Over the last 18 months, Key Fund has been supported by the Connect Fund to first examine barriers to rural investment and then dig into issues of trust between investors and potential clients. In the run up to Christmas we will be sharing the various tools and reports generated, a bit like an advent calendar, but without the disappointing chocolate. After all, nothing says celebration like an integrated Profit and Loss, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow model.
As a starting point, here is the final report exploring trust in the concept and mechanisms of social investment and social investors. The wider work of the Connect Fund, events such as Good Finance Live and recent blogs on the cost of wholesale capital and the role of market development organisations have all helped to open out the debate.
However, there are still some fundamental misconceptions to dispel and work to be done to address genuine concerns held by social enterprises and charities across the country. The collaboration between Barrow Cadbury Trust and NAVCA, preserving and sharing the learning from the Connect Fund, is a great starting point.
Thanks to our friends at VONNE, Locality, The School for Social Entrepreneurs (Yorkshire and North East), VOSCUR, Dartington Trust, Nottingham CVS, Lincolnshire Community Foundation and CERT for their input. Thanks also to Adrian Ashton and David Floyd for research and sense checking respectively.