Make An Impact Podcast

Finance and credit play a big part in our lives. Removing or preventing access to them is hugely disruptive, as today's guest explains.
Without fit-for-purpose finance on fair terms, businesses and social enterprises can't grow, create jobs or deliver vital frontline services, and millions of households are prey for loan sharks.
Community development finance institutions (CDFIs) address the damaging lack of appropriate finance faced by many people, businesses and social enterprises. Responsible Finance represents CDFIs, and CEO Theodora Hadjimichael describes the uneven financial landscape in the UK, and:

• how her members work to get the right finance to under-served businesses and financially excluded people
• why Responsible Finance is like a 'coach' for its members
• mapping policy work to direct results, whether that's influencing Government, securing investment, working with partners and changing lives for 70,000 people every year
• how Responsible Finance measures its own and the sector's impact
• her own journey to becoming CEO of the organisation.

What next?

We have never faced such scrutiny of our bodies, or been under as much pressure to conform to a narrow definition of 'beauty.'
Ldn Dares Drama Company supports people with low confidence, self-esteem and body image issues through performing arts.
The social enterprise works with commissioners in mental health. It helps people develop and understand their self worth, build confidence and more, and has been nominated for the Innovation in Healthcare Lammy Award.
Founder and CEO Ursula struggled herself for a period with her own mental health and talks us through what its 'dares' involve, how it measures and manages its impact, and how its varied progammes help people grow in confidence and self worth and create community value.
What's an immersive treasure hunt? How do challenges and performance build confidence, self acceptance and behaviour change? How is Ldn Dares led by participants in some of its sessions? What sort of changes does that lead to? And how does it translate its impact in terms in building participants' confidence in its programmes, workshops and sessions into their day-to-day lives? Listen to find out.
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Karis Gill was already a serial entrepreneur when she discovered social enterprise. She figured gifts are a wonderful way to introduce people to what she, like Heidi, believes is the future of business.
Social Stories Club, a social enterprise Karis co-founded, offers gifts (wonderful products which make a difference) accompanied by engaging, powerful stories.
Karis describes how it maps and manages its impacts; how it uses stories; and how she and her team decide what products to include.
The business gives opportunities to people with barriers to employment and is going from strength to strength – but how did it weather the storms of the pandemic, an enormous fall in orders from corporate clients, and a cardboard packaging shortage? Karis explains and tells us the story of Social Stories Club.
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Tippa Naphtali doesn't only use enterprise for business, but also to address political and social issues and make society better.
He's been a community activist for over four decades, working in Birmingham, London and internationally. Entrepreneurial since the playground he's supported, developed and led a huge range of community development and social justice projects and organisations.
Tippa is well known for his campaigning work, calling for penal, police and mental health reforms to end deaths and abuse in custody, wrongful convictions and torture. Tippa's cousin, Mikey Powell, died in police custody having been failed by multiple agencies. Tippa explains how he's worked with some of those agencies to influence and bring about real changes.
One of Heidi's oldest friends in the sector, Tippa gives a riveting interview. This episode includes shocking, distressing content which must never be ignored alongside inspiration, laughter, hope and real impact. Tippa's entrepreneurial activities power and support his work in mental health, with food banks, and in social justice. Tippa's ability to get things done and influence change continues to inspire Heidi and many people and organisations.
Links to websites and resources mentioned in this episode:

There are three key things ethical businesses must do when it comes to their marketing, according to Jane Shaw. Listen on to find out.
Conscious customers can be incredibly vocal, so if an ethical business can build a community which loves and believes in their product or service it can be a huge asset.
Jane describes the practical steps ethical businesses can take; how she helps entrepreneurs to bottle their "why" and her own routemap to make marketing affordable and effective for small, purpose-led businesses.
A former journalist and PR, Jane also runs The Happy Families Plan , giving families the tools to stop surviving and start thriving.
What next?

There are six million dads in the UK and when Dan Flanagan's own father passed away he re-evaluated his own life. "It can be lonely to be a dad but men don't like to talk about that."
The consequences are profound and tragic. Isolation, loneliness, mental ill-health. For some men, suicide – horrifyingly, 96 men under 45 are lost to suicide each week in the UK. And the emotional availability of fathers has both an immediate and long-lasting impact on children.
A few years ago Dan started blogging about fathers and parenting and – to his great surprise – his posts became hugely popular. They resonated with many men who were frustrated they couldn't share their feelings with others, suffering in silence, or struggling with stereotyping.
He launched Dad La Soul, a "revolutionary grassroots movement that uses art, tech, music and play to battle social isolation and loneliness." The more we can do to get dads talking the better, he says.
Dad La Soul is a not-for-profit community interest company. It's now globally recognised, has been mentioned in the UK's parliament and featured in numerous media articles.
Its impact report has unlocked numerous opportunities for the social enterprise, and been recognised as an exemplary piece of storytelling and impact communication.
Dan tells Heidi how he came to launch and develop Dad La Soul and build communities where dads support each other.
He describes how it has worked with many organisations, from football clubs to social housing providers to local authorities to big brands – but it's also turned down numerous partnerships if they weren't right.
And he covers how he shook up impact reporting by necessity.
What next?