Victim support organisation is newest resident in London’s charity hub

A new organisation for victims of crime is the latest customer to take up residence with CAN Mezzanine ─ London’s award-winning social enterprise that provides office space for third sector organisations such as charities and social enterprises.

Why Me? moved into CAN Mezzanine’s offices in East Road, London N1 (off Old Street) on 6 April, joining a thriving hub of other third sector organisations located in the same building. They include the Institute for Learning (the professional body for teachers, trainers and assessors in further education), My Heart Log (an online community for people recovering from cardiac surgery) and the Development Trust Association (a network of community enterprise practitioners).

'Being based at CAN Mezzanine is ideal as we are so close to public transport and to our other partners in London,' says Why Me? Director Sian West. 'But added to that is the unique atmosphere and high quality environment which makes a small organisation like ourselves feel welcome and gives us a professional face. We are looking forward to the benefits that being amongst other charities and similar organisations will bring as well as the CAN Mezzanine support and advice.'

CAN Mezzanine, which is part of the leading social enterprise CAN (formerly Community Action Network), is seeing unprecedented interest in third sector organisations looking to box their costs and take advantage of the three-month flexible licence. Other organisations that have recently moved into one of CAN Mezzanine’s three sites in London (two in Southwark and one in East Road, N1) in February, March and April this year include the disabled children’s charity KIDS, the newly-founded mental health charity Mental Health First Aid, the Complementary Medical Association and two faith groups – the Muslim Institute and This One Event.

KIDS is a national charity working with disabled children, young people and their families. 'The fact that the CAN Mezzanine has other charities based in it was a major selling point for KIDS as a number of organisations we work with are also based here, which makes keeping in touch easier,' says Youth Work Practitioner Zara Todd. 'Also the building contains many organisations which are relevant to our work, which opens doors for us.'

Mental Health First Aid England, which recently moved out of NHS offices in central London to become a community interest company, provides mental health awareness trainin. Business Manager Bernice Cole says: 'It’s nice not to have to worry about setting up everything from scratch. Telephones, internet and other back-office support is all taken care of and it’s really useful having meeting rooms available on site. The intranet is an invaluable source of information as it helps us to make links - and we’ve already met some very interesting people at the networking breakfasts. Finally, I like the fact that CAN Mezzanine uses Fair Trade products and is committed to recycling.'

CAN Mezzanine provides high-quality affordable office space to charities and social enterprises, housing some of the leading names in social change within the not-for-profit sector  including the World Wildlife Foundation, New Philanthropy Capital, Women’s Aid and TimeBank. By providing back office facilities, flexibility and value-for-money CAN Mezzanine saves its third sector residents around £5,000 a year for every desk space rented, as overheads, meeting rooms and back-office support are included in rental costs 

Andrew Croft, chief executive of CAN Mezzanine says: 'Now more than ever organisations are having to focus on their core mission. For most organisations in the third sector, property and facilities management are, understandably, not core competencies and are often very expensive distractions when taken in the round. In uncertain times and with expected public sector funding cuts, many charities are preparing for another hard year. For CAN Mezzanine customers having three-month licences means they can stay where they are, but reduce or increase their space according to their needs with little fuss. This enables them to continue concentrating on their core mission without the disruption of having to move.'

A recent survey of CAN customers (released on 29 March 2010) revealed that the cost savings, the three-month licence and the ability to network with other charities were the main benefits of being located in CAN Mezzanine.