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Blue Sky Development & Regeneration is to receive £400,000 in unrestricted funding from UK venture philanthropy pioneer Impetus Trust.
The funding will be given out over the next four years, with the aim of supporting Blue Sky to expand significantly. Alongside the funding, Impetus will provide Blue Sky with management support and specialist expertise from skilled professionals in key, capacity-building areas, in order to accelerate its growth.
Blue Sky works to break the cycle of re-offending, which costs the UK £12 billion each year. It offers six months’ paid employment to people recently released from prison, to enable them to move into long-term employment.
Stable employment has been shown to reduce the probability of re-offending by up to 50 per cent. The re-offending rate among ex-employees of Blue Sky is one quarter of the national average.
Prior to this announcement, Impetus had worked with Blue Sky for one year, helping it to develop a scale-up plan. Impetus is now backing this scale-up plan, which would see Blue Sky able to employ seven times more ex-offenders.
This investment is part of the ‘Impetus for London Initiative’, launched by Impetus in 2009 to target poverty in Greater London.
Daniela Barone Soares, Chief Executive of Impetus (pictured), said: ‘Breaking the cycle of re-offending is undoubtedly a challenging task. This is all the more reason why we must not shy away from it. Instead, we need to support innovative charities and social enterprises, which have proven that re-offending can be reduced. Blue Sky has shown that by tackling the root causes of re-offending – such as lack of skills and employability – real progress can be made.’
Mick May, Chief Executive of Blue Sky, said: ‘Blue Sky is absolutely over the moon about Impetus’ continued support. The funding will be invaluable, but we also take great pride in the vote of confidence and the future working relationship that comes with it. It is nothing less than the truth to state that we would not be where we are today without Impetus and the support of its staff and pro bono experts.’
Tags: Blue Sky Development and Regeneration, Daniela Barone Soares, Impetus, re, Social Enterprise, Women in Prison - Rehabilitation
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