I am very excited, as I’m off on holiday to the Canary Islands tomorrow and can briefly escape this cold weather. No Have I Got Social Enterprise News For You next week, but I’m sure that you’ll manage without it.
Here’s this week’s news:
- It’s less than a week until our 6 day Replication and Social Franchising course begins, and there are still a couple of places available at £750. Based on the speakers we have booked and the quality of the participants that we have so far, I’m going to confidently predict that this will be the best one yet. Don’t miss it!
- If podcasts are your thing, I stumbled across this weekly free podcast from Jane Barrett on iTunes: Mission Driven Entrepreneurs – Making a Positive Impact on Society and the Environment. There are 18 to catch up on.
- Do Social Impact Bonds Work? asks Russell Webster, as he sums up a recent report from Big Lottery Fund. There are some really good infographics explaining what a social impact bond is.
- SSE Fellow Saritha Thomas will be sharing the story of setting up a community radio station in remote Utterakand, India next Thursday (12th Feb) at SSE London from 6pm – 8pm. Come along! All invited, and it’s free. Further details here.
- An interesting article in the Guardian ‘Transparency should be a charity’s priority, not a reluctant requirement‘. (If you are looking for an example of a transparent organisation, social media company Buffer publish pretty much everything they have). I’m also happy to reveal that my salary is significantly less than Cristiano Ronaldo’s.
- SSE Fellow Mona Shah got a good write up for her organisation Harry Specters in the Financial Times since 2012 Harry Specter ‘has provided work experience to more than 30 young people with autism and enabled 100 students with special needs to participate in a package design project’. Super stuff.
- One of the highlights of various social enterprise conferences over the last few years has been Oxford Jam. Well, Oxford Jam is no longer with us, but it has been replaced by Marmalade, taking place from 13th – 17th April. See you there?
- BIG have thrown another £10m into the ring marked ‘Big Potential’ – grants of up to £150,000 are now available to organisations looking to raise investment over £500,000 or win contracts worth £1m+.
- SEUK hosted the Social Value Summit this week. Deputy Chief Executive Nick Temple has reviewed the day here and you can watch individual sessions from the day here.
- And finally…the Lloyds Bank and Bank of Scotland Social Entrepreneurs Programme is now open for applications. It’s a 12 month long SSE learning programme and a grant of either £4k (start-up) or £15k (scale-up). Apply away.
What’s on at SSE:
- Replication and Social Franchising, SSE London – 11th Feb
- YSC Sustainable Leadership Course, SSE Cornwall – 20th Feb
- Working with Corporates, SSE London – 27th Feb (this is getting v full!)
- Kickstart Your Social Media Strategy, SSE London – 3rd Mar
