This type of investment is repayable, usually with interest. Social enterprises and charities might earn a surplus amount with the help of trading, contracts for delivering public services, donations, etc. The charities then use this amount to repay the investors.
Well, it is advised that social investment is only good for some.
Before considering this option, you must check other financial options for your charity., or you can even practice virtual trading in order to gain expertise and knowledge about trading strategies. So, let’s dive more into the article.
Starting with the types of social investment:
Borrowing (debt)
Taking a loan that you promise (through legal documents) to repay after a certain period. Mostly, the loan or debt investments are paid back by the borrowers with an additional interest amount.
Shares (equity)
Selling your shares from your company to the investors, just like stock market investing, is also a type of social investment. The investors owning some equity shares in your company will also enjoy a share of the profits earned by your organization.
Now let’s understand where you can get this social investment. You can get social investment from two broad groups:
Through an organization
These organizations could be social banks, some social trusts or foundations, or specialist social investment firms. Social investors mainly focus on market sectors such as education sectors. They might also provide only a certain type of social investment.
Each organization has its eligibility criteria. You must understand the basics and become confident about the social investments that you choose for your organization. Only after that must you contact an investor. Furthermore, to get profits quickly, you can also try intraday trading, where you can buy & sell stocks on the same day. It allows you to earn multiple small profits in a day rather than one big profit in many days.
Direct from an individual
Taking on investment from an individual or group of individuals. This includes:
- Community shares – If your legal model allows it and you think it’s right for your organization, the Community Shares Unit & Community Shares Scotland offer guidance on how to set up a community share offer.
- Angel investment – You can find social investment-focused angels on Clearly Social Angels or mainstream angels through the UK Business Angels Association.
- Crowdfunding – There are several peer-to-peer lending and crowdfunding platforms that you could use. Three platforms focusing on social investment opportunities for charities and social enterprises are Crowdfunder, Ethex, and Community Chest.
- Social Investment Tax Relief – Remember, SITR can often be used as an additional tool to angel investment, crowdfunding, and community shares.
Social investment is a term that brings together several categories of investors who are willing to come together by their goal to achieve social and environmental impact. Social investments include financial and non-financial support deployed through venture philanthropy or impact investment focusing on investing for an impact and socially responsible corporate investing. The methodologies of social investments have proven to be an impactful way to create a sustainable and scalable social impact by allowing multiple social investors to come together for a greater impact.