Funding Socials: Meet Funders, Find New Resources & Connect with Your Peers

Funding Socials is an inspiring in-person event series designed for charity and social enterprise leaders looking for fresh ideas and connections to help boost income generation.

For this Funding Social in Edinburgh, we will meet at the offices of the People's Postcode Lottery. You will have the chance to hear directly from both Funders and local organisations working to raise funds.

The event is designed to help you cross the divide and connect with both funders and new peers, who can help you on your journey.

We will break up into small groups for you to meet and ask questions of:

• Joanne Anderson, Social Investment and Innovation Officer at People's Postcode Lottery, whose mission is to help raise funds for charities and good causes, and increase awareness of their work. Postcode Innovation Trust focuses on social enterprise and provides social investment funding. You can also ask her about community programmes grant funding that People’s Postcode Trust has available!

The Trust operates four programmes: Social Investment Programme, Social Enterprise Support Programme, Postcode Dream Fund,Postcode Recovery Fund

• Alastair Davis, CEO at Social Investment Scotland and Kieran Daly, Head of Market Building at Social Investment Scotland.
• Outer Spaces an organisation, who will share their experience of business support via the Ambitions, a key leadership programme supported by the Innovation Trust to developing new income streams including taking on social investment.

Jane Bruce of Brilliant Leaders will facilitate the session with the aim of creating an informal and accessible event.

Joanne, Alastair and Kieran will explain the support and funds they offer charities and social enterprises and be ready to answer any questions you have.

You will be given a warm welcome with teas/coffees on arrival and the session will close with a light lunch, where you will have the chance to mix with funders and peers and make some new connections.

Find out more about our Funding Social speakers

Joanne Anderson, Social Investment and Innovations Officer at People's Postcode Lottery

Joanne is passionate about working in the third sector to help make the world a better place. She currently works at People’s Postcode Lottery - part of the third largest private charity donor in the world, Joanne works specifically on the Postcode Innovation Trust, specialising in all things social enterprise. She supports applicants through the investment process and remains their main point of contact once they have received their funding. Joanne also manages the Social Enterprise Support Programme grants, and associated small loans programme.

Prior to her current role, Joanne worked across a range of organisations in the private, charitable and social enterprise sector, gaining a breadth of experience that help make her a better funder today.

and

Alastair Davis, Chief Executive Officer, Social Investment Scotland

Alastair joined SIS in 2009 to run the investment team and became SIS’s Chief Executive two years later. Alastair is currently an Investment Committee member at the Access Foundation and the advisory board of Scottish EDGE. In 2021, he was named SCVO Director of the Year – Third Sector by The Institute of Directors (IoD) Scotland.

Before joining SIS, Alastair worked in community banking for the Bank of Scotland, where he developed his broad and extensive knowledge of social investment. In 2012, he completed the prestigious Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management programme at Harvard Business School and in 2017 was awarded a Fellowship of the Chartered Banker Institute.

We will also be joined by Izzie Erikson, Founder of ApparelXchange a National Lottery Community Fund beneficiary, Izzie will talk about their journey to receiving support and what that meant to the future plans and opportunities for her organisation.

Shan Edwards, Director, Outer Spaces

Shân set up Outer Spaces in response to the economic and social impacts of the pandemic on artists’ practice and livelihoods and the unprecedented number of empty commercial properties becoming available. Outer Spaces has a vision for new, culture-led community renewal, using vacant buildings as temporary studio and project spaces. Since 2021, Outer Spaces has supported more than 600 artists and arts groups in more than 60 empty spaces across 13 local authority areas.

Prior to then, Shân was CEO of Edinburgh Printmakers where she delivered a £10 million capital project creating a new home for artistic research and experimentation. This followed a career developing art spaces in London, her native Wales, Yorkshire and in Scotland. Over this period she was instrumental in pioneering a residency and exchange programme with disabled artists, and set up the UK’s first ‘Studio of Sanctuary’ for refugee artists.

She has been an Arts Council of Wales National Advisor and was a member of the British Council's Creative Economy UK Hubs Advisory Board until 2022.

The hosts for this session are Jane Bruce, Brilliant Leaders

Jane is the Founder of Brilliant Leaders, a social business which offers coaching and development programmes to leaders and teams with a social purpose. Jane is a former charity/social enterprise CEO, accredited Executive Coach and experienced facilitator.

Before setting up Brilliant Leaders, Jane was Chief Executive of Social Bite in Scotland. In this role, Jane led a team of 100+ staff and 90 volunteers to run a chain of social enterprise cafes, mass fundraising events and innovative housing programmes. Previously, Jane was Chief Executive of Venture Scotland, which provides a wilderness-based development programme to young people facing tough challenges.

Alongside Brilliant Leaders, Jane is a qualified football coach having previously played football in the Scottish Women’s Premier League.

Kieran Daly, Head of Market Building, Social Investment Scotland

Kieran started his career as a youth worker at The Prince’s Trust, devising and delivering training programmes. He has held senior management roles in business development for a range of arts, volunteering and youth organisations for over 15 years.

Kieran was Chief Operating Officer at food waste and food poverty fighting organisation, FoodCycle. While there, he grew the organisation’s presence from 14 to 30 locations around England in under two years, through a social franchising model.

Most recently, Kieran was Scotland Manager for Big Issue Invest, where he delivered a multi-agency partnership, engaging the private, public and third sectors in mentoring and lending money to early-stage social ventures. He is a keen cyclist who enjoys giving back by being on the Board of Social Enterprise Scotland.

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Host or Publisher Social Investment Scotland