Better Society Capital

Great to see Government’s recent policy direction confirming the allocation of £87.5 million of Dormant Assets to Access - The Foundation for Social Investment to help scale up social investment in underserved places and communities. Access is now inviting funding applications from social investors and intermediaries as it oversees the allocation of this next tranche of Dormant Assets. At least £12.5 million has been earmarked to support youth-focused organisations, alongside £12 million of scale-up funding for the Pathway Fund, a Black and Ethnically Minoritised-led social investment fund. This milestone highlights what can be achieved through sustained partnership, and we look forward to supporting continued growth for the social and community enterprise sector alongside Access and others. For more information, visit: https://lnkd.in/eXhnkFxw

We're thrilled to welcome Michelle Ashworth and John Bromley to our Board of Directors’ and Investment Committee. 🌱 Michelle brings over 25 years of experience in venture capital and institutional investment. She is Founder and Managing Partner of Silver How Venture Advisory, and has previously served as a Partner at Top Tier Capital Partners and as Head of Venture at the Church Commissioners for England. 🌱 John is a senior leader in sustainable investment with over two decades’ experience in infrastructure, clean energy and climate finance. He was Managing Director of Clean Energy & Climate at Legal & General, and previously Chief Investment Officer at Triodos Investment Management. Welcome, Michelle and John - we look forward to working with you. Visit our website to learn more: https://lnkd.in/ecKjXqN6

In a recent interview with Private Markets Profile, our Managing Director Aman Johal shared her perspective on the launch of the £500 million Better Futures Fund and what it means for the sector going forward. 🚀 She explained how social outcomes partnerships can support people with complex needs while delivering better value for government. In this model, government commissions programmes with the aim of unlocking payment once specific outcomes are achieved. Socially motivated investors take on the upfront risk, providing capital for frontline organisations to grow, apply their expertise and deliver meaningful impact for individuals in need. The success of this approach has been independently verified, with evidence showing that for every £1 the government has spent, a further £9 of public value has been created. Aman emphasises the potential for growth and the increasing interest in this mechanism from investors and government departments. Visit the link below to read how the Better Futures Fund builds on the success of previous outcomes contracts, helping to tackle issues that require flexible and tailored delivery. 👉 https://lnkd.in/ey43jRmH

🚀 We're hiring! We are looking for a Transformation Director to lead on our organisational transformation initiative designed to strengthen operational foundations, modernise our systems and processes, and embed the culture and capabilities needed to deliver our mission at scale. In this role, you’ll deliver programme execution, lead cultural shift, build teams, align diverse stakeholders, and ensure BSC becomes a technology enabled, mission driven organisation. This is your chance to shape the engine of BSC’s next chapter - to embed systems, culture and capabilities that will allow us to scale impact sustainably. If you’re energised by transformation in mission-orientated settings, please reach out to Lauren de Quincey at [email protected] with your CV. #careers #socialimpact

Partnerships for a better UK Better Society Capital’s Aman Johal speaks to PMP about how social outcomes partnerships create real-world impacts and why the government’s new Better Futures Fund will reenergise the sector Social outcome partnerships involve government contracts commissioned around the delivery of services to individuals with complex needs, such as the homeless, children needing care or people with long-term health conditions. "The sector is now at a positive inflection point, with the government making a huge commitment to its future," she says. "It’s a very exciting moment for the government, investors and delivery partners – but most importantly an exciting opportunity to help those that need it most." Read the full interview here: https://lnkd.in/ey43jRmH

🩺 The UK Government has made reducing elective care waiting times a key priority, and while progress has been made with the overall waiting list falling from 7.6 to 7.4 million, the NHS remains under significant pressure. To make the health system fit for the future, there is an urgent need to accelerate the adoption of proven innovations that improve access, outcomes and efficiency. We recently partnered with Meridian Health Ventures (MHV) to invest in the first NHS-anchored venture fund backing UK HealthTech companies, with the aim of improving population health, reducing the cost of care and advancing health equity. 🌱 The Fund will invest in digital health, enterprise healthcare and MedTech companies providing solutions with clear potential to scale within the NHS. It also offers hands-on support to the ventures it backs, connecting them to key NHS stakeholders, guiding the development of robust evidence for innovations and facilitating links across UK and US health systems. 👉 To know more, visit: https://lnkd.in/egaeVFZ9

We wrapped up party conference season with our Senior Policy and Advocacy Manager, Jovana Lalic, joining the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester. Connecting with MPs and policy leaders, we were pleased to exchange insights on how social investment can empower the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector to deliver lasting impact. Jovana also attended a thought-provoking session hosted by Demos and the UCL Policy Lab , exploring how the Conservative Party can reimagine its relationship with civil society. It was inspiring to hear from Gregory Stafford MP, Olivia Field, Lauren Andres, Matt Hyde OBE and Polly Curtis on how local organisations across the UK are driving change, delivering better value and building resilient communities, with social investment as a key part of that story. Thank you to everyone we’ve met and collaborated with throughout this conference season. We’re energised by the conversations and inspired to see growing momentum behind social impact investment.

Great to see Sir Ronnie Cohen in the Financial Times making the case for Social Outcomes Partnerships (SOPs) as a way for Government to tackle pressing social issues while managing severely constrained budgets. He highlights the announcement of the Better Futures Fund as an encouraging step. With £500 million from central government matched by contributions from local government and philanthropists, the fund aims to support 200,000 vulnerable children and young people, helping them build brighter futures. Sir Ronnie draws on our research into outcomes-based spending models to show how they can enable Government to deliver public services at half the cost of traditional commissioning and create a sixfold social and economic return through the positive outcomes achieved. He argues that replicating the Better Futures Fund across other policy areas could take total outcomes-based commissioning to £5 billion and beyond, improving outcomes in areas such as homelessness reduction, employment support and workforce upskilling. For more insights on outcomes partnerships delivering better value for taxpayers, visit https://lnkd.in/egxxcU-U

Thank you to everyone who joined us at our Mission Driven Business Reception yesterday at The Labour Party Conference in Liverpool. It was great to gather MPs, social investors and excellent community enterprises together to reflect on the success of the sector and what challenges are ahead. Particular thanks to our brilliant speakers: 🚀 Asher Craig from Pathway Fund who noted the recent regional work Pathway are doing to catalyse opportunities for black and ethnically minorities communities across the UK. 💡 Luke Charters MP who gave us some examples of historic social investments in his constituency, and spoke about the important role of mission driven businesses in supporting Governments aims. 🌱 Myra Gonzalez, who detailed the work that her organisation, Cafe Laziz does locally in St Helens to support asylum seekers. 📣 Lord Marvin Rees OBE, who noted the successes of some trailblazing social investment leaders and talked about the value of place-based investing from his experience in Bristol. 👏 Rich Jones from St Andrew’s Community Network on the work they do to alleviate poverty through financial advice with Angels Connect. 🔎 Seb Elsworth MBE from Access - The Foundation for Social Investment on the ways social investors are partnering with Government and the role of dormant assets in supporting social investment. It was great to see everyone for an afternoon of celebration of what the sector has and will continue to achieve.