Two London organisations get £100,000 for early intervention
Brighter Environment CIC and Big Creative Training have been granted loans of £50,000 each to enable them to bring more opportunities to disadvantaged young people.
The two organisations, though very different in their operations, both work to provide young people with opportunities that improve their career progression and their employment prospects. Brighter Environment is a Facilities Management social enterprise that employs NEET young people in contract cleaning, grounds maintenance and security for both corporate and third sector organisations.
Adam Porter-Blake, Chairman of Brighter Environment CIC said:
“Since Brighter Environment incorporated in 2013, we have directed our resources in developing our social impact, due diligence and business planning. During this time we have gained some important customers and built a reputation for a responsive and high service standard. Our focal point for the next three years is developing our sales and marketing. We needed an investment partner that was able to understand our requirements and help nurture our presence in the City of London and surrounding boroughs. The loan provided by the Early Intervention Fund has empowered us to take the next step in our growth.”
The other successful organisation, Big Creative Training work with 16 – 19 year olds to educate them and develop their skills in the creative industries, delivering high-quality courses in subjects such as Games Design, Music Production, and Events Management.
Alexis Michaelides, Managing Director of Big Creative Training said:
“The loan from CAN Invest is a significant boost to Big Creative Training at an important time for us as an organisation and education provider. The loan is supporting our ambitions to develop a team of support workers to provide crucial 1-1 support to BCT students who have significant additional learning and social needs who are able to achieve their full potential through the fantastic specialist support and care that this team can provide. In addition the loan is facilitating the growth in BCT apprenticeships as we strive to respond to employer demand for our creative apprentices.”
Big Creative Training received a one-off payment of £50,000 from the Early Intervention Fund, to be paid back over 2 years at 4% interest rate. Brighter Environment CIC have been awarded £50,000 in two £25,000 tranches at a 4% interest rate over 4 years. The loans are the first in 2016 from the Early Intervention Fund, delivered by CAN Invest in partnership with UBS. The fund secured match funding from Funding London in 2015, which allows organisations to apply for a loan from £5,000 to £100,000. The Early Intervention Fund was also extended geographically, which will help organisations in all of the following boroughs: City of London; Hackney; Tower Hamlets; Newham; Waltham Forest; Redbridge; Barking and Dagenham; Havering; Lewisham; Greenwich; Bexley; Hammersmith and Fulham; Ealing; Brent; Enfield and Haringey.
Organisations that are interested in the Early Intervention Fund should apply via the CAN Invest website at: can-invest.org.uk/services/funds-investment/can-early-intervention-fund.
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Notes to editors:
Please note that CAN (formerly known as Community Action Network) is always written with capital letters.
1. The Early Intervention Fund is delivered by CAN Invest in partnership with UBS.
2. CAN activities include:
CAN Mezzanine charity office space currently operates at five locations: four in central London and one in the London Borough of Hounslow, providing office space to more than 156 charities and social enterprises.
CAN Invest raises funds for social investment in charities and social enterprises. It also provides social impact measurement, investment readiness and business readiness services for charities, social enterprises, funders and other social organisations.
For more information about CAN, please visit: www.can-online.org.uk
For more information about CAN³, please visit: http://can-invest.org.uk/can3
Twitter: CAN (Main): @CANhq; CAN Mezzanine: @CANMezzanine; CAN Invest: @_CANInvest