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By Peter Kenyon
Director
UnLtd Ventures
Established in 2000, UnLtd - the Foundation for Social Entrepreneurs - is committed to resourcing people based in the UK who want to change their communities for the better by developing enterprising solutions to social issues. We do this by providing a complete package of funding and support to help individuals start up and run projects that deliver social benefit.
UnLtd makes two levels of award:
Level 1 Awards of between £500 and £5,000 are aimed at people who wish to set up projects in their spare time and who, through their projects, will have the opportunity to develop new skills. These are energetic and committed individuals who are passionate about improving their communities.
Level 2 Awards of between £10,000 and £20,000 are for more established social entrepreneurs who wish to expand existing projects. The money may be used for living expenses in order to free up the individual's time to spend on the project. Level 2 Award Winners are visionary people with the drive and the experience necessary to make their projects a success.
These Awards are funded by the income generated from an investment of £100 million given to UnLtd in 2002 through the Millennium Awards Trust, which was established by the Millennium Commission, one of the National Lottery distributors. This legacy is invested as a permanent endowment so that it generates sufficient income to fund UnLtd's Millennium Awards now and in the future.
UnLtd's support extends far beyond the financial; we provide Award Winners with everything they need to ensure their projects are successful, from residential training and one-on-one project shaping and support meetings to awards days and fellowship events.
UnLtd Ventures, our in-house consultancy team, provides specialist, professional advice to a select few individuals whose projects are ready to be replicated throughout the country. The team provides the support necessary to ensure that these projects grow into robust and sustainable enterprises.
In addition to working with UnLtd's Award Winners, the Ventures team also supports other social entrepreneurs where commissioned to do so. The team was recently awarded a core costs grant from the Baring Foundation, which has since been matched by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, to carry out action-based research into replication.
Shared learning
As a result of this work, in late 2007 UnLtd Ventures will publish a practical guide for social entrepreneurs and voluntary sector organisations looking to grow or replicate their projects. The guide will feature key learning UnLtd Ventures has gained from supporting social entrepreneurs, and will be augmented by information gathered from interviews of other organisations in the field as well as highlights from academic journals.
Case Study: Get Well UKSummary: Current activities: Achievements to date: Funding: Support from UnLtd:
The UnLtd Ventures team has recently started supporting Boo and will continue to work with her over the next two-to-three years to help her meet these challenges. In addition to providing direct support, the Ventures team has arranged for Boo to present her organisation to a network of people who have offered advice and introductions, which will hopefully help accelerate the progress of her project. |
Future Plans for UnLtd Ventures
In the longer term, UnLtd Ventures would like to raise an investment fund to provide seed funding to the social entrepreneurs and their projects that we support. We will be conducting a feasibility study into this idea over the next year, and will then develop a detailed plan if the fund is shown to be plausible.
© Copyright 2007 Association of Charitable Foundations (ACF)
Every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided in A Guide to Giving is current at the time of publication (October 2005), but the Association of Charitable Foundations (ACF) cannot guarantee its accuracy. Furthermore, there may have been subsequent changes to legislation, policy and/or to tax bands and rates. If you are considering any investment you should seek appropriate professional advice. This guide is not intended to replace professional advice on particular investments or the manner in which tax relief is applied under any scheme, and you should not rely on it for such purposes. You are responsible for your own tax and financial affairs and so should seek independent advice. ACF can not accept responsibility for the investment choices you make.
Views expressed in A Guide to Giving are not necessarily those of Philanthropy UK or the Association of Charitable Foundations.
Coutts & Co is not responsible for the content of A Guide to Giving, and the content does not constitute any advice whatsoever from Coutts & Co. The case studies and profiles within the Guide are not necessarily clients of Coutts & Co. Coutts & Co shall not be liable for any loss whatsoever arising from your reliance on any information produced in the Guide.
