Episode 9: Show Me The Money!

On our 9th podcast we cover the topic that’s essential for the survival of your social enterprise – Money! Whether your organisation relies on funding, investments, income from goods and services or other forms of finance, a regular income stream is key to your growth. 

The last few months have been challenging for all organisations, and especially those who rely on income from goods and services. Many social enterprises have been moving away from grant dependency towards financial resilience with diverse income streams only to find themselves once again relying on funding to survive. On our 4th podcast since COVID, “Show me the Money!” we take an in-depth look at one social enterprise who has not only survived but thrived since it began, evolving it’s income stream along the way. Dr Iyabo Fatimilehin, founder and director at Just Psychology CIC shares the highs and lows of seeking funding and investment and her social enterprise journey to date. We hear how a Reach Fund initially kick started her business growth providing the funds to put together a business plan, financial and social impact forecast and get investment ready. Investment can be a scary prospect for organisations that have always relied on grant funding, though it need not be. Iyabo shares her thoughts and experience on how good planning, research and a clear focus can help you secure investment to not only grow your business but provide sustainability. Although it’s common for social entrepreneurs to wear many hats in their business, we hear from Iyabo on why it’s sometimes best to bring in an expert especially when it comes to funding and bid writing! The last few months have demonstrated just how adaptable social enterprises are with many evolving their services to still provide vital support to their clients. Just Psychology is no exception, with Iyabo taking the decision to move all their services from face to face to online. Although this presents a particular challenge especially within the social care and wellbeing sector where personal interaction is at the core of the organisation, this has provided a useful reflection period with opportunities to streamline the organisation in the future and be more flexible in their approach to providing support to clients. 

Next we hear from our fantastic Funding Panel to get some valuable insights on how infrastructure agencies are responding to the pandemic. Bid writing can be somewhat of a dark art, particularly for new ventures so on this episode we take a look behind the scenes at the in’s and out’s of funding from 3 agencies, with Alex Phillips from UnLtd, Lucy Findlay MBE from Social Enterprise Mark and Alison Crush from Greater Manchester Centre for Voluntary Organisations.

 Alex shares her perspectives as an Award Manager for Unltd on why it’s so important for social entrepreneurs to be supported in challenging times such as COVID especially in the early stages of their social enterprise journey. Managing cash flow is the biggest issues for most early stage ventures, and trying to meet immediate costs in a pandemic has been nothing short of challenging. Organisations such as Unltd have been a vital buffer providing organisations with some stability over these last few months when their regular income streams have dried up. She shares some great examples of social entrepreneurs around the country that have been able to respond to community needs with very little resource and how this need to be celebrated, not just within the social enterprise sector but beyond.  

 

We hear from Lucy from Social Enterprise Mark who has been at the forefront of ensuring government and other national agencies recognise that Social Enterprises need a tailored support package and helping to secure an incredible 85 million for the sector! Lucy shares how the last few months have been focused on raising awareness on the lessons that can be learnt from successful social enterprises, many of whom have been first responders during the pandemic. From helping to regenerate high streets and deprived areas to solving some of the deep rooted issues of unemployment, social enterprises. Focusing on the larger picture, Lucy shares how the next few months will focus on further developing links with the government, national agencies and UK Finance to ensure the social enterprise sector has a more tailored approach when it comes to mainstream finance and lending.

 

Our final funder, Alison from GMCVO shares her insights on supporting more established ventures and the ways in which funders are adapting to provide a lifeline to organisations struggling due to the pandemic. From loan repayment holidays to help organisations keep up with payments, to assisting social enterprises to become more resilient and helping them to recover during these challenging times.

 

 Finally we hear from a fab range of women changemakers who share their top tips on funding and securing investment to give hope, reality and inspiration!

 

First up we have Clare Courtney from Heart and Parcel an inspiring social enterprise that provides opportunities for migrant women to come together, improve their English and social skills all whilst making great food! Clare shares how demonstrating flexibility to funders resulted in securing funding from We Love Mcr to move their full program online, not only providing much needed support to their existing client base but growing their customer base by being more accessible to new learners online! 

 
We next hear from Karen Howard at Brain Health Breakthrough who provide training for those affected by brain injury on the importance of being proactive and how social enterprises in particular are well suited to evolving quickly and adapting their services in response to challenging times.

And finally we have Kimberly Bond from Visit from the Stork and Yvonne Edouke @ Sawa BBQ from Sawa BBQ and Dynamic Support, two women changemakers who have not let the challenges of COVID stop them from continuing to support their clients sharing their tips on the benefits from reaching out to your network. 

 We know the last few months have been a real challenge for organisations everywhere, but it’s great to share the successes of social enterprises and how effectively they have dealt with the changing environment to continue to support and be a real lifeline for communities. Resilience and adaptability are at the heart of the keys to success when it comes to financial sustainability so as well as this podcast, check out our amazing Flourishing Beyond Covid Toolkit and webinar series to consider your own options for securing funding and resources.

 

Special Thanks all our contributors for this podcast: 

Dr Iyabo Fatimilehin, from Just Psychology CIC, Clare Courtney from Heart and Parcel, Karen Howard at Brain Health Breakthrough, Kimberly Bond from Visit from the Stork and Yvonne Edouke @ Sawa BBQ and Dynamic Support, Alex Phillips from UnLtd, Lucy Findlay MBE from Social Enterprise Mark and Alison Crush from Greater Manchester Centre for Voluntary Organisations.

For more info on our upcoming events, visit our eventbrite page.

For local advice and support for your social venture and more on GMCVO's Social Investment support visit https://www.gmcvo.org.uk/

For more resources and info on social enterprise grants visit the UnLtd website

For more on social enterprise accreditation and resources on social enterprise excellence visit Social Enterprise Mark CIC 

Supporting Women in Social Enterprise is a MIC Media Production @MICmediaUK and is produced and edited by Vic Elizabeth Turnbull @SilentVic