Kathryn Luckock, director of Solutions for the Planet, explains why the business should win the innovation in funding category of the Guardian Small Business Showcase competition.
Solutions for the Planet (S4TP) is a social enterprise. We generate our income through developing partnerships with companies in the energy, utility, manufacturing and construction sectors, alongside schools.
We started two years ago in our current structure, with just two business partners (Balfour Beatty and IGEM) and £14,000, delivering our schools programme to inspire the next generation of scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs and responsible citizens.
Our mission is to build effective partnerships between businesses and communities so that together they create and implement solutions to sustainability challenges while developing key employability skills.
In our first year we ran the programme part-time so we could be paid through other employment and ensure all income was invested in the programme delivery. Last year, 2014-15, we secured £72,000 income (87% from ‘selling’ our programme to partners, the remainder from grants). We became employed full-time but kept our salaries low to reduce costs.
Two years on we have successfully grown the programme, expanding it from Yorkshire to work with three business and six school partners in the West Midlands. In September we will be launching the programme in the south-east with six schools, Tarmac and SGN.
Our projected income for 2015-16 is £150,000, and we’ve already secured half of this. We’re pleased to have been awarded a Fast Growth award from UnLtd.
We plan to grow on a region by region basis, bringing together a partnership of businesses who buy our service.
All entries which meet the competition criteria are published and our judging panel select a shortlist of the three for each category. Winners are announced at an awards ceremony in summer 2016.
