Social Enterprise Modelling

Organisation: The Advonet Group

The project: The charity was facing some tough decisions about how to sustain some of its activities which represent an invaluable contribution to inclusivity in the advocacy sector but which have had to be subsidised by other parts of the organisation over a number of years. I was invited to carry out a viability assessment of the groups’ learning products and services, and make recommendations for how to re-position, re-design and re-package these in order to generate a sustainable “social enterprise” revenue stream. After Board sign-off on the plans we created, I continue to work alongside the organisation as a mentor to the project leader.

Impact:

• My report offered a series of clear options (and organisational and resource implications) along with my recommendations and a proposed pilot project plan, enabling the Directors to take a recommendation to the Board of Trustees.
• This report unlocked Board approval of £25,000 into product investment (plus human resourcing for the programme) towards transforming a much-loved and much-needed service. It will shift from a service requiring subsidy from the wider organisation to one that can generate its own revenue stream whilst increasing its impact through more streamlined product design, a better user journey and greater responsiveness to client needs.

“As a medium sized charity providing advocacy and inclusion services, we wanted to diversify our income streams away from contracts and grants. We knew to make a success of this, we would need to invest in guidance of someone who had done this before. Luckily for us, we found Julia; she was just who were looking for! She spoke to key staff, stakeholders and trustees and helped us come with plan for realising our ambition. She has helped us shape various service offers into a tiered menu and chart a path forward to market them. Best of all, she is coaching us on our journey: meeting regularly with project leaders to help us embed a more entrepreneurial approach in the organisation.” – Philip Bramson, Chief Executive