At Resonance, we believe in transforming lives and making investment a force for good – and through one of our recently closed funds, the social enterprises we’ve worked with are doing exactly that.
In the six years that our Health & Wellbeing Challenge Fund (HWCF) has been open, it has provided investment to 52 social enterprises in the South West.
The fund, which launched in late 2016, has now been fully deployed, with just over £5million invested.
The goal was to provide patient and flexible finance to help enterprises grow, enabling them to widen their impact and deliver their vital services to more people in their local area.
The fund also provided Launchpad Loans which allowed social enterprises new to taking on investment to gain familiarity with investment capital.
As a snapshot, here’s what the fund has achieved:
Over time we’ve seen the amazing and innovative ways enterprises across the region are improving people’s health and wellbeing, from bespoke domiciliary care and support for children with special needs to supporting people with mental health issues to participate in outdoor activities.
One of the social enterprises to benefit was Memory Matters, which runs Moments Cafe in the heart of Plymouth. Set up in 2010, the organisation works to change the face of dementia support in the community using therapeutic approaches to memory loss for those living with dementia and their carers alike.
They received £70,000, part of which went towards developing their dementia hub in Plymouth.
Image: A Memory Matters group. Credit: Memory Matters
Kate Smith, Memory Matters co-founder and CEO, said: “This support has been invaluable in getting our vision to reality. It has certainly proved beneficial to those affected by Dementia in Plymouth. In the last year, we have supported over 400 families to gain a listening ear and knowledgeable guidance. Without the support from Resonance at the beginning of our journey, this support would never have been possible.”
How the investments from the fund were spread across the region:
This is just a snippet of what the fund has achieved, and it gives us a huge sense of pride to see the enterprises we have supported continuing to enhance the health and wellbeing of the communities they work with.
Neil Berry, Director of Programmes at Access, said: “We are so pleased to have been able to support the Health and Wellbeing Challenge Fund since its inception in 2016.
“The social enterprises supported by the programme have become more resilient and more enterprising as a result of the investment and have collectively made a huge impact on people’s lives in the South West of England, and the social enterprises supported have.
“The Health and Wellbeing Challenge Fund was the first blended finance programme to be established under the Growth Fund and represented an innovative partnership of investors between The National Lottery Community Fund, Big Society Capital and the South West Academic Health Science Network, facilitated by Access.
Some people couldn't make a concert so St Austell Town Band brought the concert to their home. Credit: Health and Care at Home
“We learned a lot through its establishment and through the progress of the fund and have really welcomed the innovation which colleagues at Resonance have developed with social enterprises; not least the Launchpad Loans and use of 'permanent capital'.
“It has been the gateway to further support for Resonance’s Enterprise Growth Funds, facilitated by money we have received from dormant assets, and we hope our partnership will continue long into the future.”
The fund made up to £50m available to support charities and social enterprises to grow and create social impact in their communities. The Growth Fund used a combination of grant funding, made possible thanks to National Lottery players, and loan finance from Big Society Capital and other co-investors, to address specific gaps in the social investment market.
Ollie Pollard, Head of Enterprise Growth Funds at Resonance, said: “Over the past six years, our HWCF has provided over 50 high impact social enterprise's in the South West with over £5m of much needed investment to grow their businesses and impact.
“As a leading social impact investor it has been a formative part of our ongoing journey to provide innovative and effective investment products to social enterprises.”
Following the success of the Health and Wellbeing Challenge Fund, we are launching an exciting new social impact fund called the Resonance Enterprise Investment Fund. More information about the fund can be found here.
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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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