TOP 100 UK SOCIAL BUSINESSES TO BE REVEALED ON 9 JUNE

The countdown has begun for releasing the names of the UK’s top 100 highest growth social businesses.

The RBS SE100 Index is the first index of its kind, charting the growth and social impact of social businesses across the UK. Run by Social Enterprise magazine in partnership with Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) Community Banking, it was created to put some facts and figures behind the most successful stories of social enterprise.

The Index will enable social businesses to see how their growth and measurement of social impact compares to those in other areas of the country. It will also track emerging markets, and help social businesses gain knowledge of the sector they work in and their position within it.

According to the Office of the Third Sector, there are 62,000 social enterprises in the UK, contributing £24 billion to UK output. In addition, there are 137,000 general charities registered in the UK.

Any organisation in the UK that delivers social, economic or environmental change can sign up for the index and nominations are also welcome. The Index runs continuously throughout the year and every month it focuses on a new sector or marketplace including: education and youth, employment and training, charity and finance. The five organisations with the highest annual turnover growth are profiled on a dedicated website, alongside expert advice about measuring social impact and information about the winner.

The end of March 2010 marked the close of year one of the RBS SE100 Index, and Social Enterprise research and journalism teams are now number crunching and writing up stories of business success in the service of social and environmental goals for the first RBS SE100 Data Report.

The RBS SE100 Data Report and the identities of the first winners of the SE100 Growth Champion and SE100 Impact Champion will be revealed at a special event on the evening of 9 June 2010.

Hosted at the Garden Museum in Lambeth, central London, more than 100 guests will be invited to the high profile celebration, including speakers from the worlds of big business, entrepreneurship, government and social investment.

Key statistics from the Index will be revealed alongside regional and sub-sector leaders. In addition to the Growth and Impact winners there will also be an award for the SE100 Trailblazing Newcomer – the start-up that has done the best job in the past year in terms of both impact measurement and business success.

Between them the three winners will share £25,000 cash, 25 days of tailored consultancy and trips to the Social Enterprise World Forum in South Africa in 2011.

A range of leading business advisors have generously committed their time and expertise towards the tailored consultancy – including Buzzacott accountants, social investment experts Equity Plus/Resonance, social enterprise support service Responsible Futures, the Social Enterprise Ambassadors, the SROI Network, RBS and Social Enterprise’s parent company, communications agency Society Media.

Duncan Sloan, Head of Community Banking at RBS, said: “RBS has been committed to the social enterprise market in UK for over a decade, and we are thrilled to be driving this pioneering initiative. The Index, which is the first of its kind, will prove to be a really valuable benchmark for the entire social enterprise sector.”

Social Enterprise editor Tim West said: “We want the world to know that social enterprises are robust businesses doing great work to change lives and communities for the better - but stories alone are not enough. To be taken seriously, we need the facts. The RBS SE100 Index is providing the market intelligence to persuade investors, policymakers and procurers of public services just what social businesses are made of.”

Visit www.se100.co.uk to find out more.