Investment ‘not just about money’
SOCIAL impact organisation First Ark Group has called on Merseyside businesses that make cash injections into fellow regional organisations to reassess the value of their donations, and to consider offering investments with higher social value.
Group chief executive Bob Taylor said that while a series of recent announcements that financial funding to Liverpool businesses is set to increase in 2016 is great news for the city, those donating should also look to deliver additional mentoring and training in core business skills which, it says, garners more positive impact on a business in the long-term than financial outlays alone.
Taylor said: “It’s always great to hear that businesses are making cash investments to bolster funding in the city region – it shows community spirit is still alive, and that entrepreneurs care about providing opportunities that will help our region continue to emerge as one the UK’s leading business hubs.
“However, providing cash to help a business get off the ground is no longer enough. Responsible entrepreneurs and business executives should instead look to offer additional services to a growing business – valuable time and support spent on marketing, accounting or management training, for example, would give those running a business a set of skills for life, which they can transfer into their day-to-day roles to ensure long-term success.”
In 2015, First Ark Group provided support and funding for the Big Issue Invests Corporate Social Venturing Scheme, which saw 12 organisations across the UK awarded funding after a rigorous application process.
Liverpool’s Genie In The Gutter, which offers creative opportunities and training to active substance misusers and people with mental health issues, was supported through the application process by executives from the First Ark Group, before securing £50,000 worth of investment from the scheme.
A small team working with some of the Merseyside community’s most vulnerable, Genie in the Gutter will now receive continual support from the most experienced figures within the First Ark Group, to ensure the vital service continues to thrive, Taylor said.
“As a social impact business, the First Ark Group actively supports growing, sustainable social businesses that improve the lives of the communities in which they work,” said Taylor.
“Following our investment – both financially and personally – into the Big Issue Invest scheme and following our time spend with Genie which we saw as of significant value to their operations, we’ve made a commitment to extend our work within the community, and we’re calling on others to do the same.
“Financial funding is important in order to support growth in the region – but successful and sustainable growth relies on more than that. Funding initiatives, and those supporting them, should look at all avenues of investment in order to say they’re fully supporting businesses and our local community alike.”
