2020 is a project that brings together charities and social enterprises from around the city to learn and grow together. Its main aim is to help your organisation plan for and deliver a more sustainable future. That means working to make all the key elements as strong and integrated as possible: your business plan, governance, impact measurement, income diversity, key people and, where appropriate, social investment.

Don’t miss our lunchtime meetings for 2020 Network members interested in accessing free consultancy support. 12.30pm – 1pm on November 12 & November 16 2020. These are run by our Development Officer & Funding lead, Jenny Wildblood. Book your place now. 

What's happening with the programme this year?

In 2020 we are going to divide the current network of organisations that have been part of the project 2020 to date into two streams: one focused on business planning and sustainability, and one on starting the process of taking on social investment this year.

This is for two main reasons:

1. Within the wider 2020 network, some organisations - now they know more about social investment opportunities - have realised or decided that it’s not for them in the next twelve months and they’d rather prioritise other avenues towards long-term sustainability.
2. A network that’s starting from different places and moving at different speeds isn’t going to be ready to take on repayable finance at the same time. So it makes sense to split the network into two groups to focus on different priorities in different timeframes.

An overview of the two streams is sketched out below.

1. Sustainability stream

This stream will continue the work to date with 2020 on long-term sustainability and use the goal of having a robust business or strategic plan for your organisation in place by September to guide activities this year.

The organisations we think that would be best suited to this stream have already told us some of the things they’d like to focus on in the short to medium-term, including:

• Large fundraising bids and contract tenders;
• Developing partnerships and collaboration for service delivery or development;
• Starting or expanding traded services to generate unrestricted income;
• Establishing peer groups/networks to collaborate on common areas of work, priorities or themes.

Voscur will lead on the delivery of this stream: primarily Jenny Wildblood.

2. Social investment accelerator stream

What is the package of support on offer?

The package of support is structured around a set of key milestones towards social investment, with tailored input of external expertise and practical skills development between each milestone depending on different group’s requirements. The key milestones are:

1. Mission and impact
2. Governance and people
3. Plans and ambition
4. Financial management
5. Pitching for investment

Support will include:

1. Accelerated learning programme: each milestone above will incorporate a short workshop with action learning and external input/advice between workshops.
2. External expertise (tailored to requirements): financial modelling, market research, impact reporting, property evaluation, technology assessment, legal advice.
3. Access to a mentor: where projects would benefit from advice and coaching, we’ll aim to arrange a suitably experienced pro bono mentor to support the organisation’s internal staff.

What is the criteria for inclusion in this stream?

In return for the accelerated package of support, we are asking for the following from organisations:

1. Prerequisites: applications to the social investment stream will be assessed by BBRC to ensure organisations ready to take on investment in the next 6-12 months make up the stream. The evaluation questions are in the online application form.
2. Organisational commitment: to ensure strategic and operational buy-in, we are asking for each organisation to identify a lead staff member and one named trustee to work through the programme.
3. Time commitment: we are asking each organisation to attend five workshops related to each milestone above (5 x 2 hours) and to undertake internal development work between the sessions.

What is expected of organisations?

In addition to meeting the above criteria and commitments, we would ask organisations to contribute to our evaluation of the programme, and to share their learning and development experience with the wider 2020 network.

BBRC will lead on this stream: primarily Jari Moate and Ryan Munn.

What should I do now?

1. If you’d like to join the sustainability stream, please add your name to this list by 28 February and tell us briefly what your priorities are for the next 6 – 12 months.
2. If you’d like to join the social investment stream, please add your name to this list by 28 February and tell us about your plans that securing investment in the next 6 – 12 months.
3. If you’re not sure, don’t worry – we’ll either make a provisional decision on your behalf, based on our understanding of your organisation’s current work, or you can contact us to discuss and decide.

Once the two groups are finalised, we’ll be in touch about the next steps. The two initial dates for your diary are:

• Social investment stream: 24 March 1-3pm (TBC)
• Sustainability stream: 25 March 10-12 (venue to be confirmed).

Who should I contact to find out more?

Call the Voscur office on 0117 909 9949 or email Jenny or David.

2020 is a Connect Fund project delivered by Voscur in partnership with Bristol & Bath Regional Capital.