SVA Diversified Impact Fund    

Investor update, March 2019

Photo: Sticking Together, Australia’s first SIB addressing youth unemployment.

Dear Investor,

It is with great pleasure that we announce another investment by the Diversified Impact Fund - the Sticking Together Social Impact Bond. The SIB will fund the expansion of the Sticking Together Project, which will work with approximately 900 young people experiencing multiple barriers to employment and provide them with a dedicated work coach for 60 weeks. Read more below.

We are also thrilled that the SVA impact investing team was named Asset Manager of the Year 2018 at the Impact Investment Summit Asia Pacific late last year. 

Our ultimate goal is to create social impact in Australia by investing in social purpose organisations that have a demonstrated track record and are looking for capital to scale. We welcome any leads or ideas you may have!

The second capital call for the fund is anticipated to be in the second quarter of the 2019 calendar year. We will provide further guidance as we deploy funds and investors will be given notice as per the fund requirements (minimum 30 days). 

Please note that the first investor report will cover the period from first close to 30 June 2019 and will be available at the end of October 2019.

In the meantime, we will continue to provide regular updates on the fund’s progress. We hope you enjoy this newsletter.

Yours sincerely,
Michael, Alex and Nathan

Investment in the Sticking Together SIB

The Fund invested $500,000 in Australia’s first social impact bond (SIB) addressing youth unemployment, managed by Social Ventures Australia. 

The $5 million SIB will fund SYC’s delivery of the Sticking Together Project, which will provide intensive coaching support over a four-year period to approximately 900 unemployed young people who face high barriers to employment. SYC will commence service delivery in April 2019 in the Southern Highlands and Shoalhaven, the Illawarra, and the city and inner south in Sydney.

The Sticking Together SIB is targeting investor returns of approximately 7% per annum. Returns are linked to the level of measured improvement in participants’ employment outcomes.

Investment: The Fund invested $500,000

The Aspire Social Impact Bond – celebrating the first year of service delivery

The Aspire SIB funds the Aspire Program in Adelaide, which is delivered by Hutt St Centre, a homelessness services specialist, in partnership with community housing providers. The Aspire SIB has a term of 7.75 years and utilises $9 million of investor capital.

Since the Aspire SIB commenced at the end of March 2017, Hutt St Centre has recruited the Aspire team, moved into dedicated premises, and commenced supporting people experiencing persistent homelessness in Adelaide. At the end of June 2018, the Aspire Program celebrated its first year of service delivery. Early indicators and feedback suggest that the program is having a positive impact on the lives of the 104 people that were enrolled during the first year.

During the first year 195 referrals were made to Aspire, with 104 people enrolling. As at 30 June, 100 were still actively participating in the program. The number of people enrolled in the program is lower than the planned 150 due to a number of factors including a higher than expected level of complexity in participants presenting issues and constrained housing supply. In addition, the participants engagement in the program has been stronger than expected (with a disengagement rate of 4% compared to an anticipated 33%) which leads to a lower level of ‘vacancies’ in the Navigator caseloads. To remedy the lower than planned enrolments to date, Hutt St Centre are bringing forward the recruitment of additional staff and are actively engaging with referring agencies to raise awareness of the program and encourage referrals.

Individuals entering the Aspire Program have presented with varied and complex backgrounds including mental health issues, alcohol and drug usage and difficulty accessing stable accommodation and employment. According to data collected by Hutt St Centre from participants:

• 60% do not have any meaningful activities in their life aside from surviving day to day.
• 57% misuse drugs often or always.
• 35% have been attacked since becoming homeless.

Over the first year, the Aspire team has experienced challenges, learnt, and had an extraordinary impact on the lives of their friends in the Aspire Program.

SVA’s impact investing team named Asset Manager of the Year

At the inaugural Australian Impact Investment Awards held in November 2018, a collaboration between the Impact Investment Summit Asia Pacific and the Impact Investing Hub, the SVA impact investing team was named Asset Manager of the Year. The awards recognise outstanding activity and individuals in the Australian Impact Investing ecosystem.

The award took into account the performance of assets, the evidence of the organisation’s impact, and how it contributed to the field of impact investing over the past 12 months. The judges cited SVA’s efforts in the launch of Australia’s first social impact bond tackling youth unemployment, securing a further $40 million commitment from superannuation fund HESTA for the Social Impact Investment Trust, and the launch of the SVA Diversified Impact Fund. 

Got a great deal referral?

Do you know a great impact organisation that is generating revenue and ready to scale? We have the best investors in Australia, so we listen when you recommend an investment to us. Our investment criteria is:

• Ability to create meaningful social outcomes for people experiencing disadvantage in Australia
• Either at least $500,000 annualised revenue (for equity) or security available (for loans)
• Minimum investment ask of $500,000

Send your referrals to makeadif@socialventures.com.au

Fund portfolio

Interested in angel investing?

The following two social purpose organisations are seeking capital, but are too early stage for the Fund.

• Shiftsimple: Platform providing educators and carers to fill short-notice staff absences at regulated care facilities. Post-revenue.
• Neighbourlytics: Social analytics platform to inform neighbourhood developments and local government decisions.

Contact Nathan Sowell at nsowell@socialventures.com.au for more information.

The information in this email is for general information purposes only and in passing it and any other material on to you Social Ventures Australia (SVA) is not providing you with any legal, tax, investment, financial or other advice. Nothing in this email should be construed or relied on as a representation, recommendation, endorsement, solicitation or offer by SVA or any third party in relation to any organisation, financial products or other investment. Before making any commitment of a legal or financial nature, you should carry out your own inquiries and seek such professional advice as you may require. SVA does not receive any remuneration or other benefit for passing on this information.

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