Spark: Igniting social enterprise to prevent homelessness

Spark is an innovative project developed by Communities and Local Government, The TREES Group, Big Issue Invest (part of The Big Issue group) and Eastside Consulting to build and inspire social enterprise to prevent homelessness.

Congratulations to the 15 Spark finalists that shared in the Spark prizes - £500,000 of cash and hundreds and thousands of pounds worth of in-kind support - to build their social enterprise to get more people off the streets. Read the story of each of the finalists, and the latest news on how the prizes were split. Then sign up to the Spark newsletter to follow their progress and learn more about how to build a successful social enterprise and profitable partnerships over the next few months.
Watch it happen

News: Three organisations from the South West of England that make money to tackle homelessness have scooped three of the largest slices of the £500,000 Spark prize pool to get hundreds more people off the streets.

Blog: Achieving sustainable communities is a challenge we cannot shy from.
Ideas that
change the
world...		 Spark winners share in more than £800,000 in prizes
Junior Minister for Housing, Iain Wright has announced that the 15 Spark finalists will together share £800,000 of prizes. The 15 won £500,000 of cash plus business insights from corporate partners PricewaterhouseCoopers, Places for People and BT along with mentoring from social entrepreneurs including Tim Campbell – the first winner of The BBC’s The Apprentice, together estimated to be worth more than £300,000. Congratulating the winners on their innovation and commitment, the Minister said: “I know they’ll make a huge difference to many more people’s lives.”
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Case study: The seed of an idea

TreeThe TREES Group, one of the largest social enterprises in the Midlands with more than 150 staff and a turnover of £8.5million a year, proves that financial and social returns go hand-in-hand.

Learn how the seed of an idea grew into one of the true oaks of British social enterprise.
TREES Group staff
Partners Logos - The TREES Group, Big Issue Invest, Eastside Consulting and Communities and Local Government
  Supported by: Corporate partners logos - PricewaterhouseCoopers, Places for People and BT  
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