The Prince Update - January 22nd
Our writer Richard Prince shares his regular horizon scan of the sector news, flagging up developments, new funding and opportunities in the social sector for portfolio careerists and others to be aware of.
2020 was a difficult year for charities and not-for-profits and 2021 clearly still holds great challenges, but we will continue to bring you round-ups of news that may be helpful to you in your work in the sector.
VCSEs: A guide to working with government
If you are a charity or social enterprise looking to build your experience and credibility, boost your sustainability and diversify your income, and if you are considering exploring the opportunities of selling on a large or small scale to central Government, local authorities and/or other public sector buyers, then this guide is intended for you.
This guide covers: how to work with public sector buyers, how to get ready for tender, what buyers are looking for and 10 top tips for tendering.
Comment: important to read and there are links for more detailed info
EP Good Merger Index 2021
On February 10th Eastside Primetimers will launch the latest Good Merger Index, providing new data on not-for-profit sector mergers for charity managers and trustees. This will include a look at the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on charity collaboration in 2020, as well as the previous year. Sign up for the launch.
CAF Venturesome offers new range of flexible social investment
As part of CAF’s ongoing COVID-19 emergency response, they will offer a new range of emergency, flexible social investments which include grants up to 50% of the loan value (currently available until March 2021) alongside social investment loans as well as loans with extended repayment terms. The range of social investments now includes
· Unsecured & secured loans (Loans from £25,000 to £400,000, repayable up to ten years at approximately 6.5%)
· Emergency COVID response part loan/part grant (Up to 50% of loan value available to March 2021)
· Charity Bonds
· Social Impact Bonds
· Quasi Equity
Social enterprises face 'damaging obstacles' to coronavirus loans
Social enterprises could go out of business because of “damaging obstacles” to accessing government-backed bank loans, sector leaders have said. Locality, UnLtd and Social Enterprise UK are among the social enterprise bodies which have written an open letter to the Treasury demanding that the loan scheme system “improves swiftly”. The group said that some social enterprises have been told it will take weeks to open the bank accounts needed to apply for loans, while others have been turned down by banks completely.
Comment: generic business support schemes sometimes don’t fit VCSE sector business models and government needs to step in to sort this out
Future of work - can London's tallest new skyscraper survive the COVID era?
With the City of London deserted once more, its streets only populated by the occasional Deliveroo driver or tumbleweed-seeking photographer, it seems a strange time to be completing the largest office building the capital has ever seen, not least because the very future of the workplace is now in question. But for all the talk about a remote-working future, the death of the office, the freedom of moving to the country, or even working from a roaming van, there remains a huge generational divide in the experience of working from home. A recent study by ISG found that millennials and generation Z (people born since the early 1980s) were least happy and suffering the most, with a third saying productivity had fallen and almost two-thirds complaining of poor home-working conditions.
Meanwhile, in the City, confidence is already bubbling back. In November, the City of London Corporation received more planning applications than the same month last year, meaning incoming proposals are now exceeding pre-pandemic levels. The more that technology invaded people’s jobs, the more they wanted to come face to face to bounce ideas off each other, or learn if they could trust one other. As the pandemic has shown, you can’t really gossip on a group Zoom.
Global Britain, Global Broker - A Blueprint for the UK’s Future International Role
In this paper, Chatham House Director Robin Niblett sets out a proposed blueprint for Britain’s future foreign policy. Rather than reincarnate itself as a miniature great power, he argues that the country has the chance to remain internationally influential if it serves as the broker of solutions to global challenges. Post-Brexit Britain should tend to the health of those areas of international cooperation that lie clearly at the nexus of its interests, resources and credibility, rather than focus on extracting maximum national advantage from a splintered world.
The paper lays out six international goals for the UK that offer the best points of connection between its interests, resources and credibility. These are: protecting liberal democracy; promoting international peace and security; tackling climate change; enabling greater global health resilience; championing global tax transparency and equitable economic growth; and defending cyberspace.
Comment: an excellent contribution to the (seemingly vacant) debate about what Britain’s role could be for the future
What does Brexit mean for charities and social enterprises
As the UK moves into a new relationship with the EU, what do charities and social enterprises need to know? Bates Wells has written a helpful briefing outlining how UK law is affected by Brexit, and what the UK’s new relationship with Europe is likely to mean for your organisation.
The charity sector through Covid
Findings earlier this month from Pro Bono Economics about trends in the charity sector during COVID, in partnership with the Charity Finance Group and the Chartered Institute of Fundraising. Highlights the latest financial impact and digital adoption.