Charities and social enterprises have won investments and contracts worth over £117m after receiving grants from a fund aimed at building capacity.
The Investment and Contract Readiness Fund is a business support fund, funded by the Cabinet Office and managed by the Social Investment Business. It was set up in 2012 to help charities and social enterprises raise investment to compete with public service contracts.
Fifty-one charities and social enterprises have won deals worth a total of £117m with the help of ICRF grants worth just £4.5m – £26 for each £1 of grant. Of the £117m, 54 per cent is investments raised and 46 per cent is contracts won.
The ICRF was set up as a three-year pilot programme in March 2012. Organisations looking to raise at least £500,000 in investment or win contracts worth £1m or more, could apply for grants of £50,000 to £150,000 to purchase the support they need from a list of approved providers.
Since its launch, the ICRF has provided grants worth a total of £13.2m to 154 ventures. Some 103 ventures with combined grants of £8.7m are still pursuing their business support programmes or pursing investment or contracts.
The charity Steps To Work is the fund’s largest success story. It won a £91,600 grant which helped it to win a contract from Walsall Council to fill approximately 250 temporary jobs each week, worth about £27m over three years.
Rob Wilson, minister for civil society said: “Throughout the country there are fantastic charities and social enterprises, providing invaluable services to their community and making significant contributions to the national economy, and the ICRF is helping them scale up their activities rapidly. I am pleased that this fund - the first of its kind anywhere in the world – has been such an indisputable success.
“ICRF has been a fantastic example of how, with the right support, social ventures can grow and prosper. That's why we are planning to direct available capital from the Futurebuilders loanbook - estimated to total £60m over the next decade - to similar programmes that will support social ventures that are getting ready to access social investment, and we will be announcing further news about this soon."
