The first index enabling social enterprises to chart their growth and measure their social impact will be launched tomorrow and will lead to star performers getting £50,000 in prizes.
The RBS SE100 Index has been created bySocial Enterprise in partnership with the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and NatWest and will track both the growth and social impact of the sector. It will be launched at the national social enterprise conference Voice and entry to the index is via a website.
Only social enterprises that have been trading for more than three years are eligible for the top two prizes of £10,000, ten days business consultancy and a trip to the Social Enterprise World Forum in California in 2010. These will be given to a growth champion and a social impact champion.
A £5,000 prize for the overall winner of those enterprises trading for under three years is also up for grabs.
RBS and NatWest head of community banking, Duncan Sloan, said the bank was supporting this ‘pioneering' initiative to ‘showcase and reward the most successful social enterprises'.
‘It also enables us to formally evaluate the evolution of the sector and all those companies operating within it,' said Sloan.
He said the emphasis on proving social impact was important because it would help create an evidence base to demonstrate the difference between social enterprises and mainstream business. He added this was especially important to highlight in an economic downturn.
Social Enterprise editor Tim West said: ‘For Social Enterprise this is an exciting opportunity to unearth some powerful facts and figures and tell some amazing stories.'
The RBS SE100 website is now live. Visit www.se100.co.uk
