More than money – combining finance with advice and support to drive growth and success
Pre- and post-investment support – sometimes called "technical assistance (TA)" – includes advisory services, training, and other support provided to charities and social enterprises before or after they take on social investment.
The aim of this support can be varied, including to make the social investment experience smoother, help to reduce risks, or to improve impact.
Since its creation in 2015, Access has played a key role in helping charities and social enterprises bridge the gap to social investment. The Reach Fund, the first programme we launched, continues to operate today. It provides grants for pre-investment technical assistance to organisations that are in contact with a social investor but are not yet ready to apply for investment.
The Reach Fund builds on the lessons learned from previous programmes like the Investment and Contract Readiness Fund and Big Potential.
Social investors also provide their own pre- and post-investment support during their engagement with investees. Access often complements this by supporting these activities, especially when helping to create Blended Finance social investment funds. A 2020 report by Big Issue Invest, titled Beyond the Cheque Initiative, highlighted the vital role that technical assistance plays in social investment.
Some of our programmes combine different types of funding. They’re shown below if they focus fully on pre- and/or post-investment support or include elements of it in a broader programme.
Support for charities and social enterprises who are already close to the point of taking on social investment
Now closed, the Impact Management Programme offered support for charities and social enterprises seeking to grow their ability to quantify, report on, increase and ‘get paid for’ their impact.
Supporting the development of stronger, more resilient and sustainable social economies in disadvantaged places
Increasing access to patient and flexible social investment for charities and social enterprises post-Covid
Now closed, the Enterprise Develoment Programmme helped charities and social enterprises transition to new enterprise models, or grow existing ones
If you are a charity or social enterprise looking for funding, visit Good Finance.
You will find tools to help you decide if social investment is right for your organisation and a comprehensive overview of the funds available to you.
