CAF Venturesome's Blog

£10 million Fund opens to help social ventures access new investment and win contracts

Thu, 24 May 2012 09:28:05 +0100

The £10 million Investment and Contract Readiness Fund, being delivered by The Social Investment Business on behalf of the Office for Civil Society will enable social ventures to access new forms of investment and compete for public service contracts.

Grants of between £50,000 and £150,000 are available on a rolling basis to ambitious social ventures who need at least £500,000 investment, or who want to bid for contracts over £1 million. It is hoped that the grants will enable smaller social enterprises to scale up and bid for public service contracts.

Minister for Civil Society Nick Hurd said:
“We want to make it easier for charities and social enterprises to access capital. This fund is for ambitious organisations who want to access social finance but know they are not yet investment ready. It allows them to get the support they need.”

The Fund is focused on enabling social ventures to access specialist support from an approved investment/contract readiness provider with a track record in helping organisations secure social investment or win contracts.

An engaged Investors Panel, including CAF’s Director of Social Investment Stephanie Sturrock, sits at the heart of the Fund, deciding the kind of support that social ventures applicants need to really scale up their operations and impact.

Ventures will need to work in partnership with an approved provider to submit an application to the Fund. The approved providers for the programme so far are ClearlySo, Locality, Resonance and Social Finance. Additional providers are still welcome to apply to participate in the programme.

The Social Investment Business’ Chief Executive, Jonathan Jenkins said:
“The Fund aims to complement the work of Big Society Capital and catalyse a more vibrant impact investment market in the UK. We want social ventures to collaborate with trusted, experienced providers whose work is deemed “investment grade” by our expert panel. We want to encourage both providers and ventures to develop high quality investment / commissioning grade proposals and have dispensed with traditional sector funding windows to allow organisations the opportunity to submit primed proposals on an on-going basis.”

Jim Beirne, CEO of Live Theatre explains why co-investment from...

Thu, 17 May 2012 10:19:14 +0100

Jim Beirne, CEO of Live Theatre explains why co-investment from CAF Venturesome and Esmée Fairbairn Foundation was the “linchpin” in enabling it to develop new social enterprises that generate unrestricted income to support the ongoing activities of the charity.

Watch the video to learn more about the potential of financing capital projects with debt instead of grants, and read the full case study here.

Introducing a social investor

Wed, 02 May 2012 12:49:26 +0100

One of our social investors explains how he supports charities through the CAF Social Impact Fund

CAF Venturesome’s social investment funds are generously supported by philanthropic investors such as Jamie Justham. Jamie, a successful businessman, was one of the first to invest philanthropic capital in the CAF Social Impact Fund – enabling us to support charities and social enterprises with loans.

Jamie explains what the fund is about and how it has had an impact on the causes that he cares deeply about:

“After a career in business, my wife and I sold our company and for the first time found we had more money than we needed to live on. We wanted to use that money to help multiple charities in a way that would make a lasting impact.

I didn’t have a clear idea of how charities work at first and it was a revelation to learn from CAF Venturesome about how charities not only rely on donations but often find it difficult to borrow money while they are waiting for grants and funding. Often charity projects have to be completed before the funding is made available, so charities are left in a very difficult position. Through the CAF Social Impact Fund, the funds I had set aside in my CAF Charitable Trust could be used to help with loans to charities. CAF Venturesome has a lot of experience of due diligence and so I felt confident that my money would be in good hands.

There’s a need for this type of social investment as well as straightforward donations. It’s simply a case of making my money work harder so it can have the greatest impact possible.”

Click here to read the full interview with Jamie, and to find out how you can support charities in this way.

Caught on camera: the Venturesome team

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 16:31:23 +0100

Meet the CAF Venturesome team (from left to right): Isabel, Dharisha, Stephanie, Holly, Ann and Casey.

Click here for our About Us page where you can find out about our roles at Venturesome and a bit of background.

Case Study: Renewable energy in Nepal

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 17:46:00 +0100

In 2010, CAF Venturesome invested in The Nepal Trust to help fund a renewable energy project. The Trust has recently repaid our loan in full, read on for the full story…

The Nepal Trust operates mainly in the North West district of Humla, Nepal; an impoverished area, which lacks access to basic services and from which the nearest road is approx. 10 days walk away. The Trust works with local communities to enable them to implement sustainable projects which meet basic needs, and strengthen the ability of communities to improve their livelihood.

Back in 2000, the Trust raised £55K in the UK and approx. £130K locally in Nepal towards a 50 kW Micro Hydro Project, a scheme which would bring clean and renewable energy to 3 villages comprising over 5,000 people, schools, health posts, and community buildings. However, due to the Maoist insurgency, the implementation of the scheme was delayed for almost 10 years.

In 2010, work was ready to begin but high inflation meant costs had increased. The Nepal Trust had a funding gap of £15K which needed to be filled quickly in order to complete the project before weather conditions made further work impossible until the following year.

Venturesome provided a £15K bridging loan repayable over three years from future fundraising. Given the Trust’s almost 20 year track record in successfully fundraising and implementing community development projects in the remotest parts of the Himalayas, Venturesome was confident in providing a loan. The project has now been successfully completed and has been inaugurated by the Nepali government. The loan was repaid in full in March this year.

“A loan from CAF Venturesome was a great assistance to the Nepal Trust and enabled us to get the job done against all the odds” said Chris Rae, Secretary and acting CEO of The Nepal Trust.

CAF Venturesome is hiring!

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 17:14:24 +0100

CAF’s award winning social investment team is growing. We’re currently looking to add an Investment Manager and an Investment Analyst to the team.

This is an exciting opportunity for two entrepreneurial individuals to forge a career in the social investment market. In particular, the Investment Manager will have responsibility for managing our first thematic fund, the Community Land Trust Fund.

For more information please see CAF’s website.

To apply, send your CV and a covering letter that explains why you are suitable for the role, to humanresources@cafonline.org by 5pm on Thursday 12th April.

CAF Venturesome at Social Enterprise Exchange

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 15:11:19 +0100

If you’re at the Social Enterprise Exchange event in Glasgow today, come and visit CAF Venturesome at stand 126 opposite the owls!

CAF Venturesome client on BBC News

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 17:02:27 +0000

Click here to see Leicester-based social enterprise STRIDE feature on the BBC News. It’s been used it as an example of an organisation providing valuable training and real-life trading opportunities to young people at this time of high unemployment.

CAF Venturesome has invested £100,000 in STRIDE over two years to help it make the transition from the Future Jobs Fund to a new Apprenticeship scheme.

Contact Venturesome on 03000 123 300 or at venturesome@cafonline.org

Expert panel put forward their views

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 09:43:35 +0000

Read what CAF’s Director of Social Investment, Stephanie Sturrock, has to say about hot topics including the Social Value Bill, public awareness of social enterprises and social impact reporting on page 10 of the Social Enterprise supplement that came out in The Independent on Monday.

Affordable Housing Scheme for London

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 17:25:34 +0000

London will host the UK’s first urban Community Land Trust (CLT) to develop the site of the former St Clements Hospital in Bow, east London, as the average home costs about £370,000, which is too expensive for most locals. City Hall confirmed that “the site will incorporate London’s first urban community land trust. With the freehold of the site held in trust for the local community, (The HCA London Board) can ensure full participation from the local community in the redevelopment proposals.”

However, the preferred development partner is yet unknown. The East London Community Land Trust (ELCLT) was born from within the community and has been campaigning for this project. It hopes to develop the site and sell some of the homes to locals below their market value. ELCLT’s initial bid with its development partner Igloo was not successful. However, it will enter negotiations with the winning bidder, proposing an adoption of its original tender.

This is an exciting new CLT and it could be replicated in other urban areas. CAF Venturesome currently manages a CLT fund, which we use to invest in the movement but this is traditionally in rural organisations. So we are very excited in the CLT progress and hope to see many more urban CLTs being established around the UK.

To date, Venturesome has invested in 21 CLT’s, to the tune of around £2.2million. Read more about our fund here.

A week in the life of a Venturesome Investment Analyst

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 16:51:23 +0000

Read all about Isabel Newman’s week here in Third Sector.

Fair Finance featured in Stanford Social Innovation Review

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 09:55:27 +0000

Microcredit business Fair Finance provides loans to financially excluded households in London and is “leading the expansion” of the microfinance sector in Western Europe, according to the latest issues of the Stanford Social Innovation Review. Established by social entrepreneur Faisel Rahman in 2005, Fair Finance needed outside capital to help become financially sustainable – which is where CAF Venturesome was able to help. Fair Finance restructured its business to allow investors with different risk appetites to invest in different parts of the business. Venturesome and other social investors provided financing for operating costs, enabling Fair Finance to access commercial finance to expand its loan book. This article highlights Fair Finance’s innovative business model and the exciting precedent it has set: “if more social enterprises like Fair Finance develop – and partner with commercial banks – financial services for disadvantaged people in the developed world could change dramatically”.

Read the article here

Social Investment Made Simple: New Online Resource

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 09:36:41 +0000

CAF Venturesome is delighted to announce the launch of Social Investment Made Simple - a free online guide to social investment.

Social investment made simple defines the different forms of social investment to help voluntary and community organisations understand what could work for their organisation. It uses case studies to show how charities have used social investment successfully, and signposts users to further sources of support.

The resource has been developed jointly by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations and CAF Venturesome. It was put together in response to feedback from many in the sector that there is a lack of clear and honest advice about available to help organisations make informed decisions about social investment and what is right for them.

Paul Cheng, Head of CAF Venturesome commented, “We are delighted to be working with NCVO on launching this new online resource about social investment. Although grants will always be a crucial form of funding for the sector, charities need to understand how the full spectrum of social investment may help them become more financially resilient in both good times and bad.”

Case Study: CENTRA recycles bridging loan

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:32:11 +0000

CAF Venturesome provides bridging loans to charities and social enterprises to help manage fluctuations in their cashflow. Such a facility can be particuarly useful if confirmed income is delayed, or unexpected costs are incurred.

In August 2011, education and training charity CENTRA approached Venturesome for cashflow support. It was forecasting a short-term cashflow shortfall due to unexpected costs combined with the cyclical nature of its two main income streams. CENTRA had confirmed sources of income scheduled for December 2011, but lacked the cash reserves to bear the impending shortfall.

Venturesome provided CENTRA with a £50,000 bridging loan to support it’s cashflow until the confirmed payments were received. The facility was made from the CAF Social Impact Fund, which is invested in by CAF Trust Clients.

Having received the expected income, CENTRA repaid Venturesome in full in January 2012. The recycled funds will now be reinvested in other charities.

Paul Howarth, Training Manager at CENTRA said “Due to the cyclical nature of our business a large portion of our income arrives very late in the year, but unexpected costs in the Autumn meant we were forecasting a cash deficit. The loan from CAF Venturesome enabled CENTRA to get through this period without going into the red; and we were able to repay it as soon as the expected income hit our account.”

To find out more about what Venturesome offers, contact us on 03000 123 300 or email venturesome@cafonline.org

Social Investment: Revolution or Bubble?

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 10:56:57 +0000

New Philanthropy Capital (NPC) recently held a roundtable to get to the bottom of whether social investment is a revolution in financing, or a bubble about to burst?

Over 30 delegates, including CAF Venturesome’s Paul Cheng, gathered together to discuss their observations on what direction the social investment market is heading in - and what needs to be done to help get there.

There was no conclusive answer, but the main points were:

- Suitable infrastructure (regulatory and tax environment) must be in place to encourage social investment;

- The lending infrastructure should be strengthened to ensure a good supply of capital, especially with the commencement of lending from Big Society Capital this year;

- A diversified range of investors is required. At the moment investors tend to be grant-makers and high net worth individuals; to increase this there should be ‘dedicated capital raisers’ or salesmen;

- ‘Investment ready’ charities and social enterprises are necessary for responsible borrowing and lending;

- Impact measurement is needed for investors to know the social return of their investments. A single measure of social return may be beyond the what is required, but consistency within specific sectors would be helpful.

Venturesome endorses all of the above conclusions - and agrees there is work to be done in each of these key areas. We would also add that the social investment market needs efficient matching of supply and demand (with more intermediaries), using a whole range of financial instruments, in order to become robust.

For more information about the NPC roundtable, both NPC and The Guardian have great articles about it.

Venturesome invests £60,000 into Headliners

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:50:35 +0000

Venturesome has provided a £60,000 standby facility to the charity Headliners - through the CAF Social Impact Fund.

Headliners is a charity which inspires and encourages the personal development of young people through journalism. Its mission is to inspire children and young people to investigate and challenge the world around them, enhance their personal development and promote their right to be heard as equals.

Young people are trained to research and produce stories on issues important to them for publication and broadcast in national and local newspapers, magazines, television, radio and online. Since 1994, 2,500 young people have been members of Headliners.

Paul Cheng, Head of CAF Venturesome, said: “I am delighted that we are able to support such an innovative charity with access to capital. All charities, large or small, require working capital - and CAF Venturesome will continue to apply this type of essential financing to a whole range of charitable purposes.”

Venturesome client Beatbullying awarded £1.3m from Social Action Fund

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 23:01:00 +0000

The Minister for Civil Society, Nick Hurd MP, has announced that £1.3 million from The Social Action Fund has been awarded to enable the creation of new not-for-profit organisation, We’re Altogether Better, formed to tackle social issues digitally.

The organisation is run by the team behind the award-winning children’s charity, Beatbullying, which was established in 2002 and has received on-going Government support for its pioneering anti-bullying work.

Through this funding, up to half a million children and young people will be supported through the new not-for-profit organisation, and nearly ten thousand new volunteers will be recruited to significantly increase the support available to the most vulnerable in society. As the new organisation grows, millions of the most vulnerable and at risk young people across the UK will be supported.

Significantly, the Cabinet Office’s investment will also assist the new organisation to take to commercial market ‘Cosmo’, the unique software framework which powers its existing proprietary counselling and mentoring services. Cosmo is a real-time chat and messaging platform that provides a safe online environment through which an organisation can engage with people directly and immediately. The software framework also includes diagnostic tools and administration dashboards that allow organisations to manage, monitor and evaluate their service provision effectively.

Chief Executive, Emma-Jane Cross, said:

“We are indebted to the Cabinet Office for its faith in the ambitions of We’re Altogether Better; never has there been a more urgent need to protect our society’s most vulnerable people.

“Thanks to this support, Beatbullying has made the distinct transition into a cutting-edge social action charity, inspiring digital volunteering for the 21st century. We will now be able to assist thousands of children, young people and adults across the UK, and in doing so, help progress the bold ambitions of the Big Society.

“We believe that We’re Altogether Better can help heal social fissures such as racism and violence, improve mental health, unburden the NHS, combat truancy and poor educational attainment, put young people into work, and enhance community cohesion and social mobility.

“In recent years, the need to improve the support provided to the most vulnerable people in society has been widely acknowledged. This forward-thinking funding from the Cabinet Office has created a modern, digital social action organisation that will meet this need.

“We have evidence that our services, including those this funding will enable us to extend, are successful. CyberMentors, which is powered by Cosmo, has already helped over 1.4 million children and young people and seen a 60 per cent reduction in child-on-child violence in schools where it is implemented.

“We look forward to helping many more people.”

Minister for Civil Society Nick Hurd said:

“In its ambition to support the aims of the Big Society, We’re Altogether Better will report back to the Office for Civil Society, and directly to Nick Hurd MP, on its success in the recruitment and development of the 10,000 new volunteers who will take social action online to help children and young people in crisis. We’re Altogether Better will also further report on progress of delivery of Cosmo into other civil society organisations.”

Welcome to our new Director

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:55:00 +0000

We are delighted to welcome Stephanie Sturrock to the team. Stephanie joined CAF as Director of Social Investment in January. She adds further to the diversity of skills in the team, having been Chief Executive of transformational social enterprise Seachange, and before that Managing Director of the pioneering international social investment organisation Shared Interest. In addition to her background as an innovator in the social economy, she has a wealth of experience in finance, the public sector, and community development.

Stephanie will be developing CAF’s role in social investment including new products, like the recently launched CAF Social Impact Fund, all of which are designed to provide funding for charities, social enterprises, and community groups where access to traditional finance proves difficult.

Stephanie says, “It’s great to be joining the CAF Venturesome team and I’m really looking forward to helping CAF to extend its social investment capability. This is a fantastic opportunity to enable innovative charities to get the high impact loan finance they need. This is a particularly attractive role for me as I have experience of both providing social investment and actually delivering services on the ground.”

“I am also keen to continue the work of CAF in helping to build the social investment market more generally. I am looking forward to working with other organisations in the sector to ensure charities have access to an increasing range of financial options to fund their vital work.”

Commenting on Stephanie’s appointment, CAF Chief Executive John Low said, “I am confident that Stephanie will successfully build on the widely respected work of CAF Venturesome in the social investment market and continue its leadership as both a pioneering thinker and practitioner delivering significant social impact.”

Meet the CAF Venturesome team

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 22:10:00 +0000

CAF Venturesome is one of the world’s leading social investment funds. Our team represents a unique and diverse range of individuals. We are privileged to serve our clients - charities, social enterprises, and individual and corporate investors.

(from left to right: Isabel Newman (Investment Analyst), Dharisha Mirando (Investment Analyst), Holly Piper (Investment Manager), Paul Cheng (Head of CAF Venturesome), Ann Lunan (Operations Administrator), Casey Lord (Investment Manager), and Katie Mountain (Investment Manager)).

Cwm Trannon wins award for best village shop!

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:55:25 +0000

Cwm Trannon has been announced as the winner of the 2011 Countryside Alliance Award for ‘best village shop and post office’ in Wales.

Based between the villages of Trefeglwys and Llawr-y-glyn in rural Wales, Cwn Trannon operates a village shop, post office, coffee shop, florist and community facilities. In February 2011, CAF Venturesome provided Cwn Trannon with a loan of £80,000 to help acquire and refurbish the shop.

The Countryside Alliance Awards, nicknamed the ‘Rural Oscars’, are now in their seventh year of celebrating the characters, skills, traditions and enterprise of the countryside. Cwn Trannon will now go forward to the UK Parliamentary Grand Final to be held at Westminster in March.