Project: Investing in Social Enterprise

Grant: £43,200

This project focus is on capacity building to provide technical skills and support to VCSE organisations in Wolverhampton to be investment ready to deliver public sector and other contracts. WVSC will work in partnership and share information on its project with Birmingham Voluntary Service Council (BVSC).

The project will employ a part-time Social Enterprise and Investment Adviser to work alongside a consultant delivering technical support. The Adviser will increase awareness of social investment through the WVSC website, creating specific pages for this activity, social media, mailings and networking meetings. Interested groups will then attend social investment events, seek investment readiness consultancy support, one-to-one and peer support. VCSEs already delivering public service and other contracts will be recruited to provide peer support to new participants. Bursaries will be made available to VCSEs that require additional consultancy to develop new revenue streams or build capacity in relation to social investment and to VCSEs that commit to delivering peer support to newer entrants to social investment. WVSC will refer and support VCSEs applying to social investment intermediaries. WVSC will also develop a social investment resource pack, drawing together existing available resources, and develop links to social investors to enable collaboration and information exchange.

WVSC will further develop its expertise in relation to social investment and it will share its knowledge and practical experience of engaging more directly with social investment with BVSC. Many of the organisations will be involved in consortia across the Black Country and will develop skills and knowledge to harness that track record to secure social investment to grow their activities and bid for public sector and other contracts. Social investors will have access to a larger pool of investment opportunities and the resource pack will be available to groups beyond this grant.