Connect Fund Overview
THE CONNECT FUND – WHY? The Connect Fund seeks to build a better social investment market in England by: improving the connection of social investment to the needs of charities and social enterprises better connecting social investment intermediaries through shared data and resources connecting existing voluntary sector infrastructure organisations to the social investment market Charities and social enterprises still struggle to access small DEMAND amounts of unsecured, affordable finance from the social investment market. There are a number of social investment intermediaries, but SUPPLY sustainable business models for fund managers and advisors remains challenging. VALUES • • • COLLABORATION VOICE ENGAGEMENT • • • LEARNING INDEPENDENCE INNOVATION AND EVIDENCE • QUAKER VALUES
THE CONNECT FUND – WHAT? £3m fund that makes grants and investments to support intermediaries and infrastructure to make social investment work better for charities and social enterprises in England. The Connect Fund fosters learning partnerships to accelerate solutions to shared challenges in social investment, and to ensure that social investment focuses on the funding realities that social sector organisations face.
THE CONNECT FUND – FUNDED WORK A total of 51 projects are now being supported by the Connect Fund. 50 grants have been awarded since June 2017, totalling £2.1m 1 Social Investment of £50k to Singlify
THE CONNECT FUND – BY THEME (%)
THE CONNECT FUND – BY THEME (£) £3m
THE CONNECT FUND – BY REGION (No. of Projects) 51 Connect Fund projects are spread across all 9 regions of England.
THE CONNECT FUND – BY REGION (£)
LEARNING COMMUNITY The Connect Fund grantees form part of our Learning Community, which we have established to ensure the knowledge and best practice from the projects can be shared and retained for the benefit of the market. Find out more on the Learning page on our website.
THE CONNECT FUND – CLOSED FUNDING ROUNDS Round 1 Round 2 Grants to enable the development Grants for shared initiatives to of shared approaches to engage address gaps in social investment with social investment. market infrastructure. Social investors, advisors, interest Voluntary sector infrastructure orgs, groups & networks active in social membership bodies, CVS, networks & investment in England community foundations in England Decisions made: November 2017 Decisions made: February & May 2018
NEXT STEPS – FUNDING PILOT Building Infrastructure Fund Enterprising Ideas Fund To develop enterprise solutions and To provide flexible finance to explore new methods to engage catalyse new business ideas. VCSEs with social investment. Social investment intermediaries in Existing Connect Fund grantees England can apply for: may apply for grants of up to £30,000 1) Small grants of up to £10,000 to develop feasibility, financial New applicants from Infrastructure projections and a business plan Organisations in England can apply for grants up to £60,000 to explore 2) Social Investment of up to new initiatives – from Sept 2019 £50,000 EOI: Rolling from Jan 2019 Existing Grantees: January 2019 Investment decisions : May, Sept New Applicants: September 2019 Nov 2019
BUILDING INFRASTRUCTURE FUND For infrastructure organisations in England that can: Develop a sustainable model for service provision Increase engagement with social investment through Access Reach Fund access points and/or place-based investment Embed knowledge and skills for VCSEs taking on social investment Address barriers to social investment Increase diversity in the social investment sector Work collaboratively with social investment intermediaries and market networks
BUILDING INFRASTRUCTURE FUND Grant support for enterprise development • Existing Grantees • Build on current learning Up to • Sustainable methods to engage VCSEs £30k Grant and address gaps • New applicants • Explore new, sustainable ways to address gaps Up to • Aligned with Access Foundation £60k Grant priorities
BUILDING INFRASTRUCTURE FUND Expression of Initial Online F2F Measure & Decision interest assessment application Assessment Report Existing Grantees: New Applicants: From JAN 2019 From SEPT 2019 On rolling basis
Voluntary Sector Infrastructure – Case Study Social Investment Market Place Link
ENTERPRISING IDEAS FUND For intermediaries in England that can: • Solve a problem for the social investment market Evidence demand in the target market • Generate revenue a/o a clear path to sustainability • Demonstrate track record and experience of the founder(s) or organisation • Advance and embed social impact in operations
ENTERPRISING IDEAS FUND Patient risk finance for business development • Business plan • Market analysis • Financial projections £10k grant • Flexible 0% loan facility (partial match) • Convertible 0% loan to equity £50k • Equity investment
ENTERPRISING IDEAS FUND From JAN 2019 > On rolling basis Expression of Phone Online F2F Measure & Decision interest assessment application Assessment Report 10 to 12 small 5 to 6 feasibility grants investments £10k £50k
Enterprising Ideas Fund – Case Study £10k Feasibility Grant £50k Investment
Contact us Schedule a time to speak with us: a.padilha@barrowcadbury.org.uk Website: Connectfund.org.uk Twitter: @connectfund LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/connect-fund Sign up to our E-news mailing list on our home page
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