Woah. Hold your horses. We won’t have language like that around here, this ain’t no Rupert Murdoch publication. Thanks to the wonders of scrolling text there isn’t even a page 3.
It is flipping cold here in London though, and the hidden overlords who control the thermostat in our office have decided that absolute zero is an appropriate ambient temperature to work in. I might print this week’s news out and burn it to keep warm (making it the most useful Have I Got Social Enterprise News For You ever?).
Enough prattling, here’s this week’s news…
- This came out seconds after last week’s newsletter was sent so I’m including it this week – Ellie Ward of Pioneers Post put together a comprehensive (and excellent) write up of our Social Enterprise Question Time.
- What do Unilever, Land Securities, PwC, Linklaters, Afrikids, RSA and Beyond Food Foundation have in common? They’ll all be speaking on our Working With Corporates workshop on February 27th. Not a bad lineup, even if we do say so ourselves!
- The next stage of the Frontline London campaign has got underway in earnest. We’ll be working with five soon to be released prisoners, helping them to get a social business off the ground.
- Doing work on similar lines is social enterprise Blue Sky. You can read about their amazing work here on the Guardian’s website.
- Power to Change, a new charitable trust ‘supporting community businesses’ across England launched this week. Read more about it here or check out their shiny new website.
- Citybridge Trust’s Stepping Stones Fund has been set up to help bridge the gap that organisations face when shifting from grant income to a position where they can take on investment. The deadline for applications is 31st January.
- Also looking for applicants is Unltd’s Big Venture Challenge – you’ve got until Feb 3rd to get your forms in.
- Edelman’s 15th Annual Trust Barometer was released this week. Trust in NGOs has plummeted from (a recent high of) 67% in 2014 to 51% in 2015; people now have more trust in businesses than they do charities. Why? The number one reason that people distrust NGOs is that they are ‘too focused on money’. You can read the report here.
- Next week sees the launch of the new website for Plan Zheroes, founded by SSE student Maria Ana Neves. The organisation connects businesses which would otherwise waste surplus food with charities and individuals who could make use of it. Maria and the team will be launching the site next Thursday at City Hall, in London – details here if you’d like to attend the event and support them.
- The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation are backing mobile banking as the way to transform the lives of 2 billion people in the world who don’t currently have a banking account. The difference between the number of people who hold a bank account compared to own a mobile phone is staggering.
- Canadians! Don’t miss the 2015 Canadian Conference on Social Enterprise taking place in London, Ontario in April. (This was for you Hamoon!).
Upcoming courses at SSE:
- Understanding Your Finances, SSE Scotland – 5th Feb
- Replication and Social Franchising, SSE London – 11th Feb
- YSC Sustainable Leadership Course, SSE Cornwall – 20th Feb
- Kickstart Your Social Media Strategy, SSE London – 3rd Mar
Have a good week!
