FROM SEEING PROBLEMS TO SEEING SOLUTIONS

Katharine Danton, Director of Research and PolicyUnLtd

Supporting social entrepreneurs

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OUR VISIONA world where people act to make it better

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UnLtd reaches out and unleashes the energies of people who can transform the world in which they live.

We call these people social entrepreneurs.

The great debate

“A social enterprise is a business that trades for a social and/or environmental purpose. It will have a clear sense of its ‘social mission’ SEUK

“People who can transform the world in which they live” UnLtd

“earn at least 50% of revenue from trading (or as a new start, you pledge to reach this within 18 months) and spend at least 50% of profits on social or environmental aims” SE Mark

“A business with a social mission”

“Social entrepreneurs adopt a mission to create and sustain social value. They pursue opportunities to serve this mission, while continuously adapting and learning.” Wikipedia

DEFINING WHO ARESOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS

WHO ARE...

People with:

• Potential to make positive change

• Passion to solve a social problem

Who have:

• An idea for a solution

• Entrepreneurial qualities

Who are:

• Resilient and resourceful

• Determined to make their idea a reality

Social entrepreneurs?

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238,000People in UK trying to start a social venture (0.4% of population)

BUDDING AMBITIONWhat type of business would you like to start?

BUDDING AMBITIONWhat type of business would you like to start?

WHO ARE...Social entrepreneurs?

UnLtd AWARD MAKING from 2003-2013

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11,500 AwardsNumber of Awards distributed to social entrepreneurs, by UnLtd directly or through our partners

20,300 peoplePeople receiving these Awards, individually or as part of small groups. We call these people ‘Award Winners’

£40 millionTotal cash distributed to social entrepreneurs as Awards

Jimmy Chan, Cycooldelic, London

WHO WE REACHOur work in numbers

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53%

Equal men and women

32%

Peak age 35-49, range 11+

Degree or professionally qualified

Minority ethnic (12% population)

A third are from 20% most deprived areas

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for social entrepreneurs

What Happens In The Long Term?

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76%Proportion of Award Winners whose ventures are still active 3 years after receiving UnLtd Award

SURVIVAL

Data comes from Annual Survey 2012, which was sent to 4,300 current and former Award Winners supported since 2003. 1014 responded. Data has been weighted to take account of differences between the respondents and sample in terms of age, date of award and deprivation level.

VENTURE SIZE

71%Are ‘non-employing enterprises’ – either

sole traders or voluntary

organisations with no employees

23%Are micro enterprises with one

to nine employees

6%Have ten

employees or more

Like mainstream enterprises, most social ventures stay small, while a minority scale up. Our data shows that among ventures we’ve supported :

Small Ventures, Big Impact12

2,700 jobsNumber of people employed at the time of the survey

£45 millionEstimated annual wage value of these jobs

Data come from UnLtd’s Annual Survey 2012, which was sent to 4,300 current and former Award Winners supported since 2003. 1014 responded.

1.2 million peopleNumber of people who benefited from Award Winners’ ventures in a year

62,000 volunteersNumber of volunteering opportunities created in a year

£200 millionEstimated annual wage value of this volunteering

15,000 trainees Number of training opportunities provided in a year

WE SURVEYED 1014

Building Our Society13

Data come from Annual Survey 2012, which was sent to 4,300 current and former Award Winners supported since 2003. 1014 responded.

60% Proportion of Award Winners have supported another person to set up a social venture in a formal or informal role.

SOCIAL CAPITAL

‘Social capital’ is a way of describing the benefit people get from their links with others. It’s important for anything from getting a job to staying healthy in old age.

Award Winners most often create social capital by…

SPREADING THE WORD

66% 63%

Helping people to connect with

others

Promoting neighbourliness

Promoting trust within and between

communities

83%

Trends in Social Investment

48% Social Enterprise sought external finance in past 12 months: grants, loans, overdrafts, equity.

Social finance: finance provided with the expectation of both a financial and social return

Helping Social Ventures To Scale

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THE BIG VENTURE CHALLENGE

13 investment dealsSecured by Big Venture Challenge participants from the first cohort (2011+)

£1.98 millionTotal external investment secured by these ventures

81%Proportion of this that came from investors new to social investment

84 New staff jobs created by these ventures in 2012/13

25%

18% 18%

In 2011 we took on our first cohort of 25 social entrepreneurs to take part in the Big Venture Challenge.

% change across active BVC cohort (23 ventures) between baseline (Q3 2011) and March 13

THANK YOUWe’re happy to talk further

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@UnLtd facebook.com/UnLtd unltd.org.uk

• katharinedanton@unltd.org.uk

•linkedin.com/company/unltd

• 123 Whitecross Street, London, EC1Y 8JJ

• +44 207 566 1115

Legal Forms

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Main Sources of Income

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Growth

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WHAT HAPPENS IN THE LONGER TERM?21

Our tracking research suggests that over three quarters of ventures we support continue to operate for at least three years. Many stay small while some operate at large scale – similar to mainstream enterprises

76%Proportion of Award Winners whose ventures are still active 3 years after receiving an UnLtd Award

UnLtd data comes from Annual Survey 2012, which was sent to 4,300 current and former Award Winners supported since 2003. 1014 responded. Data has been weighted to be representative of age, date of award and deprivation level of Award Winners generally. UK business data source: Business population estimates for UK and the regions 2012, BIS

VENTURE SIZELike mainstream enterprises, most social ventures stay small, while a minority scale up.

UnLtd Award Winners UK businesses

Ten employees or more

74%

21%

4%

Employ no-one or just the founder

One to nine employees

6%

23%

71%Employ no-one or just the founder

One to nine employees

Ten employees or more