Last week, Flourish co-hosted a SOUP event in partnership with The Business Group and Manchester Social Economy Alliance (MSEA) at The New Oxford in Salford. In this networking style event, a flurry of incredible organisations worked the crowd and pitched to their peers in hopes of securing either guaranteed £1,000 first seed fund or a runners-up award of £350 to support their social venture development to increase the impact within their community.
Over a generous helping of Leek and Potato soup and sides provided by Deli-Lama restaurant, the audience heard pitches from;
Mary Delaney – Neuro In Nature CIC – Offer outdoor, nature-based therapies, with qualified clinical neuropsychologists, to support people living with long term neurological conditions, their families, loved ones and carers. Neuro In Nature CIC (@neuroinnature) • Instagram photos and videos
Laura Naylor – The Breast Awareness Clinic – Offers breast cancer education, advice and support surrounding the risks of breast cancer, with a focus on comprehensive guidance and consultation. Laura Naylor BSc (Hons) Clinical Nurse Specialist in Breast (@breastawareness_clinic) • Instagram photos and videos / The Breast Awareness Clinic | Knutsford | Cheshire
Jill Clifford – The Community Counsellor (CATS) – Offers person centered /Talking Therapy for social entrepreneurs to access counselling as and when they need it. The Community Counsellor CATS (@thecommunitycounsellor) • Instagram photos and videos
Valery Touchet Djomgoue – VTCreation – Project idea: Raise awareness about sustainability in the fashion industry within the local community through educative and upcycling workshops, and Clothing Swap events for women and children. Valery Touchet (@_vtcreation) • Instagram photos and videos
Kate Richardson & Ghada Soliman – M16 Matters – Aim to launch a Community Voices Podcast for Whalley Range which serves as a platform for the diverse voices of the local community.
Rebbecca Marshall – Body Mind Educate – Provide youth advocacy and personal development education workshops and training facilitation for young people in Salford, Greater Manchester. BodyMind Educate (@bodymindeducate.bme) • Instagram photos and videos / Teaching Workshops | Bodymindeducate | Manchester / BodyMind Educate (facebook.com)
Adetutu Awojide – Afro Tee Hair – Haircare brand which educate individuals on understanding and caring for afro hair through workshops, webinars and tutorials. Ade Afro Tee Hair (@afroteehair) • Instagram photos and videos / Afro Tee Hair
MARC the Printers – A family run, environmentally friendly printing service which only use soya ink and recycled paper. Marc The Printers (@marctheprinters) • Instagram photos and videos
0161 Community Gym – A community ran gym offering Fitness, Calisthenics, Boxing and Martial Arts for all ages and abilities. 0161 Community Gym (@0161community_gym) • Instagram photos and videos / (14) Facebook
The audience decided by casting a vote on their ballot card for the initiative they felt was most deserving. It was no easy decision but Diversity Youth was awarded our first place seed fund.
Diversity Youth – A mixed ability youth club founded by mum Sarah Crawshaw and friends after she was unable to find a club for her daughter with cerebral palsy to attend. Sarah intends to use the seed fund to purchase equipment and ensure she can run more sessions up to the end of the year. Diversity Youth meet every Thursday, at St Clements with St Matthias Lower Broughton from 4pm to 8pm. The sessions are £1.50 each for those aged 5 to 15 years old. (14) DIVERSITY YOUTH CLUB Salford | Facebook
Our runners up MARC the printers was awarded £350 which will go towards purchasing another printer that will see the family run business into the 60th year of operation.
As always, the SOUP was a great success and we’ve had some inspiring feedback as it provided a great opportunity to network with local VCSEs and social enterprises across Greater Manchester. As for those who didn’t win the grant this time round still made invaluable connections, initiated collaborations with the organisations in attendance and have the choice of accessing the comprehensive social enterprise development support from ourselves at Flourish.
If you missed this SOUP event, our next one is at our 11th Birthday and Altrincham Flourish Hub launch and you can find tickets on our Eventbrite.
Plus, if you’d like pitch or no know anyone or an organisation who would like the chance to win some seed investments please fill out this EOI –https://forms.gle/AVsJdoeyRk7bxDro6 and someone from the team will be in contact!
