„Social business brings enormous benefits to society, but it is still commonly believed that it cannot or should not be profitable. This perception hinders organisations from expanding and making a bigger difference in their chosen social field – after all, for a business to fulfil its mission, it needs to be efficient in every sense, including the financial one. And in order for a social business to attract funding from investors or donors, it needs to be able to measure and manage the social impact it makes. In this project, our bank’s employees will voluntarily help small and medium-sized businesses operating in the field of social business to learn how to assess their current business situation and plan measures to improve their efficiency,“ says Vytis Žegužauskas, head of corporate clients at Luminor bank.
„The potential of social business is growing. The main difference between this type of business and traditional business is the social change it creates in society. Therefore, it is time to carefully review the social business strategy and help companies put an impact measurement system in place to ensure that their work delivers even better results,“ says Jurgita Ribinskaitė-Glatzer, founder of Geri Norai LT.
The Poveikio Laboratorija project will run for six months, from May to October. During the impact management training, participants will work with experienced mentors to understand how their activities can be measured and analysed. In addition, experts from Luminor bank and other companies will share their knowledge on how much data is needed to demonstrate an organisation’s impact, what specific impact indicators should be measured and how to do it. Participants will also learn how to communicate the impact they create to stakeholders – the public, investors, and donors.
The programme will culminate in a final presentation session where organisations will try to present their social business and its impact to leave the jury in no doubt as to whether it is worth investing in. The main winner will be awarded a Luminor grant to support the development of their organisation.
The selection process for the project Poveikio Laboratorija will run until April 24 and is open to civil society organisations and social business representatives. Ten organisations will be invited to participate in the six-month impact management programme.
For more information on the project: https://gerinorai.lt/poveikio-laboratorija/
