LONDON 3 NOVEMBER:

Six mission-driven UK non-profits have been selected to join our latest Scale Accelerator, which kicks off this month.

As the Covid-19 crisis continues to present the social sector with serious challenges, Scale Accelerator will help charities and social enterprises reach more people, or pivot to maximise impact. The programme provides vital support, skills and insight for organisations ambitious about changing more lives.

With an unprecedented number of applications prompted by the Covid-19 crisis, the six organisations chosen for this year’s Scale Accelerator are a dynamic and diverse cohort from across the UK, including:

• Humber All Nations Alliance – a charity promoting the  well-being of Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) and migrant communities throughout Hull and the Humber
• Social Bite – a social enterprise running an employment support programme for vulnerable and marginalised people experiencing homelessness across Scotland
• PeacePlayers International – a cross-community charity that uses basketball to unite, educate and inspire young people in Northern Ireland, as a means to promote peace and reconciliation
• Settle – a London charity that supports vulnerable young people moving into their first home, as part of a mission to break the cycle of youth homelessness
• Urban Uprising – a Scotland-based charity using rock-climbing to improve the wellbeing of at-risk 8 to 18 year olds in the UK who are disadvantaged by poverty, health and other inequalities.
• Action West London – a social enterprise that runs Acton Street Market, which brings diverse communities together by creating entrepreneurial opportunities and an inclusive, high profile public space.

The pandemic has accelerated demand for services across a range of social sectors and Scale Accelerator will help organisations think about how to do even more to meet this need. For example, we will be supporting Social Bite to scale its employment support programme to other areas of Scotland. We will also be supporting Humber All Nations Alliance to review its strategy to maximise impact, in light of how COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter movement is affecting the BAME community it serves.

“Helping more people access life-changing social innovations is more important than ever, as the Covid-19 crisis continues to impact on the lives of the most vulnerable in our society,” said Hannah Barker, Scale Accelerator Programme Manager at Spring Impact.

“We saw a surge of Scale Accelerator applications over lock-down, with many organisations looking to reach more people, pivot, and scale the impact of what they are doing, particularly through partnerships. It is so inspiring to see how many organisations have been spurred on to recover and renew in these difficult times. We are excited to kick-start this autumn’s Scale Accelerator with this fantastic cohort and help them to reach their ambitions.”

The Scale Accelerator provides a tailored programme of support, delivered through virtual interactive sessions, helping organisations to build the capacity and skills to maximise and sustain their impact.

Each organisation benefits from over £30,000 worth of consultancy from a dedicated team of experts, who draw upon Spring Impact’s proven methodology.

Participants form part of a small group of organisations on a similar journey and receive practical help to upskill and develop a robust strategy and action plan, focused on ensuring resources go further and plans are financially sustainable.

The Scale Accelerator forms an important part of our work to enable mission-driven organisations and funders to scale social impact. It is made possible thanks to a grant from The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK.

Since 2015 twenty-nine ambitious UK charities and social entrepreneurs have participated in the Scale Accelerator. As a result, many have increased their reach and impact, and gained funding for their next phase of scale.

“Charities and voluntary sector organisations are facing new and difficult pressures posed by COVID-19, whilst also playing a vital role in helping society to respond,” said Cassie Robinson, Senior Head of UK funding at The National Lottery Community Fund:

“We’re proud that National Lottery funding is supporting Scale Accelerator and projects across the UK to scale up, maximise their impact and reach, and ultimately support people and communities during this pandemic.”