The UK’s first crowdfunding-powered accelerator program for social enterprises is going public with The People’s Panel, a live crowdfunding festival supporting six start-up social justice organizations.
On March 30th The Young Foundation and partners, are taking the funding to the people, to raise the support these social ventures need to grow. A crowd of 400 people are expected to attend with a view to supporting the projects. General Secretary of the Cooperative Party, Karin Christiansen, will kick introduce the pitches by talking about the opportunities alternative finance models present for social initiatives.
Community activism and enterprise development have huge potential for addressing structural inequalities by combining sustainable enterprise with the knowledge of a social issue and commitment to a cause inherent in a community-led project.
The aim of the People’s Panel is to blow apart the traditional model of enterprise investment, putting the growth of important social projects in the hands of the society itself.
The six pioneering organizations that have been taking part in The People’s Accelerator at The Young Foundation for the past four months will pitch to the Peoples Panel to galvanize financial and non-financial support from audience members and digital networks.
The campaigns are for the following:
- In-Sync Music Training
- City Safe Haven
- MumSpace
- Citizens UK
- Connect Justice
- The Reasons Why Foundation
The event will take place from 7pm – 9pm at Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, London WC1R 4RL.