Apply now for arc, a complete package of support designed to help you grow!

Wed, 12/10/2011 - 14:33

Apply now for our unique social enterprise support offer

arc is a free service for social enterprises, providing the best expert support and business opportunities to help you grow. An initiative of Business in the Community, and supported by BP and Deloitte, arc will provide a unique, comprehensive package of in-depth long-term engagement with large established businesses to help you expand your business.

Following London 2012, £9billion will be invested over 25 years across all areas of the economy, turning the Olympic Park into a new residential, industrial and commercial centre of London. arc will support your social enterprise to take best advantage of these unprecedented business opportunities.

Two social enterprises are already taking advantage of this fantastic offer – here’s what they have to say:

"The arc support is one-of-a-kind, and is going to be instrumental with us winning contracts in and around the Olympic boroughs.” – Blue Sky Development & Regeneration

“arc will help us to double our number of full-time staff over the next two years – this package of support will really help us to grow more quickly.” – Bikeworks

Apply now for this unique package of support – the application is only open until Friday November 4th!

Here are some FAQs about the support, or email Matt Lill if you have any further questions:

What is arc and what do I get?

arc is a new service for social enterprises, designed to bring you the best support, tailored to your needs, to help you grow. There are two packages of support to help you grow, depending on the scale of your business:

For smaller social enterprises (e.g. less than four employees), our Grow package provides:

one-to-one mentoring from senior business leaders
subsidised hot-desks and meeting room space in Ravensbourne, a a world class destination specialising in the creative application of technology, with access to cutting edge technologies and an ambitious and talented community of entrepreneurs, students and professors.
training programmes, based on what you want to learn, delivered by leading experts

For larger social enterprises (five or more employees), our Expand package provides:

all the social enterprise support in our Grow package, and:
in-depth, long-term engagement with functional business experts
extensive consultancy in impact monitoring and reporting
connections and relationships with business supply chains

arc will also provide the support your social enterprise needs to become investment ready, supporting you to access finance from our partners Big Issue Invest and Fredericks Foundation.

How is this different from other business support services?

Our support is the only business support available which:

is delivered by functional experts. We will go beyond traditional business mentoring, providing you with people with the specific expertise needed to support your needs. If you want support with your marketing strategy, you will receive it from people who work in marketing day-in, day-out, and know it inside-out.
won’t just tell you what to do. We will help you do it. As well as strategy and planning advice from senior experts, we will also connect you up with practitioners who can work with you on the ground to deliver the plan.

Will I be eligible to apply? Which package should I apply for?

The support is available to all social enterprises who can answer yes to the following questions:

Is your business a social enterprise?
(A business with primarily social or environmental objectives)
Is your business financially sustainable?
(Does it have the potential to operate based on trading income alone?)
Can you create jobs in the six Olympic Host Boroughs?
(Barking & Dagenham, Greenwich, Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest)

If your social enterprise has one to four employees, our Grow package may be perfect for you. If it is larger, with five or more employees, our Expand package may be best.

But we’re flexible – email Matt Lill now to find out more.

Sounds great! How do I apply?

We have a very straightforward, four step application process:

Download a short form from www.buildingbetterbusiness.org.uk/apply
Complete and send the form to Matt Lill by Friday November 4th – drop us an email if you have any questions
If you’re selected, we’ll invite you in for an interview
We will make our selection quickly and immediately help your social enterprise to grow or expand

I have more questions – who do I ask?