How local infrastructure builds investment-ready charities

Charities and community organisations are making increasingly difficult financial decisions. Rising costs, growing demand and pressure on traditional sources of funding mean many are looking at new ways to build financial resilience.

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For local infrastructure organisations, this creates an opportunity to support organisations to think differently about their finances and future.

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Social investment is one of the financial tools all charities and community groups should be aware of. It will not be right for everyone, as it is repayable finance often with interest and  needs to be considered carefully alongside an organisation's purpose, capacity and future plans. However, for organisations with a sustainable income model and a clear plan for growth or investment, it can provide access to capital that enables them to expand services, develop assets or increase their long-term impact.

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How to practically support your members exploring investment

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You do not need to be a social investment expert to start having these conversations. Here are three practical ways local infrastructure organisations can support their members to explore social investment and become more investment-ready

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1. Start by understanding where your members are

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One of the first challenges is knowing where to start. Your members will be at very different stages. Some may already be generating income through trading or contracts and be actively considering investment. Others may be interested in different ways of funding their work but have little understanding of social investment.

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Before signposting organisations to resources or investors, it is useful to understand their confidence, knowledge and readiness, as well as your own confidence in signposting and supporting members.

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Try: Scoping Social Investment

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Good Finance's Scoping Social Investment tool is designed for organisations, like yours, that support charities and social enterprises. It helps you navigate the range of social investment resources and tools available and identify what is most relevant to the organisations you work with.

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By answering a series of questions, you can develop a clearer picture of where you and your members are on their journey and identify the resources that are likely to be most useful. This can help you move from a general conversation about social investment to more tailored support based on the needs and confidence of your members.

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2. Build your own confidence and knowledge

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Having a basic understanding of what social investment is, how it works and when it might be appropriate can make it much easier to support your members. It can also help you recognise when an organisation is ready for a deeper conversation, and when it would be better to signpost them to specialist support.

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Try: Social Investment Unpicked

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Social Investment Unpicked is a CPD-accredited, cohort-based online course from Good Finance. It covers the fundamentals of social investment and is designed to build a deeper understanding of how it works.

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The course can be particularly useful for infrastructure staff who are increasingly being asked questions about different forms of finance but do not have a background in investment. Building enough knowledge to ask the right questions and make confident referrals can be a valuable part of your support offer.  Good Finance runs quarterly cohorts and learning takes place in your own time, across 8 weeks supported by virtual check-ins and webinars. The course is free for infrastructure organisations. Find out more and sign up here.

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3. Know where to signpost your members

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Once you have a better understanding of social investment, you can help your members find the right information without having to provide all the advice yourself. Good Finance has a range of practical tools and resources that you can use when having conversations with organisations.

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Start with the basics

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The Is It Right For Us? diagnostic takes just a few minutes and helps organisations think about whether social investment could be suitable for them. It asks about their organisation, financial needs and what they want to achieve, and can suggest next steps depending on their answers.

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Help them see what investment looks like in practice

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Case studies can make an unfamiliar form of finance much easier to understand. Good Finance's Case Studies bring together examples of organisations that have used social investment, with filters including location, investment amount and social issue. This means you can find examples that are relevant to the organisations and communities you work with. The tool brings together examples of organisations that have used social investment, with filters including location, investment amount and social issue. This means you can find examples that are relevant to the organisations and communities you work with.

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Good Finance also has a wider collection of case studies, including organisations such as NAVCA member Birmingham VSC. Social investment enabled BVSC to complete refurbishment works on two floors of their offices, which will now be rented out, helping generate income and support BVSC to continue to support their local VCSE networks.

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Connect organisations to the right support

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If a member is ready to explore investment further, Good Finance's Investor and Advisor Directories can help them find potential investors and advisers based on factors such as location, amount needed, product type and the social issue they are working on.

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This is where the role of local infrastructure is particularly valuable. You may not provide specialist financial advice yourself, but you can help an organisation understand its options, build confidence and connect with the right people.

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Building investment readiness

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Social investment will not be right for every charity or community organisation. But the process of exploring it can encourage organisations to think more clearly about their financial position, income model, plans and future needs.

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That is where local infrastructure organisations can play an important role.

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You can help organisations ask better questions, understand their options and recognise where they need further support. Your knowledge of the local sector also means you can make those conversations relevant to the realities organisations are facing in your area. You do not need to have all the answers. Being a trusted starting point, knowing the right questions to ask and having good resources to signpost can make a real difference.

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Useful Good Finance resources

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• Scoping Social Investment – a tool for organisations supporting charities and social enterprises to understand where their members are on their social investment journey.

• Social Investment Unpicked – CPD-accredited online learning to build your own understanding of social investment.

• Is It Right For Us? – a quick diagnostic to help organisations decide whether social investment could be right for them.

• Case Studies – examples of social investment in action, searchable by location and other criteria.

• Good Finance events and learning – webinars, events and opportunities to build knowledge and hear directly from organisations and investors.

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