Tell us what Good Finance means to you here. Find out more about why we're re-testing our user personas below. 

As we logged onto our favourite annual event from our virtual offices across the UK, we were reminded of just how different our most anticipated events have been this year. Image

Generation Medics supports current and future healthcare professionals to lead successful careers. It was founded by Dr. Rafique, an NHS Doctor in Oxford over seven years ago. “At Generation Medics, our goal is to help more people explore and be inspired by the opportunities available, and if they’re interested, support them to enter and lead fantastic careers in medicine, healthcare and life-sciences”

Kate Sayer from Sayer Vincent offers advice to charities and social enterprises on how to embrace and understand risk when it comes to taking on social investment. Sayer Vincent is a firm of chartered accountants with a focus on charities and social enterprises.

Location: London, EC4A (currently remote working; occasional travel as part of the role) Accountable to: Good Finance Project Manager Salary: circa £30,000 - £34,000 Contract: Permanent Working hours: Full time (open to flexible working) Apply here via BeApplied

Risk can be one of the biggest factors to consider for your organisation when exploring social investment. In these videos, trustees and board members discuss risk appetite and changing perspectives when navigating social investment.

In this blog, Sarah Lomasney, Social Investment Officer at Community Action Suffolk (CAS) explores social investment for boards. CAS is the ‘go to’ for voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations in Suffolk. They exist to ensure the sector, and its volunteers, are supported, safe and sustainable and that their communities are active and resilient. They provide (or signpost) whatever is needed behind the scenes to enable this, so you can concentrate on doing what you do best – making Suffolk an incredible place in which to live and work.

The pandemic has seen communities come together to support each other, mutual aid groups have been set up and we have been united in our sense of gratitude and appreciation for the key workers who have kept delivering social impact.

Jargon exists everywhere - across sectors, industries, all over the world. If sometimes you find yourself scratching your head at the new buzzword or rolling your eyes at yet another acronym, you’re not alone.

This week saw the Social Enterprise World Forum take the virtual mainstage, bringing together social enterprises from across the world for a jam packed programme of workshops, panels and networking. 

Over the last few months we have seen the effects of COVID-19 and its lockdown measures have a huge impact on how social enterprises and charities navigate using social investment. In this blog post we round up lessons from our #AChangingWorld podcast.

The UK’s 100,000 social enterprises work close to their communities and employ two million people, often supporting minoritised and marginalised groups. But the COVID-19 crisis has had a huge impact on them. At the School for Social Entrepreneurs, we ran a survey with our programme participants to better understand the impact of pandemic. Almost two-thirds (63%) said their trading impact was wholly negatively affected.

The Craufurd Arms is a pint-sized community owned pub in Maidenhead that is tackling social isolation and becoming a hub for creating long-lasting relationships. Like many other pubs, they’ve been hugely impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. 

As the COVID-19 crisis evolves, so do social impact organisations. Some have ceased trading. Others have tailored their offering to support people through new products or moving activities online. Some are using this enforced ‘downtime’ to inwardly reflect and develop strategies. Whatever your situation during these turbulent times, Henna Patel from School for Social Entrepreneurs has rounded up some key coping strategies to help you navigate a changing world.      

When social investment isn't the answer: Top 10 tips for fundraising in a crisis Social investment is one of the tools in your toolkit – but it might not always be the right tool for the job. Alongside the Government support available, grants will also play a crucial role in supporting charities and social enterprises navigating a changing world during and after the Covid-19 crisis. We spoke to Jo Heywood (Relationships Director, Big Society Capital) who started her working life as a social entrepreneur and has worked in a number of charities in fundraising roles. In this post, Jo shared with us her top 10 tips. Image

New lending facilities have been announced that will provide loan finance to charities, social enterprises, and small businesses - read Big Society Capital’s blog post about it here. They include the Resilience & Recovery Loan Fund, which has been established by Social Investment Business with support from Big Society Capital in response to the Covid-19 crisis.  The Resilience & Recovery Loan Fund will aim to offer loan finance to social enterprises and charities experiencing difficulties as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. The aim of this fund is to extend the government’s Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) to social enterprises and charities, making it easier for them to access. 

Say Hello to Good Finance's new Digital Marketing & Communications Officer, Festus Akinsulire. 

In this section, we explore existing policy and research projects currently ongoing in relation to energy resilience.

In light of the Covid-19 crisis, social investors are looking at a number of options to help the sector, including exploring new funding and adjusting existing funding. You may have seen that the Growth Fund has announced significant changes to the Fund in response to the pandemic. In this post by Melanie Mills (Social Sector Engagement Director, Big Society Capital) we explore what these changes mean and what is important for charities and social enterprises to be aware of.

This page looks at how you can get started with your journey to social investment, including suggested next steps and tools and resources that can help.

In this post, we explore the various guides and resources on the topic of energy resilience, available for anyone looking to understand more about how they can future-proof their organisation. 

Ahead of International Women’s Day last weekend, we spoke to 4 female social entrepreneurs from across the UK to bring the Home Nations centre stage for the occasion.

Along with determination and hard work, it takes a whole lot of love to run a successful social enterprise. In this post, we’re excited to feature the stories of three social enterprises that were built with lots of love at their very core.   

Ishita Ranjan is the Project Manager of Good Finance. She manages the website and content strategy, coordinates partners and stakeholders, and drives the direction of the project. Image   In this post, she reflects on Good Finance's five key learnings from 2019.