Third Sector must brace itself for large cuts in budgets.
According to TFN as local authorities across Scotland continue to experience austerity and make cuts to their budgets, third sector organisations are going to be badly effected by these decisions. These cuts will not just impact upon organisations that receive grants from local authorities, it is clear particularly from social care organisations, that organisations with public sector contracts will also be effected as councils pass on cuts to service providers. Organisations will also be stretched by the Scottish Government promotion of the living wage for low paid employees...Read More

What will the Scottish Government's Social Enterprise Strategy do for social investment?
The Scottish Government's new ten year Social Enterprise Strategy is likely to be launched before Christmas. Like many, I am waiting to see what's included in the social finance section of the strategy. A few of the stories in this bulletin (SITR opener and BSC story below) highlight that to-date the focus has been on the supply side. In particular growing the number of social finance providers and the number of 'social' investors.  Where there has been much less attention is increasing the demand for social finance and addressing the issues and barriers stopping organisations from accessing finance, such as lack of understanding of social investment; lack of blended finance; lack of available low cost risk and patient capital etc. Until the Strategy is available, have a re-read of the sector's SE Vision document that came out in 2015...Read More

The debate about the role of 'Profit with Purpose' business models continues.
The debate about the role of companies that distribute profit whilst addressing social issues continues unabated. Are profit with purpose approaches just about making money from poverty?  Is it possible to properly address social problems and keep investors happy?  Are most social problems so entrenched and problematic that only mainstream businesses can resolve them?  These are some of the thorny issues that the social enterprise sector is grappling with as it gains a higher profile with governments around the world and with the general public. This recent article by Rodney Schwartz of ClearlySo summarises some of the arguments..Read More

UK CDFI's too weak and too dependent on EU monies.
Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) offer microfinance loans to small businesses and social enterprises operating in regeneration areas or other areas of need. Cliff Prior of BSC has recently expressed his concern for the UK Microfinance sector in light of Brexit and in particular the dependence of the sector on EU subsidies. 
He also claims that the sector has not done enough to challenge the Government's short term thinking about microfinance or the impact Brexit is going to have upon it. The implications for job creation and social enterprises in our more excluded communities will be dramatic unless something changes...Read More