NAME OF ORGANISATION: The Dangerous Dads Network
LOCATION: South West
YEAR FOUNDED: 2007
ABOUT: Dangerous Dads groups run regular, fun activities for fathers and male carers with children of all ages, including DadFest and the Dad Dancing Fit Club.
INVESTMENT PURPOSE: A launchpad loan and investment into launching the Dad Dancing Fit Club franchise and Dad Fests.
INVESTMENT AMOUNT: £120,000
DATE OF INVESTMENT: February 2018, July 2019
SOURCE OF INVESTMENT: Health & Wellbeing Challenge Fund
IMPACT: Health, Wellbeing & Social Care; Education & Learning
ABOUT: The lack of successful father-friendly services in the South West encouraged Ian Blackwell to create the social enterprise Dangerous Dads. The annual phenomenon DadFest is a weekend filled with pig-racing, star-gazing and spoon-carving, which has caught the eye of the public multiple times. That’s where the World Dad Dancing Championship started, a spectacle so entertaining and popular that the DDFC has been launched. The club combines cheesy music with a fitness routine developed by professional instructors, and the sessions are deliberately low cost to make them affordable for all. The response has been astounding. In Totnes, for example, the Children’s Centre reaches over a third of local dads, surpassing all other Centres in the county, where the average is only one in five dads.
PURPOSE OF INVESTMENT: The investment supports the expansion of Dangerous Dads. There is now a broad network of Dangerous Dad groups nationwide, available for members to search for the group nearest them. The Dangerous Dads Network also offers consultancy services, advising clients on how best to develop more ‘father friendly’ services. The organisation is also involved with the Plymouth Dads project, which runs free monthly activities for dads and children along with monthly Conversation Cafés for dads/ male carers to talk about the challenges and opportunities involved in being a father.
Ian Blackwell, Founder of Dangerous Dads: “Resonance has been great for our social enterprise as the staff are extremely knowledgeable in all aspects of business development and very supportive of our ambitions. They also have a wide network of like-minded organizations, so the networking for us has been really useful too.”
Leila Sharland, Investment Manager: “Dangerous Dads is inclusive and creative. Our investment enabled them to launch the DDFC franchise and to run more DadFests each year. Their growth will mean more families can be active and build relationships together through their exciting range of activities across the UK.”
Resonance Limited is a company registered in England and Wales no. 04418625
Resonance Impact Investment Limited, a subsidiary of Resonance Limited, is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Firm number 588462.
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