Where to start?: a quick guide for social investors

Charity Bank
www.charitybank.org
Ethical bank accepts deposits from individuals and companies and uses the money to provide loans to charities and other social profit organisations.

Founder Reserve
Donations help to unlock sustainable finance for the voluntary sector. This money becomes an investment in the capital of the bank, leveraging a much larger pool of funds that helps it to provide long-term support.

Preference and ordinary shares
Equity capital that enables the bank to raise deposits for on-lending and to leverage in other forms of finance for borrowers.

Subordinated loan notes
10-year loans that act as equity for first five years enabling the bank to raise more deposits for on-lending.

The Charity ISA
A ‘fair rate of return’ 30-day notice ISA where all of the money is used for charity and a 1.25% 5th-year bonus goes to charity of investor’s choice . 

Co-operative Financial Services
www.cfs.co.uk
Ethical bank providing loan and equity finance to charities and social enterprises.  Part of the Co-operative Group, CFS is the name for the group of businesses that includes The Co-operative Insurance, The Co-operative Investments, and The Co-operative Bank including smile.

Triodos Bank
www.triodos.co.uk 
Ethical bank that only lends money to and invests in organisations pursuing positive social, environmental and cultural goals.

Triodos Opportunities Fund
A social enterprise equity fund which invests in commercially sustainable social enterprises and provides expertise to help them grow. The Fund brings together social investors who are looking for meaningful ways to put their money to work with promising social enterprises.

Triodos EIS Green Fund
The Fund will target EIS (Enterprise Investment Scheme) qualifying companies with growth potential in a variety of areas, including renewable energy generation and technology, energy efficiency, sustainable living and low carbon products, and waste recycling and reduction.  

Big Issue Invest
www.biginvest.co.uk
Finance provider to organizations utilising business solutions to create social or environmental benefit.

Social Enterprise Investment Fund (launching soon)
To provide growth capital to social enterprises through equity, quasi-equity and debt; investments are expected to range from £100,000 to £500,000. Targeted internal rate of return to investors of 3-5%. Will be a closed-ended limited partnership with a structure allowing for individual and institutional investments as well as charitable donations.

Loan Fund
Provides financing to social enterprises and trading arms of charities.  Loan size averages £180,000 with a range of £50,000 to £200,000, and includes asset-backed loans, cash flow-backed loans and quasi-equity. Fund has dispersed £5.5m over three years with no defaults.

Bridges Ventures
www.bridgesventures.com 
UK’s first community development venture capital company, established to invest in businesses in the most deprived parts of England.  

Social Entrepreneurs Fund
An initiative addressing the funding gap faced by fast-growing social enterprises looking to scale, the Fund will invest up to £1m in each social enterprise. Investment will be through equity-like capital providing social enterprises with the risk capital funding they need to grow. The funding will be repayable with an appropriate return, and the fund will re-invest all repayments and returns into further social enterprises.

Bridges CDV Funds I & II
Primary focus is companies based in the most deprived areas of the UK and companies in ‘social impact sectors’ like healthcare, education and the environment.

Venturesome
www.venturesome.org 
Provides unsecured loans, underwriting and other financing to charities and social enterprises.  

Venturesome Fund 
Unlike one-off donations, an investment in Venturesome aims to be recycled four or five times. Venturesome also can help investors access harder-to-reach charities. As the organisation assumes a higher financial risk than might a conventional bank lender, it can fund organisations that would have no other way to access capital.

Ashoka
www.ashoka.org 
Invests in individual social entrepreneurs through financial and professional support.

Ashoka Support Network (ASN)
ASN is an international group of Ashoka supporters - chiefly business entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, investment bankers and successful business people who support social entrepreneurs. ASN offers various types of engagement opportunities for ASN members, including offering one-on-one business support, visiting projects when travelling abroad, and internships organised for ASN members’ children with Fellows’ organisations.

CAN Invest
www.can-online.org.uk 
Helps social businesses scale up by mobilizing funding and business skills to develop core functions.

Breakthrough programme
Leverages in capital, business skills, and experience to support a select group of established social enterprises to scale up. It matches the best business skills from the private sector with the passion of social entrepreneurs to develop sustainable, efficient organisations that tackle social and environmental problems.

Community Development Finance Association (CDFA)
www.cdfa.org.uk

Membership association for community development finance institutions. Investor resources include a Community Investment Tax Relief guide, and a searchable directory of members.

Investing for Good
www.investingforgood.co.uk 
Provides specialized advice on social investment to wealth managers and financial intermediaries. 

Advisory services
Currently tracks around $2.2 bn in social investment opportunities around the world, including both pooled funds and direct investments, across a range of asset classes. Constructs investment portfolios bespoke to each investor, using a proprietary methodology that measures and rates the investments for their blended return.

Individual investors can access Investing for Good’s services through their wealth manager or financial intermediary.

Social Finance
www.socialfinance.org.uk 
Launched as the first social investment bank, to develop bespoke financing for social impact and to bring new capital into the sector.

Social Impact Bond
New financial instrument aiming to be piloted in 2009, in the areas of reducing reoffending and/or 16-18 year old NEET (not in education, employment or training) rates, in partnership with the Young Foundation and Frontier Economics.

ClearlySo
www.clearlyso.com
Website supporting social businesses through access to capital, services, people and information. Website offers information and advice to social investors, and enables direct investment into social businesses and social enterprises.