Edition No. 73 - Thursday 2nd December
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Dear ,
The Social Enterprise Census 2021 got underway at the start of November – and this Online Survey will remain ’live’ in the run up to Christmas. This is the fourth Census to take place – following those in 2015,2017 and 2019 – and , as before, the Census is being conducted by Social Value Lab. The Census is an important part of the SE Strategy and Action Plans and serves the purpose of giving an indication of the progress of the sector over the years. In addition, it can play an important part in helping to influence future policy and funding decisions for our sector. We are aware how busy people are at this time – particularly with the additional challenges that Covid has brought – but if you could take the time (15/20 mins) to complete the survey that would be really appreciated. Our information, to date, is that completed surveys are coming in at a steady rate but it’s important to maximise the response rate to the survey to get the most accurate up to date picture of the sector.
Many folk will have picked up on this welcome news already – but, this week, Social Investment Scotland (SIS), in partnership with Zero Waste Scotland (ZWS), launched its new £5M Net Zero Transition Fund - to help social enterprises, charities, and community organisations make the transition to carbon net zero. SIS will be running two workshops – Tuesday, 7th Dec at 1pm and Monday, 13th Dec at 12.30pm – providing background on the purpose of the fund, who is eligible and how to apply. See links to register. See further info on SIS’ Net Zero Transition Fund.
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Everyone will have been pleased to hear First Minster, Nicola Sturgeon announce this week that the Scottish child payment will increase to £20 per week from April 2022. It is anticipated this measure will impact on around 100,000 children as a step towards eradicating child poverty in Scotland. The announcement follows on from this letter sent to Cabinet Secretary, Kate Forbes, from a broad coalition of over 100 charities, faith groups, trade unions and civil society organisations – SENScot included – urging this action as the single most impactful thing Scottish Govt can do now to protect families and give Scotland a chance to meet its child poverty targets.
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The Pockets & Prospects (P&P) Summary Report 2021 is now available. This year’s programme – Collaborating in Communities to Improve Mental Wellbeing – was run in partnership with CHEX and Scottish Communities for Health & Wellbeing – which saw 15 community organisations from across Scotland – each being allocated £1300 - purchase services from over 50 social enterprises and reaching over 800 participants – all with a focus on addressing mental health and wellbeing. Pockets and Prospects is funded by Scottish Govt and administered by the Scottish Community Alliance. For £20k, few such initiatives can compare when it comes to reach, impact, connecting and joint working – all on the premise of allocating small sums of money to frontline community-based organisations and trusting them to know what is best needed in their own communities.
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Good story in The Herald this week on isleholiday.com – a new letting agency covering the Scottish islands, providing its own version of Airbnb. The difference is, however, that isleholiday.com is a social enterprise – and is the latest of a number of digital projects (such as Isle20.com) being developed by the Isle Development CIC – with all profits being re-invested in small businesses, new ideas and community led projects across Scotland’s island communities.
Forth Valley SEN (FVSEN) yesterday launched its new Online Directory. FVSEN was established in 2018, when the Falkirk, Stirlingshire and Clackmannanshire SENs decided to come together as a unified - providing social enterprises across the region with opportunities to get together for peer support, trading possibilities, as well as information and resource sharing. FVSEN works closely with Stirling Voluntary Enterprise and Falkirk CVS and is supported by Clackmannanshire Third Sector Interface:
Following on from last week’s story on Community Pubs – with only four in Scotland. It looks like another one could soon be added to the list with the Port Bannatyne Development Trust’s (PBDT) current community share offer to raise funds to buy the Anchor Pub in the village. PBDT, based on the Isle of Bute, is being supported by Community Shares Scotland – and so far, has raised over £50k, with three weeks still to go. For info’, the four community-owned pubs in Scotland, according to the Plunkett Report, are: The Trout Inn in Barrhill; The Black Bull in Gartmore; The Swan in Banton; and The King’s Arms in Ballantrae:
Members of North Lanarkshire SEN – and other social enterprises operating in the area – may be interested in two new funds available through North Lanarkshire Council. The Back To Business Fund will provide grants (up to £2,500) to help businesses address immediate priorities in direct response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Business Recovery and Growth Fund offers grants (up to £20k) to micro, small or medium-sized businesses (up to 250 employees) to support their strategic, longer-term sustainability and growth, as well as for consultancy, exhibition and training support. See links for further details:
Edinburgh SE member, The Grassmarket Project held its AGM this week – which included the publication of their excellent Social Impact Report for 2021. The report really captures the absolutely vital role – in human terms - that social enterprises can play in supporting the more vulnerable members of our communities.
Congratulations to Foundation Scotland on their 25th anniversary. Over the years, Foundation Scotland has been able to distribute over £130 million to charitable organisations, social enterprises, and grassroots community groups across the country. See link to learn more about their work:
Last week’s feature on Cambridge academic, Belinda Bell’s reflections on her 20 year involvement with social enterprise – challenging some of the ‘sacred cows’ in the sector - attracted a lot of interest, so we’re running it again for one more week:
Scottish Govt has commissioned research to gain a better understanding of the experiences of third sector organisations of public procurement in Scotland. The research is being carried out by Blake Stevenson and they are asking organisations to fill in this Online Survey – detailing their experiences – and also inviting folk to take part in interviews. Closing date is 21st December 2021:
Scottish Communities’ Climate Action Network is looking to recruit two new staff – a Programme Manager (full-time) and a Climate for Change Co-ordinator (part-time). See link for full details:
With various SEN meetings scheduled over the coming weeks, we’ll be listing core details – dates, times, guest speakers etc – to keep people up to date with what’s on and when
Tuesday, 7th December 2021 (1pm) – Social Investment Scotland hosts a workshop on its new £5M Net Zero Transition Fund - to help social enterprises, charities, and community organisations make the transition to carbon net zero. See booking details and further background information:
Wednesday 8th December 2021 (2pm) – Scottish Govt’s Investing in Communities Fund (ICF) is due to open for a second round of applications in Spring 2022. To provide further background and guidance, Scottish Govt’s Regeneration Unit is holding two webinar sessions for prospective applicants. The second session takes place next Wednesday, 8th December (2pm). See links for background and to book your place:
Monday 13th December 2021(12.30pm) - Social Investment Scotland hosts its second workshop on its new £5M Net Zero Transition Fund - to help social enterprises, charities, and community organisations make the transition to carbon net zero. See booking details – and further background information:
Monday 13th December 2021(2pm) – Community Ownership Support Service (COSS) has published new guidance for communities who are considering Community Right to Buy. With three legislative routes now open to communities, it can be difficult to know which is the right option to pursue and how to go about it. This webinar will provide an introduction to the new guidance. See details and to register:
Tuesday, 14th December 2021 (6pm) – the next SE Cross Party Group meets with the theme being – Social Enterprise and the Climate Emergency, including the Third Sector Net Zero Strategy. The discussion will look at the role of social enterprises in seeking to tackle this emergency. Try and get along if you can – the more frontline voices heard, the better. See booking details:
