This is a list of our top ten resources for charities and other not-for-ptofit organisations looking to find out more about social investment.
1. Good Finance – The Place to Start
One of the best and easiest places to find resources is the Good Finance website. They have a great selection of Good Finance stories and case studies, from all social investors, of how social investment has been used to improve charities and social enterprises. They can be divided by social issue, the finance offered or the duration, with detail on the deal terms agreed to help you understand the social investment issues. They also provide an excellent podcast, https://www.goodfinance.org.uk/latest/post/social-investment-podcasts with new case studies and guests on a regular basis discussing social investment.
2. What is Social Investment?
To find out more about Social Investment, watch the recording of our Social Investment Webinar which was held jointly with social investor CAF Venturesome, Barrow Cadbury Trust and SWIM Enterprises (Support When it Matters) in 2022. The recording and slides will be useful to anyone in the social sector who wants to understand more about this area and/or thinks it could be an option for their organisation.
3. Untangling the Jargon
Good Finance has created a handy glossary of commonly used and technical social investment terms to help those not inside the club to understand the key terms used in social investment loan, grant and finance agreements.
4. Why social investment?
Social enterprises have the potential to help transform our society, but most cannot rely on organic growth alone. Written by the Commission on Social Investment (and supported by the national social enterprise, Fusion 21), ‘Reclaiming the Future: Reforming Social Investment for the Next Decade’; outlines the case for social investment and for social enterprises.
5. The History of UK Social Investment
There are plenty of resources in the social investment space, but a great place to start is a Social Investment Snapshot report by Jess Daggers, David Floyd and Dan Gregory which was funded by Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, Power to Change and Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity (CUSP). The market Snapshot gives a summary of developments over the last 20 years, provides an overview of what has been tried, what has been learnt, and the questions that remain.
6. What Size is the Social Investment Market in the UK?
In this video, Big Society Capital’s Portfolio and Data Manager, Julia Lenon breaks down the key statistics from their estimate of the UK Social impact Investment Market, detailing how they calculated the data, what the data means for each market system and more. Their latest market sizing estimate has shown that the market has grown nearly ten-fold over the past decade, from £830 million in 2011 to £7.9 billion in 2021.
Read the full breakdown of the data on the Big Society Capital bespoke market sizing page.
7. Where can you get Grant and Social Investment Funding?
The School of Social Entrepreneurs has provided an extensive guide on grant and social investment providers for charities and social enterprises to explore. This is a detailed run-through of the market that is available for not-for-profits looking for funding.
8. Is Social Investment right for my organisation?
This diagnostic tool from Good Finance will help you to decide whether social investment is right for your organisation.
It takes about 2-3 minutes to complete and it will ask you questions about your organisation and your financial needs. It is designed to help you understand if social investment is something your organisation should consider.
If so, it will direct you to the types of social investment that may be suitable based on the information you’ve entered. If not, it will provide you with some suggestions of actions you can take as an organisation to become ready for social investment
9. The Funder/Investor View: The role of Impact Investment in Philanthropy – (NPC Think Tank Event)
There is a growing recognition amongst philanthropists and foundations around the world that impact investing can achieve results in areas they care about. This NPC Think Tank seminar ‘The Funder/Investor View: The role of Impact Investment in Philanthropy’, hosted by Gurmeet Kaur, NPC’s Principal for Impact Investing includes presentations from Gail Cunningham Head of the Investment Learning Programme and the Social Investors Group at the Association of Charitable Foundations (ACF) and Paul Gunstensen, Director at the Stone Family Foundation.
They discuss the opportunities and challenges of considering innovative finance modes as part of a traditional philanthropy portfolio. Whether these investments are made to align with grant-making programmes or are made as a separate allocation from a foundation’s endowment, they pave the way for philanthropists to support innovative and sustainable approaches to achieve impact in line with their charitable aims
10. What Can Social Investment Funding be Used For?
Since launching in 2002, the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) Venturesome Fund has made over 700 social investments totalling over £61 million. The CAF ’20 Years of Social Investment Impact’ Report celebrates some of the achievements of the 515 social organisations who have received investment funding.
