Above and Beyond champions civil society organisations delivering public services and meeting local challenges

26 August 2011

Norcare, Jamie’s Farm and Mediation Leeds are just three of the civil society organisations changing the delivery of public services profiled in Above and Beyond: How charities, social enterprises and community groups are delivering public services and meeting local challenges, published online today by The Social Investment Business.

Above and Beyond highlights how these organisations can and are delivering value beyond what is traditionally expected of them, supporting their local communities economically and socially; it demonstrates the transformative effect of their involvement in public services.

Some of the services offered by organisations profiled include:

·         Supporting homeless and socially or economically excluded veterans to adapt back to life away from the Forces.

·         Offering a unique combination of ‘farming, family and therapy’ to vulnerable inner city children who are at risk of exclusion from school.

·         Providing mediation services in neighbour, tenant and landlord and workplace disputes through volunteers, saving the public purse from £140k-£600k a year.

Sir Stephen Bubb, Chair of The Social Investment Business said: “There are many organisations out there delivering vital services but they need help to scale up, get access to funding and win bigger contracts to help them get there. We need to continue to work on changing commissioners’ minds about working with the sector to ensure even more of these organisations can support even more people in need.”

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1.    View Above and Beyond here: 

www.thesocialinvestmentbusiness.org/aboveandbeyond

2.    The contributors to Above and Beyond are: Burton Street Foundation, Norcare, Jamie’s Farm, Mediation Leeds, Paddington Arts, Emily Jordan Foundation, HCT Group, and Hebden Bridge Community Association.

3.    For further information or interviews, please contact The Social Investment Business press office:

Liz Banks - 0207 842 7726/ 07809 504072  liz.banks@socialinvestmentbusiness.org

Nicola Jones - 0207 842 7755 nicola.jones@socialinvestmentbusiness.org

4.    The Social Investment Business, the largest social investor in the UK, exists to help social enterprises, charities and community organisations do more of what they do best – supporting people and communities most in need. We help organisations prosper by providing innovative financial solutions, business support and long term strategic thinking.

www.thesocialinvestmentbusiness.org @TheSocialInvest

5.       The Social Investment Business manages the Futurebuilders Fund on behalf of The Office for Civil Society, the Social Enterprise Investment Fund for the Department of Health the Communitybuilders Fund which was endowed to parent charity the Adventure Capital Fund by the Department for Communities and Local Government.  We have over 1,100 active investments which range in size and scope from, for example,  £3,600 to help a small organisation bid successfully for a public sector contract, to £6.7million to help a large national charity establish and develop innovative new services for children and young people.