‘Its Our Community’ Research Workshop 10 December 2013

Rachel NewellSocial Enterprise Manager

Tel. 07824 634514rachelnewell@wintercomfort.org.uk

About usMission: Wintercomfort supports those with experience of homelessness by offering essential welfare services and social, learning and work opportunities to enable them to achieve their potential.

Brief History: Began as double decker bus in 1985 serving soup in the city centre. In 1989 the name Wintercomfort was adopted and set up an evening service providing food and shelter, run by volunteers.Became an official charity in 1991 with Henry Rothschild as its first chairman.1n 1993 Overstream House was purchased after extensive refurbishment and opened for business on 12 November 1994.

Keeping it Real

• Rough sleepers have an average life expectancy of just 42 years.

• People who sleep rough are 35 times more likely to commit suicide than the general population.

• The annual council street count said there were 9 rough sleepers on 19 November in Cambridge but we served 18 breakfasts to rough sleepers.

What we do now: Welfare Services

• 8.30-10am: hot breakfast (free to rough sleepers), showers, laundry services.

• Last year we served 5556 hot breakfasts to 368 people.

Learning and Development10am-3.30pm: learning and development activities including art activities, literacy, numeracy, ICT session, job club, ESOL, cooking classes, sport, DIY sessions, gardening team.

316 people accessed service last year

Social EnterprisesFood4Food CaféFood4Food CateringWinterwillow (ended)Cleaning Services (2014!)

We have delivered 244 buffets in the last year to 5597 people. Our traded income from buffets was £35,850

www.food4food.org.uk www.food4foodcafe.org.uk

Funding• April 2012 - March 2013: 488K• 28% of our income is from statutory funding• 31% individual donors and trusts

Income (£k) Statutory

Fundraised

Donations

Other

Social Enterprise traded income

Social Enterprise Grant income

Social Enterprise Fundraising

Volunteers• Some regular volunteers,

some one-off• Total no. of volunteers in

last year: 72• Peak at Christmas• Help with numerous

jobs: laundry, job applications, counselling sessions, running the cafe, database.

ChallengesCompetition

for funds

External economy:

Funding Cuts, less personal

giving

Doing versus showing impact

Lack of investment in

capital items/resources

Fluctuating Volunteers

Balancing running social

enterprise as a business

verses social outcomes

Public appeal of the cause

(homelessness)

Increased demand

Service User involvement in decision

making

Additional challenges with social enterprises

• Employing former service-users.• Balancing business decisions for profit verses

for social impact.• Fundraising asks as expected to be sustainable• Lots of capital start up funding available but

less revenue funding.

Rachel NewellSocial Enterprise Manager

Tel. 07824 634514rachelnewell@wintercomfort.org.uk