Impetus Trust to approve grants to social enterprises

The £10 million fund is managed by The Social Investment Business on behalf of the Office for Civil Society and aims to ensure social ventures are better equipped to secure new forms of investment and compete for public service contracts

15 August 2012, London, UK – Impetus Trust, the pioneer of venture philanthropy in the UK, has been selected as an approved provider for the Investment and Contract Readiness Fund. The £10 million fund is managed by The Social Investment Business on behalf of the Office for Civil Society and aims to ensure social ventures are better equipped to secure new forms of investment and compete for public service contracts.

Over the next three years the Investment and Contract Readiness Fund will provide grants of between £50,000 and £150,000 to social ventures that have the potential for high growth and delivering positive social impact. These grants will be used to purchase strategic support from approved providers to help facilitate that growth.

Impetus works to break the cycle of poverty by investing in ambitious charities and social enterprises that fight economic disadvantage through helping people to gain education, skills and jobs. It uses a highly effective venture philanthropy model, consisting of management support from the Impetus investment team, pro bono specialist expertise and strategic funding to accelerate the growth of those organisations.

Since Impetus was established in 2002, over twenty social ventures have had their operations, impact and financial sustainability successfully transformed in order to make a greater impact and help more people stuck in poverty. Social ventures that receive a grant to work with Impetus will receive support in a range of key areas including strategy review and development, business planning and implementation, leadership development, governance and policies and procedures.

Commenting on this news, Impetus Trust Chief Executive Daniela Barone Soares said, “It is great to have the Government recognise our work, which has been acknowledged for its impact over the years by the voluntary sector. Impetus has in the past enabled organisations to grow up to fifteen times in five years and be able to take on government contracts and social investment. As an approved provider, Impetus will help grow innovative organisations with the capability to increase their social impact through the Investment and Contract Readiness Fund. We know that many of these organisations have the potential to scale up their reach through participation in public service contracts. With our expert support they can acquire the experience and skills required to expand into this market.”

Social ventures will have to work in partnership with an approved investment and contract readiness provider to make a grant application to the Investment and Contract Readiness Fund. The full list of providers can be found here.