IoD, Google, and UnLtd launch new package to back social entrepreneurs

Dated: 15 November 2010

In a unique collaboration, the Institute of Directors (IoD), Google and UnLtd, the foundation for social entrepreneurs, together with the Getting British Business Online campaign, are today launching a new package to help social entrepreneurs.

Annual financial turnovers of social enterprises are growing almost twice as quickly as those of traditional businesses*. These social entrepreneurs are a major force in UK society and are at the forefront of innovation and are developing ventures in sectors such as healthcare, education and finance. Today’s package is designed to provide practical, high value support for all budding social entrepreneurs.

The package offers individuals:

  • Funding from UnLtd, the world’s largest provider of support to social entrepreneurs from their core Awards programme – raising finance was seen as the top barrier to being a social entrepreneur.
  • A wavered joining fee to access the Institute of Directors, which is only available through this package, and offers individuals benefits such as regional meeting rooms, networking events and legal advice.
  • A free website and domain from Google where you can create a free customised website tailored to your organisation and free indexing on the search engine.

Commenting, Miles Templeman, Director-General of the IoD, said:

“We are delighted to offer this unique opportunity to a growing movement of socially-minded entrepreneurs across the UK through our partnership with UnLtd and Google. As members of the IoD, individuals will receive support to develop their ventures, invitations to our business seminars and networking events, and will be able to use our meeting room facilities around the country. We hope that this package will help remove some of the barriers entrepreneurs face when they start their businesses.”

Commenting, Cliff Prior, CEO of UnLtd, said:

“Our unique position of being both a foundation and enterprise means we can collaborate with leading organisations such as the IoD and Google to support the number of individuals identifying solutions to problems in their local communities. Therefore, this package allows us to increase the level of support available, but more importantly offers these inspirational individuals the opportunity to access resources which will help them create positive social change.”

*Comparison made by Social Enterprise Magazine of the top 40 companies within the RBS SE100 and Business XL Rising Stars listings

ENDS

Contact Points

Edwin Morgan
Media Relations Manager
Institute of Directors, 116 Pall Mall, London SW1Y 5ED
Tel: +44 (0)20 7451 3392
Mob: +44 (0)7814 386 243
Email: edwin.morgan@iod.com
Website: www.iod.com/policy

Notes to editors

  • The IoD (Institute of Directors) was founded in 1903 and obtained a Royal Charter in 1906. The IoD is a non-party political organisation with upwards of 45,000 members in the United Kingdom and overseas. Membership includes directors from right across the business spectrum – from media to manufacturing, e-business to the public and voluntary sectors. Members include CEOs of large corporations as well as entrepreneurial directors of start-up companies.
  • The IoD offers a wide range of business services which include business centre facilities (including ten UK regional centres [three in London, Reading, Birmingham, Cardiff, Manchester, Nottingham, Edinburgh and Belfast] and one each in Paris and Brussels), conferences, networking events, virtual offices and hotdesking, issues-led guides and literature, as well as free access to business information and advisory services and a comprehensive Information Centre. The IoD places great emphasis on director development and has established a certified qualification for directors – Chartered Director – as well as running specific board-level and director-level training and individual career mentoring programmes.
  • In addition, the IoD provides an effective voice to represent the interests of its members to government and key opinion-formers at the highest levels. These include ministers, constituency MPs, Select Committee members and senior civil servants. IoD policies and views are actively promoted to the national, regional and trade media.
  • For further information, visit our website: www.iod.com
  • You can also keep up to date with the latest views from the IoD on twitter.com/The_IoD and at blogs.iod.com