Social investor announces £447m impact
Key Fund, a pioneering social investor has revealed that over 21 years of investing in community and social enterprises across the North and the Midlands it has achieved an economic impact of £447m.
The report by the Sheffield-based business reveals it has also safeguarded 2,291 jobs and created 1,442 new jobs over the same period. The business has also supported the creation of 533 businesses and supported more than 2,229 community and social enterprises.
Sam Keighley, chair of Key Fund, said: “Social enterprise has become integral in delivering key services to society, as well as generating thousands of jobs and contributing to local economies. These figures show how investing the right money, in the right way, into the right hands can support enduring and sustainable social enterprises in poor neighbourhoods, which go on to improve individual lives in innumerable ways.”
Matt Smith, CEO of Key Fund
Created in response to the collapse of the coal and steel industries in South Yorkshire, Key Fund has, as a financial intermediary, helped local communities access EU funding for regeneration projects.
The business now provides flexible loans and grants to community and social enterprises traditionally excluded by mainstream finance. Investees supported include a community theatre in Manchester, a domestic abuse charity in Rotherham, and counselling services in Birmingham.
Matt Smith, CEO of Key Fund, said: “Many Key Fund clients operate at the heart of their communities, focussed on supporting local people. As such, they became frontline responders in the pandemic. Our approach is to support these organisations with finance, giving them the tools to develop, grow and deliver even more. Social investment has never been so vital or needed in supporting these enterprises, who offer hope, regeneration and recovery, especially to those even more at risk of falling through the cracks in society with the fall-out of the pandemic.”
