Join the Spark Challenge and win a share of £1.6 Million

Spark is a pioneering programme that builds and inspires social enterprises to tackle homelessness.

The closing date is February 9th at 5pm so visit www.sparkchallenge.org to submit your application and have a chance to be part of this unique programme to ignite your social enterprise and help make homelessness history.

What is the prize?

Spark is a unique collaboration between Government, the private sector and the third sector and has been developed by social enterprise champions: The TREES Group, Eastside Consulting and Big Issue Invest.

Sparks prize package is worth £1.6m and includes investment from Department for Communities and Local Government, and business support and corporate sponsorship from BT, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Places for People.

How does Spark work?

The winning applicants will be announced in March 2009 and invited to participate in Spark, a 9-month business support programme. During that time the winners will receive support to prepare a business plan and present their business case to Sparks panel, to win a share of the investment fund. They will also be matched with one of our corporate partners who will provide them with skills and resources to help their business grow as a sustainable enterprise.

What are we looking for?

Spark supports social enterprises working to prevent or tackle homelessness, or who are working with people who are at risk of being homeless. We actively want to encourage social enterprises developing worklessness programmes that can support the homeless sector.

By social enterprise we mean any organisation that will be generating income from trading goods or providing services, and who intends to reinvest a majority of any profits in social purposes.

Who is eligible?

Full eligibility criteria is available on the Spark website.

Changing Spaces: Community Spaces

Next Application Deadline: 21/01/2009

The Community Spaces programme is run by Groundwork UK as part of the Big Lottery Fund’s Changing Spaces programme. The programme funds community groups who want to improve local green spaces such as play areas, community gardens, parks, wildlife areas and village greens, kick-about areas and pathway improvements. All legally constituted community groups (e.g. Friends Groups, Tenants and Residents’ Associations) can apply.

Total Fund Value:

£ 50,000,000

Grant Value - minimum:

£ 10,000

Grant Value - maximum:

£ 450,000

Call the Changing Spaces Advice helpline on 0845 3 671 671 (opening hours 8am-7pm Monday to Friday) for further details or email info@community-spaces.org.uk.

Changing Spaces: Community Sustainable Energy

Next Application Deadline: 30/01/2009

The Community Sustainable Energy (CSEP) programme is run by BRE (Building Research Establishment) and aims to help not-for-profit community-based organisations in England reduce their environmental impact through the installation of energy saving measures and micro generation technologies (producing heat or electricity on a small-scale from a low carbon source). The scheme will also fund development studies that help community organisations to find out if a micro generation and energy efficiency project will work for them.

Total Fund Value:

£ 10,000,000

Grant Value - minimum:

£ 5,000

Grant Value - maximum:

£ 50,000

CSEP is funded by the Big Lottery Fund’s Changing Spaces programme which was created to help communities enjoy and improve their local environments and is an open grants programme run by BRE. BRE carries out research, consultancy, training and testing to help create better buildings and communities.

More information is available at the BRE website

Changing Spaces: Ecominds

The Changing Spaces: Ecominds programme is for a range of groups who want to encourage people with experience of mental distress to get involved in environmental projects, such as improving open spaces and wildlife habitats, designing public art and recycling. Ecominds aims to help reduce the stigma surrounding mental distress and help create a society that treats people with experience of mental distress fairly, positively, and with respect. Ecominds is an open grant programme run by Mind as an award partner of the Big Lottery Fund (BIG).

Total Fund Value:

£ 7,500,000

Grant Value - minimum:

£ 20,000

Grant Value - maximum:

£ 250,000

For a list of Frequently Asked Questions about the Ecominds programme, go to the Mind website: www.mind.org.uk/ecominds

As a funding advisor we’d like to inform you of our Breathing Places 4 programme as organisations may approach you for advice on completing applications.

Big Lottery Funds Breathing Places Phase Four grants programme

To tie in with the BBC’s Springwatch Open Weekend in early June 2009 we are offering existing Breathing Places grant holders the opportunity to apply for a further small grant for their breathing place. We have up to £1 million available across the UK through this final phase of the programme. Organisations can apply for a grant of between £1,000 and £5,000 to run events and activities that celebrate the success of the breathing place and increase the number of people making use of and helping to develop and maintain it. Only projects that have previously received a Breathing Places grant can apply.

The key feature of this phase is active participation and volunteering and we want to get more people involved in looking after their local breathing place. The money could be used to run an inspirational event that brings people closer to nature, such as a community fun day or volunteer planting session. It could also be used to recruit new volunteers, provide training in specialist skills relevant to your breathing place or conservation taster sessions.

We hope some of the projects we fund will be in a position to roll out their activity in early June 2009 to coincide with the BBC’s Springwatch Open Weekend, which aims to encourage hundreds of thousands of people across the UK to actively engage with nature. We will confirm the date of the Open Weekend in the New Year and it is likely that some of the projects we fund will be featured on local BBC radio and television programmes.

We recognise that some projects may not be able to roll out their activities in early June, but we expect all activities to be completed by the end of September 2009 at the latest.

Organisations will have to register their interest by 31 December 2008. They will need to phone or email their name, address, organisation’s name and the Unique Reference Number of their previous grant to breathingplacesfour@biglotteryfund.org.uk

When registering the organisation should also indicate if they would like to run the event/activities in early June 2009 to coincide with the Springwatch Open Weekend.

We will send out application forms in early January 2009. The organisation will have until the 6 February 2009 to submit an application. Please note that this programme has a competitive application process and funding is not guaranteed. We will make decisions by 24 April 2009.

Organisations that do not register an interest by 31 December 2008 are not excluded from applying and can still request an application form and submit it by the deadline date of 6 February 2009.

We believe this is an excellent opportunity to showcase the success of breathing places in the local community and encourage active participation into the future.

New Social Entrepreneurs Fund launched by Bridges Ventures

12/11/2008

"We are delighted to be launching this innovative fund and are looking forward to helping ambitious social entrepreneurs build their enterprises."

Bridges Ventures today announces the launch of the Bridges Social Entrepreneurs Fund, a new fund dedicated to investment in social enterprises.

The Fund is an initiative of the Bridges Charitable Trust and has so far raised £4.25 million. NESTA, the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts, who made the first commitment to the fund and acted as a catalyst for private sector investment, will be hosting the launch event being held today.

The other Founder Partners are individuals and institutions from the financial sector and include Sir Ronald Cohen, Nigel Doughty, Harvey McGrath, Apax Foundation, The Generation Foundation, Lehman Brothers Foundation Europe, Deutsche Bank, 3i and the Bridges Ventures team who have allocated funds from their profit share.

All the founder partners have supported the fund through donations to the Bridges Charitable Trust creating what will be an Evergreen Fund.

The Bridges Social Entrepreneurs Fund will invest in scalable social enterprises that deliver a high social impact and operate financially sustainable business models. The fund will invest up to £1m in each social enterprise, through hands-on, equity-like capital and aims to achieve a high social impact, through recycling capital into multiple projects, and to establish a track record of financial returns to attract additional investment into the sector.

The launch of the fund follows on from Bridges Ventures’ 2005 report entitled “Equity-like Capital for Social Ventures”, which was based on its experiences and research in this area.

The report showed that successful social enterprises provide an innovative means of making a sustained social impact in areas of society where their help is much needed.  As demonstrated by Café Direct, the Eden Project and Fifteen Restaurant, the sector has enormous growth potential, but many social enterprises need capital to develop and they find raising investment appropriate to their needs to be a major obstacle.

The report also identified the need to give support to social enterprises to help them attract funding, and Bridges Ventures will work closely with UnLtd, the Foundation for Social Entrepreneurs to make sure that social entrepreneurs seeking funding are investment ready.

Sir Ronald Cohen, Founding Chairman of Bridges Ventures said:

“The development of social enterprises is being held back by a chronic shortage of long-term capital. The launch of the Bridges Social Entrepreneurs Fund is an important development in addressing their long-term investment needs.”  

Jonathan Kestenbaum, Chief Executive of NESTA added:

“We believe the fund will change the landscape for investment in social enterprises. In particular, the blend of public, private and institutional capital will have radical implications for the field”.

Antony Ross, Director of the Bridges Social Entrepreneurs Fund commented:

“We are delighted to be launching this innovative fund and are looking forward to helping ambitious social entrepreneurs build their enterprises. The fund will be able to draw on Bridges Ventures’ established networks, experience and resources in reviewing opportunities, supporting investments and reporting to investors on both social and financial returns, and we hope that we will be able to establish a sustainable funding model capable of providing intelligent, much needed finance to an important and overlooked sector.”

Fund enquiries:

Social enterprises looking for growth capital, and investors interested in supporting the fund, should contact:

Antony Ross
E: antony@bridgesventures.com
T: 020 7298 0189

Skye Elliott
E: skye@bridgesventures.com
T: 020 7298 0182                                                  

Media enquiries:

HB Communications for Bridges Ventures
T: 020 7637 2780

Tom Hampson-Bellon
E: t.hampson-bellon@hbcomms.com

Florence Drake 
E: f.drake@hbcomms.com
 
NESTA
Chani Hirsch
E: chani.hirsch@nesta.org.uk
T: 020 7438 2601

Jo Oakes
E: jo.oakes@nesta.org.uk
T: 020 7438 2643

UnLtd
020 7566 1137

Glynn Pegler
E: GlynnPegler@UnLtd.org.uk

Nicola Jones
E: NicolaJones@UnLtd.org.uk 

Bridges Ventures

The Bridges Social Entrepreneurs Fund will be managed by Antony Ross, one of the five Executive Directors of Bridges Ventures, and Skye Elliott, who has joined the Bridges Ventures team as an investment executive for the new fund.  

Bridges Ventures is a fund management company with a social mission whose commercial expertise is used to achieve social or environmental aims as well as attractive returns for investors. Bridges Ventures is chaired by Sir Ronald Cohen, co-founder and former chairman of Apax Partners.  Key backers include Apax Partners, 3i and Doughty Hanson.

Two funds have been raised to date. The first fund, CDV Fund I, totalled £40m while the second, CDV Fund II, totalled £75m, beating its original target of £50m by 50%, and was closed in 2007. Investors in the second fund include HSBC, Doughty Hanson, Co-operative Financial Services, Barclays Commercial Banking, Lloyds TSB, and Citigroup, individuals including Dr Mike Lynch of Autonomy Corporation, Harvey McGrath, formerly of Man Group and Lloyd Dorfman of Travelex, as well as pension funds and endowments including the Universities Superannuation Scheme, the West Midlands Pension Fund and All Souls College.

Bridges Ventures funds deliver social returns both on a geographical and sector-specific basis, which are measured using the Bridges Ventures social IMPACT scorecard and reported to investors alongside their financial returns.

Bridges Ventures set up the Bridges Charitable Trust to reflect the social mission of the company and to incentivise the team through social as well as financial rewards. The Trust is a shareholder in Bridges Ventures and the Bridges team donates 10% of their own profits in Bridges Ventures funds to the Bridges Charitable Trust.

For more information on Bridges Ventures, please visit www.bridgesventures.com

NESTA

NESTA is the National Endowment for Science, Technology & the Arts. Its mission is to transform the UK’s capacity for innovation. With the largest portfolio of early-stage businesses in the country, it is a leading authority on how to grow new ideas. We also stimulate imaginative solutions to pressing social issues and shape policy to help the UK meet its national innovation challenges.

NESTAs Social Finance Strategy

NESTA programmes test new approaches to developing the UKs innovative potential. The Social Finance strategy is a groundbreaking initiative that creates new risk capital markets as well as building the infrastructure for social enterprises to grow into sustainable businesses.

UnLtd

UnLtd holds a £100 million endowment especially to invest in UK social entrepreneurs and community activists. It was established in 2002 by 7 leading not for profit organisations. UnLtds mission is to reach out and unleash the energies of people who can transform the world in which they live. UnLtd provides individuals and informal groups with cash awards and practical support that includes coaching, training and networking opportunities to help them develop community projects.

UnLtd has the biggest network of social entrepreneurs in the world and since 2002 has invested over £20 million of financial and non financial support in some 7,600 individuals, impacting on many thousands more. UnLtd Research is leading the way in best practice guidelines while the award winning UnLtdWorld.com allows social entrepreneurs and social enterprise, as well as the broader community, to share experience, knowledge and resources.

UnLtd Ventures is the in-house consultancy division of UnLtd. It provides business support to a number of outstanding social entrepreneurs, helping them to scale up or replicate their organisations or get investment ready. UnLtd Ventures provides the support and tools that will help entrepreneurs to grow local initiatives into robust and financially sustainable organisations, through scaling or replicating geographically or reaching out to different groups in the community. Where appropriate UnLtd Ventures acts as a broker between our clients and providers of a range of different types of funding.

For more information on UnLtd, please visit www.unltd.org.uk

Bridges Ventures  acts for the funds they manage or advise and not for anyone else.  They will not act or be responsible for providing protection afforded to their clients to anyone other than such funds. Entrepreneurs and others working with Bridges Ventures should be aware of this and should not expect that they will be treated as clients of Bridges Ventures.