Social Enterprise Assist

Powering sustainable funding and employment opportunities

Powering sustainable funding and employment opportunities

Football for Good organisations lack financial sustainability to implement their programmes. Another challenge facing the communities in which Football for Good organisations operate is youth employability.

Funding remains a common challenge that Football for Good community organisations face all over the world. Every year, many of these organisations find themselves fighting for the financial sustainability of their programmes and adapting their agendas to the requirements of public and private donors.

The Common Goal Social Enterprise Assist project seeks to empower community organisations with the skills and know-how to set up and successfully run their own social enterprises. Social enterprises are businesses with a social purpose. They aim to make a profit, but such profit is invested or donated into driving positive social impact. The idea is to achieve greater financial sustainability, enabling increased effectiveness and scale for their Football for Good activities, as well as providing training and employment opportunities to support beneficiaries towards sustainable livelihoods. The project aims to have a truly global approach through the development of a suite of training and development resources that can be accessed remotely.

The project builds on the experience and expertise of community organisations that have successfully developed social enterprises to support their Football for Good programmes. The project is led by Kick4Life, a football for good organisation based in Lesotho that has developed a number of social enterprises including No.7 Restaurant, the K4L Hotel & Conference Centre and K4L Soccer Schools. To be a source of funding for the Football for Good programmes, Kick4Life’s enterprises are designed to provide structured training opportunities for young people progressing to permanent employment.

With the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, the project was adjusted to address the shifted funding priorities of the organisations involved. Kick4Life developed RAFT as a support tool and process to enable organisations to meet their urgent, often existential challenges. RAFT is an acronym for the following words and areas of support, with a focus on survival within the context of moving towards long-term financial sustainability through social enterprise: Reduce — Adapt — Fundraise — Trade.

The Goal

Football for Good organisations have sustainable funding mechanisms for programmes and provide employment opportunities in their communities.

The Strategy

Guide and support Football for Good organisations to create their own social enterprises.

How it Works

Through mentoring and expertise from other organisations, community organisations are supported in accessing more predictable and sustainable resources by establishing their own social enterprises. 

Challenge

For many Football for Good organisations around the world, raising funds for their work proves one of the greatest challenges. This can lead to:
Cancelled Programmes
Existing high-impact programmes to be discontinued.
Limited Growth
An inability to scale activities and achieve greater impact.
Self-Governance Restrictions
The adaptation of programmes according to the agendas of public and private donors in order to secure funding.

Solution

Tackle the mechanisms in which both the financial independence of Football for Good organisations as well as many of their beneficiaries are rooted, by:
Rethinking funding models
Enabling organisations to rethink their funding models and access more predictable and sustainable resources.
Providing know-how on sustainable income mechanisms
Empowering organisations with skills and know-how to set up sustainable income mechanisms that can ensure financial stability.
Creating job opportunities for young people
Creating job opportunities through these social enterprises for young people in the local community.

Impact

Football for Good organisations gain sustainable funding mechanisms by launching their own social enterprises.
Short Term: Ideation
The programme enables organisations to identify local business opportunities and develop a viable business model.
Mid Term: Development
Through mentoring and expertise organisations have the know-how and support to establish their own businesses.
Long Term: Financial Stability
Organisations have attained financial stability through operating social businesses, enabling them to scale their activities and achieve their goals.
Challenge
For many Football for Good organisations around the world, raising funds for their work proves one of the greatest challenges. This can lead to:
Cancelled Programmes
Existing high-impact programmes to be discontinued.
Limited Growth
An inability to scale activities and achieve greater impact.
Self-Governance Restrictions
The adaptation of programmes according to the agendas of public and private donors in order to secure funding.
Solution
Tackle the mechanisms in which both the financial independence of Football for Good organisations as well as many of their beneficiaries are rooted, by:
Rethinking funding models
Enabling organisations to rethink their funding models and access more predictable and sustainable resources.
Providing know-how on sustainable income mechanisms
Empowering organisations with skills and know-how to set up sustainable income mechanisms that can ensure financial stability.
Creating job opportunities for young people
Creating job opportunities through these social enterprises for young people in the local community.
Impact
Football for Good organisations gain sustainable funding mechanisms by launching their own social enterprises.
Short Term: Ideation
The programme enables organisations to identify local business opportunities and develop a viable business model.
Mid Term: Development
Through mentoring and expertise organisations have the know-how and support to establish their own businesses.
Long Term: Financial Stability
Organisations have attained financial stability through operating social businesses, enabling them to scale their activities and achieve their goals.

Impact in the Field

Social Enterprise Assist (SEA) kicked off in April 2018, and the main programme was expanded to include RAFT in 2020 to reflect the urgent fundraising challenges caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

40
organisations
5
continents
7
workshops
54
Mentoring Sessions
+180k
Invested

Common Goal has allocated a total sum of €188,736.00 since the launch of the project in April 2018.

Online tools

1

Social Enterprise Assist Online Toolkit launched in April 2019.

18

Organisations from 15 countries have accessed support to continue developing their social enterprises.

Business Incubation

5

Organisations have progressed enterprise development plans via the online toolkit.

2

New income generating enterprises successfully launched by GDM and BUSA in 2020.

Launching Social Enterprises

3

Years of ongoing collaborative support and mentoring between 23 organisations from across the world.

1

Business feasibility study conducted for a potential guesthouse enterprise in Tanzania.

Online tools
1

Social Enterprise Assist Online Toolkit launched in April 2019.

18

Organisations from 15 countries have accessed support to continue developing their social enterprises.

Business Incubation
5

Organisations have progressed enterprise development plans via the online toolkit.

2

New income generating enterprises successfully launched by GDM and BUSA in 2020.

Launching Social Enterprises
3

Years of ongoing collaborative support and mentoring between 23 organisations from across the world.

1

Business feasibility study conducted for a potential guesthouse enterprise in Tanzania.

30
Organisations

have generated social enterprise ideas for further development.

"The goal is to improve the sustainability, and subsequently to increase the social impact, of our sector."
Steve Fleming, founder and director of Kick4Life
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