Last night saw the launch of the NatWest SE100 Social Business Club, the new business support club offering insight, inspiration, expertise and peer learning for social enterprises on the NatWest SE100 Index.

The Club was launched at an evening event hosted by NatWest to announce this year’s Cabinet Office Social Investment Awards, which highlight the impact of social investment and celebrate UK’s world leading social investors and social enterprises.

Open to all social ventures signed up to the NatWest SE100 Index, the NatWest SE100 Social Business Club aims to help social businesses get the advice and resources they need to thrive and grow – from investment and leadership to HR and marketing.

It was born out of a desire to offer greater support to the community of more than 1,300 social ventures that has grown up over the years as the NatWest SE100 Index has developed.

The NatWest SE100 Social Business Club offers:

• Free attendance at a series of SE100 Insight events held in different locations around the UK, to build capacity and share learning around being a better social enterprise
• A rich stream of online written and video content focusing on social business management, including expert advice and case studies from the front line
• Peer-to-peer comparisons of how your social venture is doing ¬– geographically and by market sector – in terms of both business and social performance
• An invitation to apply for the NatWest SE100 Social Business Awards, and to attend this year’s events celebration
• A range of further benefits, including discounted conference tickets, discounted fees for NatWest Social & Community Capital loans, and free webinars from NatWest Mentor service to help you manage your social business

Marcelino Castrillo, Managing Director of Business Banking, NatWest, said: “Running a social enterprise can be a rewarding and fulfilling experience, but it can also be challenging and at times, lonely. We want to create a community to support the hundreds of social business owners who are members of the NatWest SE100. Our aim is to bring together like-minded social entrepreneurs to share their skills and experience and to get access to relevant events and information. We want them to share best practice and insights and to encourage and inspire one another.”

Tim West, CEO of Matter&Co, the communications agency that created the NatWest SE100 Index said: “Whether it’s motivating your team, finding finance to grow, developing a strong brand or measuring your impact – there are so many key aspects to building a great social business. The NatWest SE100 Social Business Club aims to help social ventures learn and grow together through a programme of inspiring but very practical events and content. It’s great that NatWest are once again putting their energy, commitment and business knowledge behind supporting UK social enterprise in this way.”

For more information on the NatWest Social Business Club and what it offers, please visit https://www.pioneerspost.com/business-school/20160504/natwest-and-se100-announce-social-business-club-partnership