Being Enterprising

St Vincent Support Centre

St Vincent’s – charitable activities

Free support for families experiencing poverty & disadvantage.

Core services include:

• Debt advice (500 beneficiaries p.a. Costs £60k)

• Counselling and CBT (100 benef’s. Costs £35k)

• Adult education, job support, ESOL (500 benef’s. Costs £40k)

• Supported volunteering programme (100 benef’s. Costs £40k)

Income 2011/12 (approx £300k)

grants

shop/café

fundraising

social housing

donations

55%

10%

12%

15%

8%

Enterprise attempts to date…

Community Cafe

Second hand shop High volunteer costs, staffing costs. As above, more of a service than a business due to client group

Struggles to break even. More of a service than a business due to target audience

Charging for counselling Compromised ethos of St Vincent’s

Commissioning debt services

Charging social housing providers for priority access for tenants to our debt services, provide financial literacy education to tenants, and basic debt advice training for housing staff. Working with 2 s.h.a. so far.

Developing Yorkshire Community Co-operative (Y-CoCo)

Great potential but lack of track record making it difficult to secure first contract

Hour LeedsGood launch last month, positive media coverage and in the first 2 weeks generated over £2k. Corporate launch planned with Ed Balls fronting.

Becoming enterprising

Using and building upon our existing retail

experience,volunteer workforce, and

access to donated goods…

Launching an trading operation

Becoming enterprising

Building on a service we currently run

internally only at St Vincent’s:

Develop a Portable Appliance Testing (PAT) service

The last 3 months….

The last 3 months….

The last 3 months….

The last 3 months….

The last 3 months….

The last 3 months….

• Advertised & shortlisted for social enterprise co-ordinator

• Verbal agreements for PAT testing contracts with:– Locala CIC (formerly Kirkless Community Healthcare Services)

– Eight voluntary sector organisations across Leeds

• Ebay regular goods collections agreed with:– Johnston Paints

– RING automotive

– Food & Environment Research Agency

– Yorkshire Bank

– 9 churches in Leeds

Securing staff and contracts:

Looking ahead…

• Begin trading• Secure more contracts

grants

shop/café

fundraising

social housing

donations

trading

grants

shop/café

fundraising

social housing

donations

Looking further ahead…

• Expand staffing resources to allow growth• Develop and nurture more contracts• Become an ebay ‘broker’ for organisations

and individuals• Provide more unemployed adults with

training opportunities as a route to employment

• Sustain St Vincent’s charitable work through social enterprise activities.