Background

The programme was founded to offer a combination of financial investment and business support to established social enterprises so that they can overcome obstacles to growth. It is the combination of equity-like capital and management intervention that differentiates Breakthrough.

Launched in 2005 Breakthrough I invested in four social enterprises Green-Works, an award-winning social enterprise dedicated to recycling office furniture and providing employment to vulnerable people; Law for All, which provides high quality and cost effective law services to clients of limited means; TimeBank, a national organisation matching volunteers with charities in their communities; and Training for Life which offers training and work to long-term unemployed people. All four achieved significant growth in income and social impact over the two years of the fund's life.

Breakthrough II was launched in 2007 and has made four more investments in outstanding social enterprises: FareShare which distributes surplus food to organisations feeding disadvantaged people; Speaking Up (now called VoiceAbility post-merger with Advocacy Partners), a leading support organisation for people with disabilities, learning difficulties and mental health problems; Teach First which recruits and trains top graduates to teach in challenging secondary schools; and a follow-on investment in Law for All, to support expansion of their services through collaboration with the Citizens' Advice Bureau (CAB).