Resonance - Twenty Years Of Impact - Report - Page 76
3 IN 10 CHILDREN
across the West Midlands are classed as living in poverty24
600+ SOCIAL ENTERPRISES
operating in the West Midlands region25
BIRMINGHAM RANKED 6TH MOST DEPRIVED
OF ENGLANDS 319 LOCAL AUTHORITY AREAS23
MEL ELLIS
CHALLENGE ACADEMY
Helped us achieve more than we could alone
Back in October 2018, Challenge Academy received a
significant £150,000 investment from the Resonance
West Midlands SITR Fund to help further develop our
adventure hub and to increase our team’s capacity –
in turn enabling us to expand our offer and connect
with more purpose-driven groups and communities in
the area. Along the way we have received friendly and
personable specialist support every step of the way. We would not be where we
are now if it were not for both the financial investment and the specialist support
that we have received on this journey, preparing us for investment and the
ongoing strategic approach from the team, which has been invaluable and helped
us achieve more than we could have alone.
Making a real difference
Working with Resonance over the last few years has been a positive experience
and has given us the opportunity to establish Challenge Academy – the only
site of its kind in the West Midlands – as a community resource for enabling
transformation and resilience in communities and individuals through our
outdoor activities and challenges. The investment has also given us a springboard
to secure further grants to help us achieve our goal. Over the last few years we
have seen more than 40,000 people from across the West Midlands participate
in our outdoor learning and adventure programmes, helping them find their
purpose, focus their mindset and unlock their potential – we’re so proud that
together, Challenge Academy and Resonance have made a real difference to so
many lives.
100K
social enterprises in the UK26
RESONANCE KEY MILESTONES
ACCREDITATIONS
• Resonance achieves B Corp Certification and Social Enterprise Mark
KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER
• Simon speaks at the first conference organised by the Municipality
of Milan on how a place-based focus on social impact investment can
help grow effective solutions to social problems.
SHARE OFFER
• Resonance assists Mustard Seed Property with their share offer which
successfully raises over £340,000
AWARDS
• Resonance Investment Manager Grace England recognised by the
WISE 100, celebrating Women in Social Investment
“I have really felt the course has helped me to remember my
potential and how capable I can be when I’m more relaxed and
problem solving. It has rebuilt my confidence again and given
me the opportunity to show my worth to others but more
importantly to myself.”
• Resonance wins Pensions for Purpose Best Social Impact Paper
Award 2018 for ‘How Property Investment Can have Social Impact’
• Resonance West Midlands SITR Fund wins Worthstone Impact
Champion Award 2018 for New Product Launch
- Challenge Academy participant
Pandemic challenges
The pandemic has obviously had an impact over the last couple of years but
having established a strong business model and partnership with the Resonance
team, we have felt well-supported throughout. And whilst the site had to close for
a short time in 2020, Resonance helped signpost us to other sources of potential
income – this included a successful application to the Social Enterprise Support
Fund, resulting in a grant in August 2021 to help us develop an outreach model
throughout the Black Country.
And whilst this time has been challenging, particularly so for some of society’s
most marginalised communities, worsening many of the social issues they
face, this has only served to strengthen our resolve, purpose, community reach
and ambitions to provide a sustainable and inclusive opportunity for everyone
in our community to create more positive futures for themselves. Thank you,
Resonance!
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Source:
23 Directors of Adult Social Services- The impact of adult social care on jobs, growth and
regeneration in the West Midlands 24 Action for Children - Where is child poverty increasing in
the UK? 2021 25 Resonance - West Midlands SITR Information Memorandum 2019/2020 26 Social
Enterprise UK - State of Social Enterprise Survey 2017
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