public service contracts, without...

Our Journey to the Conservative Party Conference

Kajans Women's Enterprise, a Futurebuilders investee, talk about their new venture The Caribbean Catering Academy and describe their first time at the Conservative Party Conference. On Friday 2 September the Prime Minister’s office announced that the Caribbean Catering Academy based in...

International Credit Union Day - by Bill Hudson

Our All Wales Credit Union Support Programme project manager Bill Hudson gives us an update on the credit unions currently being supported by the programme  The Social Investment Business manages the All Wales Credit Union Support Programme, which aims to support  credit unions to become...

At the Party Conferences

Sam Dowling, our Policy Manager sums up the political party conferences this year, sharing her keen political insight and a bit of conference goss!Each year MPs, Councillors, political activists, journalists, lobbyists, charity workers and others flock to attend the three main party political...

Partners not victims

Policy Officer Morven Masterton sums up our event at the Conservative Party Fringe  This session focused on how to improve public services, in particular, through reconnecting and engaging the public with the services they receive. With the Secretary of State for Health, the Rt Hon...

The Rise of the Disaffected Citizen, Labour Party Conference

Our Marketing Manager, Chris Gibson writes about our Labour conference Fringe Event hosted with RSA and Ipsos MORI.  Ben Page, Chief Executive of IpsosMORI, began the session by revealing that there was a general belief that future generations would earn less and that inequality would...

The Rise of the Disaffected Citizen

Our Communications Manager Liz Banks writes about our Lib Dem conference Fringe Event hosted with RSA and Ipsos MORI.   The Rise of the Disaffected Citizen debate addressed political engagement and how a government can deliver on the core voter concerns of prosperity and...

Jamie's Farm respond to the England riots - by Ruth Carney

The Social Investment Business are proud to feature Jamie's Farm, a SEIF investee who do fantastic work with socially excluded young people. Since 2009, Jamie's Farm has worked with 700 'hard to reach' children, to prevent their educational and social exclusion. It was set up in response to one...

Public services reform: Taking part in the debate - by Morven Masterton

It has been an eventful summer, and it’s not over yet, although you could be forgiven for thinking that autumn has already crept upon us! Over the past months we’ve been busy responding to government consultations and speaking with our investees about their thoughts on the current climate in the...

Avondale Residential Care Home brings comfort to its vulnerable residents - by Hannah Stewart

The Society of St James are one of our fantastic SEIF investees and are changing lives in Southampton through their hard work. On 14 July the Society of St James, Southampton’s largest homelessness charity, held an opening ceremony to celebrate the amazing transformation that has taken...

Top tips for direct and digital marketing - by Chris Gibson

Marketing Manager Chris Gibson puts his top tips together for effective direct and digital marketing campaigns.  Traditionally direct marketing has come in the form of direct mail and telemarketing but we are in a digital age and digital marketing such as e-mail marketing and social media has...

Bonds with a social conscience - by Sarah Flood

This article first appeared on Public Finance Social Impact Bonds could be one way of making more finance available for services and projects with measurable social outcomes Graham Allen MP’s latest report on Early Intervention, published this week, highlighted the potential of a new method to...

Top tips on writing press releases

Communications Team Liz Banks and Nic Jones put together their top tips for writing press releases.Press releases are a great tool for communicating launches, big events or news with local, trade and national press.  We thought it might be helpful to share some of the lessons we’ve learnt over...

All Wales Credit Union Support Programme - by Sam Dowling

Our work with the Welsh Assembly Government’s flagship funding programme, supporting and promoting Welsh credit unions, is going from strength to strength. The programme runs from 2010 to 2013 and is funded by the European Regional Development Fund and the Welsh Assembly Government. Over 3 years...

Loan Financing Your Future

This article originally appeared in ACEVO Network magazine. The financial climate for civil society organisations (CSOs) is like that for business owners or any other entrepreneurs at the moment – the banks aren’t lending. Either finance isn’t available at all, or banks say the economic situation...

Video content: how we did it - by Charlie Parker

Charlie takes a look at the ins and outs of shooting case study films for your organisationIn May last year we undertook a large scale video project to visit organisations across England; 15 videos over 8 regions in England and a hugely diverse range of organisations to film. Film is a great way to...

Health and Social Care Reform: a challenge and opportunity for the sector - by Morven Masterton

Taking a detailed look at the Coalition Government's commitment to health and social careA commitment to health and social care has been a key pledge of the Coalition Government, evident even before it formed following last May’s General Election. Despite significant cuts across the public sector,...

Big Society and Sector Challenges - by Jonathan Lewis

This comment piece first appeared in Charity Times. It can be easy to get caught up in interpreting the meaning of the “Big Society”. However, instead of focussing on semantics we should be looking at how the sector can respond to the real-world challenges ahead. If we consider Big Society as a...

Localism Bill receives second reading and committee start to take evidence - by Alice Granville

The options stack up in the bid for community power.The far reaching Localism Bill continues its progress through Parliament on its journey to becoming law, covering everything from increased powers for individuals and community groups to additional responsibilities for the London Mayor. Many of...

Four things you might not know about interim management

The historyThe practice of hiring a well qualified and experienced professional on a short term basis to achieve an impact in a specific role or on specific objectives is often termed ‘interim management’. It started to make an appearance in the 1970s, having originated in the Netherlands, where...

Parliament think localism - by Sam Dowling

Photo used under CC license, with thanks to nikoretroEarlier this week the Government introduced their long-awaited “Localism Bill” to the House of Commons for its First Reading.The legislation is wide ranging and seeks to: empower local people; free local government from central and regional...

Strengthening civil society; sharing ideas - by Morven Masterton

We recently held our first social investment networking event, bringing together social investment champions from across the UK to share ideas and network at an informal gathering in central London. Community leaders and entrepreneurs came from far and wide to meet, mingle and machinate on the...

A role for the City in developing funding solutions - by Simi Shah

This blog post originally appeared in Financial World Creating a Big Society is about creating choices, reducing state intervention and empowering people to lift up their communities. This is not a programme or scheme, it is a mindset. It is a belief that the complex social problems facing...

Fast action needed for new finance models - by Jonathan Lewis

This blog post first appeared on Civil Society As well as posing challenges to families and public services, spending cuts of the scale announced yesterday could spell real difficulties for social enterprises, voluntary groups and small local charities all over Britain. However, cutting red tape...

The party conferences 2010 - by Sam Dowling

O Come All Ye Faithful... The party political conferences are something of an acquired taste: three weeks of intrigue, gossip, fascinating insights, self indulgent rambles in airless auditoriums and sauna-like marquees. Some listening. And lots and lots of talk. The conferences provide an...

Big Society is a big ask, by Stephen Bubb

This blog post first appeared on Public Finance. Since the election, we have seen an extraordinary increase in political and media interest in the role of community organisations and the nature of the relationship between the voluntary sector, society and the state.  This is set against the...

Big Society Question Time at the Political Conferences - by Sam Dowling

The Government has made it clear that it wants charities, community groups and social enterprises to deliver more public services but with the Comprehensive Spending Review just over the horizon on 20 October, speculation is rife about how any cuts or policy changes might impact on charities,...

Social enterprise in health and social care by Natasha Jolob

In the last year, The Social Investment Business helped unbankable projects win over 230 public service contracts worth over £46.2 million (we only invest in organisations that are unable to source finance from commercial lenders). The idea of civil society organisations - charities, community...

Coalition's first 100 days offer opportunities for civil society organisations

This blog post first appeared in Civil Society. Jonathan Lewis, chief executive of Social Investment Business, reviews the first 100 days of the coalition government During its first 100 days, the Big Society vision has been at the forefront of the plans unveiled by the coalition government....

The Budget and what it means by Sam Dowling

Two months in, the coalition Government is beginning to reveal a little more about its plans for public services and areas that might be affected by the anticipated spending cuts. The emergency Budget, delivered on 22 June, shows the Chancellor’s determination to draw a line under the previous...

A Budget for the Big Society? by Jonathan Lewis

This post first appeared in the Public Finance blog. I welcome the new government’s ambitious plans for growing and strengthening the third sector (now rebranded ‘civil society’). But the vision is the easier part – implementing it is more challenging. There are two key objectives to be achieved....

Ladder to the moon and The Social Investment Business

The Social Investment Business has invested £200,000 in Ladder to the moon to assist the growth and development of the organisation. Ladder to the moon aims to improves the quality of life for older people in care, particularly those living with dementia. The organisation employs professional...

The Social Investment Business and SHINE 2010

We are really pleased to announce that The Social Investment Business is joining SHINE 2010 as a sponsor. SHINE is the un-conference for social entrepreneurs that was launched in 2008 to a large-scale audience who appreciated the opportunity to collaborate, network, and learn about new models of...

Social Enterprise Day: Treasury Minister – Rt Hon Liam Byrne – says next decade could be the best decade for social enterprise

Rt Hon Liam Byrne MP, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, said yesterday that the next decade could be the best decade ever for social enterprise. Mr Byrne was speaking at a conference, Social Enterprise 09 – the future of public services, organised by the Guardian, held yesterday to mark Social...

Social Enterprise Day at No.10

As today is Social Enterprise Day – the national day to promote and celebrate social enterprise – there was a reception at No. 10 Downing Street at which the winners of the England heat of the Social Enterprise Awards were announced and celebrated. An investee of The Social Investment Business,...

What is a social enterprise?

As it is social enterprise day this week, I thought I’d explore the definitions of social enterprise. There is a lot of talk about social enterprise in the third sector at the moment. But what exactly is the definition? The Social Enterprise Coalition, which is the UK’s national body for social...

Visiting Shape Arts with Christian Stannard

Last week I went with one of our investment officers, Christian Stannard, to visit Shape Arts, which is applying for a loan from the Modernisation Fund. Shape Arts is a charity working to improve access to the arts for disabled people. It does this through four delivery aims: More disabled people...