A very wise man reminded me earlier this week that ‘a change is as good as a rest’. Never one to ignore advice, I decided that it was time to go full Gok Wan and give Have I Got Social Enterprise News For You a makeover. The content will remain the same though; useful links buried amongst inane babble and appalling puns.
If you are reading this on the blog, you won’t have noticed any difference! Why not join the growing number of people who receive this email in their inbox each Friday morning? You can sign up here.
Here’s this week’s news:
- Mark your diary, set an alarm, tell a friend or five. Applications for the Lloyds Bank and Bank of Scotland Social Entrepreneurs Programme open on Monday. Application forms will be available to download then, but you are able to book to attend a taster session now.
- If you are thinking about starting out as a social entrepreneur, this is an interesting read by Reese Fernandez of Rags2Riches looking back on her 8 years running the organisation: ‘this love for the work is no longer one that is giddy and romantic. It is steady, grounded and hard working.’
- Deloitte has published its 2015 Millennial survey which explores what ‘tomorrow’s leaders think of today’. What’s interesting is the emphasis that Millenials place on social impact and the triple bottom line; Deloitte surmise that ‘business should focus on people and purpose, not just products and profits in the 21st century’. Hear hear.
- Staying with they kidz, The Student Enterprise Conference 2015 takes place in Liverpool this weekend, and there are still tickets available. (Kudos to any student who makes it to any event on a Saturday and Sunday. You’re a better student than I ever was). The British Council is offering further opportunities to students, with Students for Social Impact: A Social Enterprise Work-Study Programme in the UK and Canada.
- If you are in Edinburgh on 11th March, The Melting Pot will be celebrating International Women’s Day by hosting a ‘Women Social Entrepreneurs’ Chat Show‘. Amongst the lineup is SSE Fellow Sylvia Douglas.
- John Burton, a Fellow from 1999, has written the soon to be published ‘Leading Good Care: The Task, Heart and Art of Managing Social Care‘. If you are working in the field of social care it comes highly recommended.
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arc, Business in the Community’s social enterprise support programme is open for applications (deadline to apply is 27/02). The support menu includes: expert business leaders for advice and project delivery, profiling and new business opportunities and subsidised social impact consultancy, training and premises. Who is it for? Ambitious social enterprises creating employment in East and West London that want to grow their business. Register your interest here.
- How digital transformation improved Marie Curie’s marketing strategy – some useful principles here. Obviously it helps if you have a marketing team to do this, but there are some good ideas that anyone can adopt.
- Up in the North East, the Virgin Money Community Fund at the Community Foundation is offering grants of £5000 – £15000 to voluntary and community organisations. Deadline for applications is February 17th.
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!
