• April 16th: VPF Invests in Training for Life Expansion

The Venture Partnership Foundation today announced the completion of an innovative convertible financing investment to assist the further growth of Training for Life, a registered charity who reintegrate the long term unemployed into the workforce through entrepreneurial endeavour.

Training for Life are best known for their ground breaking work with the Hoxton Apprentice Restaurant in London. CEO Gordon da Silva – twice awarded E&Y Social Entrepreneur of the Year (London) commented: "we have enjoyed working with VPF for two years in their charitable grant-making capacity. This pioneering new investment strategy has potential to further assist social enterprises with their expansion plans whilst offering investors the prospect of achieving a combination of social returns and investment recovery or return. We challenged their organisation to design something that would help us and their unique combination of venture financing and charity sector skills meant that they were able to deliver. We encourage investors to show interest in this new VPF asset class as a compliment to their charitable contributions.".

The VPF investment comes as Training for Life opens its Darmouth Apprentice Restaurant and expands its activities with additional training contracts. Charles Bleehen, a VPF Trustee commented: "Training For Life continues to lead in the field of social enterprise and we are delighted to support them in their next phase of growth."

Training for Life is a charity that seeks to tackle the enduring issue of unemployment and poverty through an entrepreneurial approach. We work with the most vulnerable and excluded groups within society; people from diverse backgrounds, who, for a variety of reasons, have faced barriers to work and consequently have become trapped in poverty.

  • November 2009, VPF Hires Ciara Katzin, Director of Development

VPF is delighted to announce that Ciara Katzin has joined the small team at VPF to lead on the fundraising and development initiatives. She has fantastic charity fundraising experience, having previously worked for some of the biggest charity brands, including: BBC Children in Need, Breakthrough Cancer Care and Cancer Research UK.

  • October 2009, VPF Portfolio Performs Excellently at Third Sector Awards

Small Charity, Big Achiever Award went to Excellent Development. The Third Sector commented that, ‘Despite its relative youth and the small size of its team the charity has delivered impressive results’.

Use of Digital Media went to Beatbullying. Rory Carroll said: ‘Beatbullying’s CyberMentors campaign brilliantly turned the online arena that has unfortunately sometimes been used as a weapon by bullies into a tool to help fight them.’

Best Social Enterprise went to Riders for Health. Cliff Prior called Riders for Health ‘one of the stars of the global social enterprise movement’. David Moir was equally impressed.’ It has clear goals, outcomes and vision, and it’s a model that can be spread across Africa – and, indeed, the world’, he said.

  • August 2009, VPF board approves new social venture partner, Shelterbox

Shelterbox is the 11th grant partner for The Venture Partnership Foundation ant is first humanitarian-related social venture. Shelterbox has developed a startlingly simple, but efficient, model to deliver shelter to disaster areas. VPF was impressed by how Shelterbox had come up with a product that met the needs with minimal resources, leveraged its volunteer base and was able to get to places and meet needs that other agencies were not able to.

  • August 2009, Barclays Capital announces a further £240,000 for VPF

Barclays Capital, VPF’s anchor corporate sponsor during 2008, which invested £240,000 in VPF in 2008 to fund VPF’s grant relationships with Changing Faces, TWIN, Teach First and Basic Needs, has invested a further £240,000 for 2009-2011, investing in Excellent Development and two other organisations that will be identified. Wendy Lloyd, Barclays Capital said, ‘we are delighted to be in a position to again e a major funder for VPF.’

  • June 2009, VPF approves new social venture partner, Excellent Development

Excellent Development is the 10th grant partner for The Venture Partnership Foundation and its first environment-related social venture. It has a unique technology – sand dams – and an inspiring community development approach in Kenya to conserving water and thus radically changing people’s livelihoods. VPF was deeply impressed by the drive and commitment of the founders – Simon Maddrell (UK based) and Joshua Mukuysa (Kenya based) - the scaleability of the approach as well as by its broader aspirations to influence the international policy debate on water. VPF will be working with Excellent Development on replication as well as growing both its philanthropic and trading income. A new VPF member, Jean-Herve Jenn, CEO of Convergys, will be the VPF charity contact point.

  • April 2009, VPF invests in Training for Life expansion

The Venture Partnership Foundation announced the completion of an innovative convertible financing investment to assist the further growth of Training for Life, a registered charity who reintegrate the long term unemployed into the workforce through entrepreneurial endeavour.
Training for Life are best known for their ground breaking work with the Hoxton Apprentice Restaurant in London. CEO Gordon da Silva – twice awarded E&Y Social Entrepreneur of the Year (London) commented: "we have enjoyed working with VPF for two years in their charitable grant-making capacity. This pioneering new investment strategy has potential to further assist social enterprises with their expansion plans whilst offering investors the prospect of achieving a combination of social returns and investment recovery or return. We challenged their organisation to design something that would help us and their unique combination of venture financing and charity sector skills meant that they were able to deliver. We encourage investors to show interest in this new VPF asset class as a compliment to their charitable contributions.".
The VPF investment comes as Training for Life opens its Darmouth Apprentice Restaurant and expands its activities with additional training contracts. Charles Bleehen, a VPF Trustee commented: "Training For Life continues to lead in the field of social enterprise and we are delighted to support them in their next phase of growth."
Training for Life is a charity that seeks to tackle the enduring issue of unemployment and poverty through an entrepreneurial approach. We work with the most vulnerable and excluded groups within society; people from diverse backgrounds, who, for a variety of reasons, have faced barriers to work and consequently have become trapped in poverty.