A Bristol organisation that provides essential baby items to families living in poverty is among 165 social enterprises to receive support from a special investment scheme.
The Bristol Local Access Programme (LAP) says it has helped with £2.7m of blended finance – of which £1.3m was in the last year alone – enabling a total of £12m of investment to be mobilised into the social enterprises.
The LAP investment packages offer a mix of repayable finance, grants and tailored business support, with a particular focus on those led by Black and minoritised communities and others who are less likely to seek or secure investment through traditional means.
Baby Bank Network Bristol is among those to receive backing. The organisation collects donations of pre-loved baby equipment, clothing, toys, toiletries and other essentials and passes them on to families across Bristol who are experiencing poverty or crisis.
Becky Gilbert, chief executive of Baby Bank Network, said: “The ongoing enterprise support that we received was fantastic. Setting up a pilot charity shop was brand new to us, and having a friendly face to bounce ideas off, think aloud with and who could point us in the right direction for further support was really useful.
“The support helped me think about the bigger picture but also focus on our most important aims to make it achievable and avoid overwhelm. This has been a great service and I would definitely recommend it.”
The Bristol LAP also offers advice and mentoring, workshops, networking opportunities and training programmes, focusing on social enterprises coming from or working with communities experiencing inequality in Bristol.
Sally Britton, chair of the LAP, said: “The work the Bristol Local Access Programme has done has demonstrated how important it is to support social enterprises to grow, develop and become sustainable, making them less dependent on grants and more able to make a real contribution to the local economy. It is vital that we find the funding to continue this essential work."
The project was launched in April 2021 and is funded by Access: The Foundation for Social Investment and Better Society Capital, developed using Bristol’s One City Approach.
The LAP fund is managed by impact investment experts BBRC and underpinned by a partnership of five local leading organisations bringing a combination of expertise and support: Black South West Network, School for Social Entrepreneurs, Voscur, Ashley Community Housing and Street2Boardroom.
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