News

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 18 2008

£3,400,000 TO SPARK ENTERPRISING SOLUTIONS TO HOMELESSNESS

Innovative social entrepreneurs will again have the chance to bid for funding to make their business dreams a reality after Homelessness Minister Iain Wright today (Tuesday 18 November) announced a further £2.5 million investment.

The funding will enable a second round of the pioneering Spark programme which will in total offer £3.4 million of finance and resources to develop social enterprises that are tackling and preventing homelessness.

Homelessness Minister Iain Wright said:

“Helping people break out of the cycle of unemployment and homelessness is a key part of our new rough sleeping strategy 'No one left out'.

“It’s about giving people the opportunity to gain new skills and experience so they can get back into work and get their lives back on track.

“Social enterprises do just that and are already giving people who have spent time on the streets another chance in the workplace, which is why we are continuing to support social enterprise and investing £2.5m in a second round of the SPARK programme.”

BT and PricewaterhouseCoopers also join the Department for Communities and Local Government to take up the Spark challenge and invest their resources and business expertise into the programme.

Douglas Johnson-Poensgen, Director, Strategy & Transformation, BT Public Sector, said:

“BT is delighted to support Spark again, especially as we are now developing real working partnerships with social enterprises across our public sector business.”

Spark has been developed by three social enterprise champions – The TREES Group, Eastside Consulting and Big Issue Invest that are breaking ground by championing the use of enterprise as a means to create long-term and sustainable solutions to homelessness and offer genuine opportunities for people at the margins of society.

Spark is built on much more than money. It is about bringing together the power of business to build enterprising solutions to social issues. In Spark, teams of employees from BT, PricewaterhouseCoopers and other corporate partners are challenged to apply their skills and their firm’s resources to support the growth of social enterprises selected through an open competition.

Philip Wright, Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP said:

“Our continuing involvement with Spark is important to PwC because it enables us to add value to our communities by involving our people in real-world projects that make a difference.”

Spark goes beyond conventional corporate responsibility initiatives and offers the private sector a meaningful way to engage and inspire their employees while investing in an important social issue.

In 2008, Spark enabled 15 social enterprises to grow and provide long-term training and employment opportunities for homeless people.

Dave Miller, founder and Director of Bikeworks, an enterprise in Tower Hamlets that won £75,000 said:

“Spark gave Bikeworks the support needed to refine its business model whilst providing the investment needed to establish our bicycle training and employment programme for homeless people.”

BIDS OPEN FOR SOCIAL ENTERPRISES ON 10 DECEMBER 2008

Organisations and homeless people supported by a registered charity will be able to submit proposals in December. Applicants should submit business cases for either a new or established social enterprise on the project’s website, www.sparkchallenge.org

Spark stimulates enterprise in the homelessness sector. It ensures much needed funds and business resources are invested in smart and sustainable social enterprises that give homeless people an opportunity to move towards independent living.