Social Investment Business wins national social enterprise award
Social Investment Business (SIB), a social investor based in London has won the Social Investment Deal of the Year at the UK Social Enterprise Awards, held at the Guildhall in central London on the evening of 8 December.
SIB is a finalist in the Social Investment Deal of the Year category for their Resilience and Recovery Loan Fund (RRLF). RRLF was a fund for social enterprises and charities who were experiencing disruption to their normal business model as a result of COVID-19. It was established in six weeks in April 2020 to make an existing government scheme (the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) more easily accessible to charities and social enterprises.
RRLF was run by Social Investment Business (SIB) with an initial £25m investment and support from Big Society Capital. In August 2020, £4m in grants from Access – The Foundation for Social Investment – was made available alongside loans for organisations in England. SIB was the lender and worked with experienced social investor partners on the design and delivery of the fund: Big Issue Invest, CAF Venturesome, Charity Bank, Resonance, Social Investment Scotland, Social and Sustainable Capital and Wales Council for Voluntary Action. Legal firm Weil provided pro-bono support. RRLF finished with £28m in total funding approved to 77 social enterprises and charities.
The Recovery Loan Fund - the successor fund to the Resilience and Recovery Loan Fund - is now open for applications until Friday 20th May 2022, providing funding for charities and social enterprises to adapt delivery models, diversify income streams; manage cash flow; or purchase new technology.
The national Awards, organised by Social Enterprise UK (SEUK) recognises excellence and outstanding achievements by social enterprises, businesses set up to for a social or environmental purpose that reinvest or donate the majority of their profits to meet their mission. From tackling the climate emergency to reducing homelessness, social enterprises are taking on some of the biggest challenges we face, using trade to change lives and protect the planet. They have also been at the heart of community responses to the pandemic, providing essential services from food deliveries to health care with many pivoting their models to keep on supporting the people they are set up to help.
There are 100,000 of these businesses in the UK contributing £60 billion to the economy and employing two million people.
Nick Temple, Chief Executive of Social Investment Business said:
“I’m delighted that Social Investment Business has won the Social Investment Deal of the Year Award for the Resilience & Recovery Loan Fund. The Fund invested more than £28m in 77 different charities and social enterprises, helping them to secure jobs, maintain services and support people most in need at the height of Covid. We could not have done this without the trust, responsiveness and partnership working of Big Society Capital and Access, and our social investment peers. And it recognises a huge collective effort by the whole SIB team and board”
The annual celebration of British social enterprises was hosted by comedian, writer, and actress Suzi Ruffell
Peter Holbrook, Chief Executive of Social Enterprise UK said:
“In what has been an incredibly challenging year social enterprises have given us a real sense of hope. They’ve shown us what it means to put people and communities first, showing real resilience and strength without compromising on their values, integrity and impact.
From taking on the injustices in the food system and using technology to support people experiencing homelessness to being on the frontline of supporting communities through the pandemic - this year’s winners represent not just the best of business but the future of business.”