Small charities stumped over Social Impact Bonds
Melanie May | 18 May 2016 | News
Social Impact Bonds are little understood and therefore being under-utilised by small charities according to this quarter’s Small Charity Index from the Foundation for Social Improvement (FSI).
The report questioned 316 respondents between the 1st March 2016 and the 22nd April 2016, and refers to the period 1st December 2015 to 29th February 2016. It reveals that more than half of small charities (52%) have little or no knowledge of Social Impact Bonds, while none feel fully informed. As a result, SIBs are being under-utilised with less than one percent of small charities receiving funding in this way in the past year.
However, according to the FSI, one in 10 small charities also reported a decrease in statutory income in the last quarter, with statutory income declining by six per cent in total since June 2013. Yet, at the same time as a decline in funding, the research highlights an increase in demand for the services of small charities: up 60 per cent this quarter.
SIBs are a method of public funding, which were introduced by the government with the aim of reforming public service delivery, and are described as a means to improve the social outcomes of publicly funded services by making funding conditional on achieving results. Investors pay for the project at the start, and then the service provider receives payments based on the results achieved. Information on Social Impact Bonds can be found on the .gov.uk site.
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About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.