Bristol was chosen as the first city based Fund that Resonance has sought to develop and manage for several reasons. Not only does Bristol have leading status as a Social Enterprise City (currently one of two), it is also home to a significant number of social buy bupropion xl 150 mg enterprises, as well as evidencing a clear awareness of the value they bring. Bristol also has both significant wealth alongside seemingly perpetual inner city poverty and, above all, it has mobilized and self-organized individuals who are prepared to contribute their time, skills and finances to tackling poverty in their own city. A Pilot has been conducted by Resonance to trial the concept of social investment in Bristol, which involved sourcing and arranging two direct social investment deals on behalf of a small group of angel investors. The objective of this Pilot stage was to develop a deeper understanding of what the Bristol social enterprise looks like, what the demand for social investment is, and to gain a sense of how effective it could be in facilitating the scaling of social impact through social enterprise in Bristol.

To provide further insight into investor interest in a Bristol based social investment fund, a survey was distributed to a small group of prospective investors.

Various fund structure options have been explored. After considering the benefits to be generated from the recently implemented Social Investment Tax Relief (SITR), we have concluded that an ‘SITR Fund’ is the best next step to scale up this initiative in Bristol. SITR can help drive down the cost of much needed capital for social enterprises, whilst also delivering a risk adjusted return to investors. The benefits of this structure could be further leveraged through an additional ‘Co-investment Fund’, which could draw in institutional capital and many other investors to the city.

Download Social Investment Fund for Bristol Feasibility Report