The results from the first year of corporate social enterprise support programmes seems promising, as companies such as Deloitte, Santander, Ernst & Young and Goldman Sachs are helping new companies to boost their corporate wellness; linking social ventures with potential overseas franchisees and helping social enterprises bring in specialist overseas tradesmen using their immigration teams.
According to Kresse Wesling, founder of upcycled products company Elvis & Kresse, ‘We’ve entered so many of these awards now, but we were really, really impressed with Deloitte. With most others programmes, the company has an idea of what it wants to do for you. But, Deloitte asked what we needed help with and for us that was much more suitable. Young companies all need help with totally different things. So far they’ve arranged for us to work with a surveyor and also helped us bring a Romanian craftsman to the UK using their immigration team.’
Ben Ramsden, fellow pioneer of the first cohort and founder of fairtrade underwear company Pants to Poverty, is equally full of gratitude for Deloitte. He commented, ‘Deloitte is up there with the best pro bono programmes around. It’s structured and focused. They’ve been working on creating a 3D profit and loss module for us, which is very exciting.’ But the positive stories don’t stop with Deloitte.
In Santander’s current cohort, Lorraine Powers, founder of the Welsh glass and textile recycling social enterprise, Ten Green Bottles, has been enthused by what’s been offered. Santander’s Social Enterprise Development Award programme gave Powers’ enterprise the medium-level financial award of £30,000, and Powers explained, ‘We get access to great advice and state-of-the-art training that we’d have to pay a lot of money for. The business planning help has been great, as have the webinars, and we are working on a job plan for the intern that Santander is funding.’
Social Enterprise UK, the sector’s membership organisation, works with a number of corporates on their programmes. Charlie Wigglesworth, head of business development, noted, ‘There has been a bit of cynicism. People ask, “What can this massive company really do for me?” They say they want actual business rather than what they feel will just be some free advice. We think the best ones offer financial help, advice and the opportunities to trade and be introduced to new clients. But we’re generally very happy with what these firms are providing.’