Resonance - Twenty Years Of Impact - Report - Page 65
2014
C 3K PEOPLE
with learning disability living in inappropriate
accommodation including in-patient facilities13
RESONANCE KEY MILESTONES
PUBLICATIONS
• Resonance publishes a scoping report - the potential of a Bristol based
social investment tax relief fund
• Resonance publishes its Winterbourne View and Social Investment report
- this eventually leads to the development of the Resonance Supported
Homes Fund
NEW DEALS
• Resonance completes first ever SITR deal with FareShare South West, and
another pilot investment into The Severn Project
INVESTMENTS
• First local authority - Croydon - invests £10m into the homelessness
property fund
AWARDS
• Cabinet Office Social Investment Awards, New Market Award Runner Up
• Real Lettings Property Fund 1 is recognised at the City of London
Sustainable City Awards
FIRST TENANTS
• REAL LETTINGS PROPERTY FUNDS 1 (RLPF1) TENANT housed
572 PEOPLE
had lived in in-patient facilities for more than
5 years and 200 for more than 10 years13
IN THE NEWS...
• The Scottish independence referendum is held
• Amazon Echo and Alexa are released
• Ice Bucket Challenge raises millions for ALS
(Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) research
• Malala Yousafzai wins Nobel Peace Prize
• The worst Ebola epidemic in recorded history occurs in West Africa
resulting in the deaths of 11,000 people
• Part of the South Devon Railway sea wall carrying the railway line and
linking London with the South West, is washed away by a powerful
storm
SOCIAL INVESTMENT TAX RELIEF
(SITR) FUNDS MAKE THEIR DEBUT
DANIELA
BARONE SOARES
SNOWBALL
Best kept secret in the impact world
I was introduced to Daniel by a friend back in 2014,
who told me Resonance was the best kept secret in the
impact world. This is no longer the case; thankfully
more and more investors are finding out about
Resonance’s work. At that time, I had been working in
the impact arena for ten years. Impact was still a niche and Daniel immediately
impressed me as a doggedly determined entrepreneur, who saw impact not as
“cool” but as incredibly serious business. I left with the strong impression that I
had met someone who could scale impact solutions with quality, integrity and
robustness.
I joined Snowball, an impact investing fund, in 2019, as it offered a systemic
solution for a healthy, prosperous and peaceful future for this planet. By then,
Snowball was already an investor in Resonance, and currently we have four
Resonance managed funds in our portfolio. We most recently invested in
the Resonance and Patron Capital Women in Safe Homes fund, as we view
Resonance as one of the leading impact managers in the UK. It has a track
record of purchasing property at scale, and working with those at the frontline
of homelessness services to provide the right solution to those affected by
homelessness. Resonance creates change by focusing on achieving specific
impacts through their in-depth expertise in investing in homelessness, poverty
and community asset building.
Our story working with Resonance
As background, Snowball allows investors access to a wide range of subject area
experts like Resonance and others, which combined, create a portfolio of over
400 mission-led companies, focusing on some of the most pressing social and
environmental issues we face. Curating, monitoring and actively engaging with
such a diverse portfolio is something most investors wouldn’t be able to do.
We identify leading businesses that bring innovation, solutions and catalytic
opportunities in two interconnected themes: social equity and environmental
sustainability. We actively manage these investments and report back to our
investors on their impact and financial performance. As we expand our investor
base, we are able to increase the amount of capital reaching the high impact
social enterprises in the Resonance portfolio.
75%
of social enterprises were profitable14
The impact Resonance creates
It is hard to quantify the numbers of people experiencing homelessness, but we
know from resources like The Homelessness Monitor that rough sleeping levels
in England have increased by 132% since 2010. In the immediate term, impact
investing increases the amount of capital directed into systemic solutions for
this complex problem. Longer term, we believe that this type of investing actually
changes the way we think about investing altogether. It is an activity that has
a real-world effect; we think how we invest is about contributing to the type of
future we want.
Resonance continues to launch new and innovative impact funds to address
gaps in service for underserved communities, but beyond its funds, Resonance
is committed to field building and systems change and works proactively
with partners to achieve this – for example, it has run workshops for existing
stakeholders to improve strategies for tenant move-on and is exploring a
technology solution which could benefit tenant progression.
The future of impact investing and Resonance
Currently, only 1% of global assets under management are invested into impact
(as distinct from ESG investing). People living the daily reality of inequality –
like people who experience homelessness – need this amount to increase, and
rapidly. In the twenty years that Resonance has operated, many of the barriers
that existed to impact investing becoming more mainstream, have been
addressed. Talking to investors, we know that demand from them to connect their
money with entrepreneurial solutions that make the world better is high. The next
generation is pushing for that change even faster: younger people are moving
their careers and money into creating a socially equitable and just future.
We need to think systemically about this change however. This progress to
advance impact investment is good, but what we need is wholesale change in
the way that financial markets and investments operate. In the future, all money
should be invested to create financial returns and positive impact for society and
our planet. People should no longer have to choose between securing their own
and our collective future.
The Resonance Homelessness Property Funds have been early examples proving
it is possible to achieve high impact with a risk-adjusted return for investors.
As more and more mainstream investors see these results, we will accelerate
the wider transformation of finance that we need in order to secure fair and
sustainable life on this planet.
“When I first met Daniel back in 2014, Resonance was one
of the best kept secrets in impact investing. Thankfully this
is no longer the case: they are now one of the best-known
successful examples of an impact driven investment approach
that combines high impact with a risk adjusted return for
investors.”
Source:
13. Resonance Winterbourne View Report 2014
64
Source:
14. Cabinet Office - Social Enterprise Market Trends 2016
65