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Social Impact Partnerships

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We are seeking partners who want to…  

  • Make a real, lasting difference, to individuals and communities, levelling the playing field and offering equal opportunities 

  • Invest in the future of the young people in Cambridgeshire 

  • Promote social inclusion, economic empowerment and greater employability 

  • Enhance education, skill development, and employment retention 

  • Help build confidence, reduce vulnerability and empower dreams and ambition 

  • Support positive mental health and build resilience in our community 

  • Encourage social connections, community involvement and fight financial inequality

  •  We invite partners who are ready to think creatively, innovatively and work collaboratively to address community challenges  

Some of our partners and supporters

 

 

 

What we need from our partners 

Financial support is certainly welcome, especially as our funding from the local authority has not increased in over a decade resulting in a real-time cut of 25%.  This has effectively reduced our ability to provide full support services to residents. 

However, we know that financial contributions alone aren’t enough.  We are seeking partners who can also offer support in the following ways: 

  • Practical support through volunteer opportunities (e.g. gardening, decorating, expertise)  

  • In-kind contributions such as professional expertise including legal advice  

  • Work placement, apprenticeship and mentoring opportunities 

  • Donated items 

  • Raising awareness about our campaigns and the work we do within their networks, both locally and with their business community 

  • Lobbying local and national governments for policy change to better support our mission 

What we offer our partners 

By partnering with us, you’ll have the opportunity to make a direct, individual impact.

Here’s what you can expect in return: 

  • Social Value and CSR – We measure our social impact using tools to capture social value (HACT’s UK Social Value Bank), economic value (Local Multiplier Effect tool) and value for money (HM Treasury and New Economy Manchester cost benefit analysis) and we will share the results of these assessments with our partners  

  • Networking opportunities – As a well-established local player, we are keen to connect our partners with our extensive network of community leaders, organisations and stakeholders 

  • Making connections with potential employees – As a county-wide housing provider, we serve a diverse and extensive segment of the community, reaching a broad group of potential workforce members. 

  • Impact reporting – We will provide detailed reports on how your support has created meaningful outcomes, whether through financial contributions or practical support 

  • Transparency – We will clearly outline how funds are managed and distributed, ensuring accountability and trust through regular updates 

  • Real difference – Although we respect the anonymity of our recipients, we will regularly share the stories of how your support is making a difference through our Partnership Newsletter 

  • Recognition – Our regular Partnership Newsletter will acknowledge your contributions, highlighting your role in creating positive change 

Publicity 

We recognise the importance of visibility for our partners, and we are committed to promoting your involvement in our efforts.  Here’s how we’ll ensure your contributions get noticed:

  • Media coverage – Partners will be highlighted in press releases, social media mentions and local media opportunities around our campaigns 

  • Logo placement – Your company’s logo will be featured on campaign materials, website and press materials associated with our activities 

  • Case studies and testimonials – We’ll provide regular updates and share the positive impact made on individual lives, giving you tangible evidence of how your support is making a difference 

 Ways for your employees to get involved

  • Volunteering opportunities – Your employees can get involved in hands-on ways 

    • Decorating projects in our services e.g. painting communal space 

    • Gardening projects in our services and homes e.g. garden clearance, creating vegetable plots and gardening beds 

    • Shoebox Appeal team building opportunities 

  • Mentoring Opportunities – Your employees can participate in our mentoring program either individually, as part of their Continuing Professional Development, or through a corporate-sponsored initiative. 

  • Get involved in our annual Christmas Shoebox Appeal by donating a gift for those living in supported housing throughout Cambridgeshire 

  • Sign up to our appeals for individual item donation requests 

  • Raise individual donations for free when shopping online via EasyFundraising 

  • Raise money for our campaigns via our JustGiving page by taking part in a sponsored event 

  • Payroll donations

Our current partnership campaigns – For the next two years, we have identified four campaigns that we are inviting partners to get involved with:

CHS Employment Fund

The CHS Employment Fund plays a crucial role in supporting young people aged 16–25, living in our supported housing services who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, who are striving to achieve independence through employment.  

Many of these young people face financial barriers due to the complex housing benefit system which makes them financially worse off when they start working. Rent in supported housing services is higher than in the private sector because it includes the one-to-one support to residents which provides life skills training, emotional support, and job-readiness. For residents not working, housing benefit will pay all but a nominal amount of the rent, typically £14.05 a week. However as soon as our residents start working, they see a significant cut in their housing benefit which means they pay a disproportionate amount of their income on rent. This disincentivises them to find work and leaves them more vulnerable to long-term unemployment, anti-social behaviour, exploitation, or criminality. 

Our young people are some of the most disadvantaged in our society having already lived through a difficult childhood either in care, dealing with bereavement and experiencing abuse and/or neglect. But they have big ambitions to build a better future for themselves and want to work. To encourage our young people into employment, we have capped the rent for residents who are working to £119.05 a week but there is no local authority funding to cover the gap between the reduced housing benefit and the actual rent. The CHS Employment Fund was established to bridge this gap by seeking grants and donations from local businesses and organisations who want to invest in the future of young people in their communities. The Fund ensures that these young people can pursue their goals without the risk of losing essential support helping them to build a better future. 

When It’s Needed (WIN)

When It’s Needed (WIN), was set up in 2018 to provide support to the young people living in our supported housing services. In 2024, this support was extended to young people living in CHS general needs homes aged 16-25 years old.  This fund provides three types of support to help level the playing field and give young people the same opportunities as their peers: 

  • ‘Community gift’ – we reach out to the local community to source support needed (donated items e.g. clothing, equipment) through our local community appeals 
  • Financial support – we use the financial donations we receive to pay for anything that cannot be sourced/donated from the local community e.g. forms of ID, travel costs to college, eye tests/glasses or prescriptions, educational course registration fees, equipment needed for new job (work boots) 
  • Facilitate practical support or work experience 

The aim of WIN is to be able to step in, ‘when it’s needed’. It offers support for things that would normally be provided by family and friends, often without a second thought, but either because the young person is estranged from their family or their family are living in poverty, this isn’t an option. For many families, often the support needed by the young person will rarely be a priority when household budgets are squeezed. If we can step in and provide something that is needed, this will ease the pressure on the household budget whilst still ensuring the young person gets what they need. 

Young People’s Mentoring Scheme

The young people living in our supported housing services are some of the most disadvantaged in our society. They are disproportionately impacted by poor social networks and support, lack of stability, traumatic histories, structural inequalities, isolation and low access to education and work and without additional support this will have a lifelong impact on our young people. 

Whilst our support teams do an amazing job and deliver what support they can, funding constraints restrict how much support they can offer on an individual basis.  Offering one-to-one mentoring to our young people will contribute significantly to their personal and professional development, providing support, assistance, encouragement and inspiration to the young person at a time of transition and over a sustained period of time. 

Working closely with Goal 17, specialists in young people’s mentoring, we will recruit mentors who have a genuine interest in the wellbeing of young people who are reliable, dependable and trustworthy. They will then establish a process for matching mentors with mentees taking interests, career goals, and personal preferences into consideration. Our mentoring scheme will provide skills development, career guidance, confidence building, personal growth, sharing knowledge, leadership, goal setting and planning, emotional support, diversity and inclusion.

Young Parent’s Nursery Bursary

Our Young Parent Project provides accommodation and support to young parents and their children who are at risk of homelessness. As part of this support, we also run our Young Parent Project Nursery Bursary Fund which provides financial support to our young parents for up to two days of childcare a week for children aged six months and above.  

With costs at an all-time high, early access to nursery childcare is prohibitive to most of our young parents who are on low-income benefits. Although there are government-funded early education schemes in place that offer free childcare to parents of young children, these are only available to working parents (minimum of 16 hours a week).  Our parents and their children are only entitled to free childcare once the child is two years old.  Therefore, the children of our young parents are missing out on the crucial early year’s socialisation and learning that will put them at a disadvantage right from the beginning of their young lives. 

With support from our bursary, our young parents can use this time to return to work, continue with their education or to volunteer.  Parents contribute a £3 a day subsidy towards the cost of childcare and can choose their preferred childcare provider to best suit their individual needs e.g., close to work or college. 

Who we are 

Founded in 1927, Cambridge Housing Society (CHS) is a housing association with over 3,000 homes in Cambridgeshire. As one of only two independent housing associations working just in Cambridgeshire, we are the only one to offer a blend of affordable rented homes, specialist supported housing and community services. With nearly 100 years working within the Cambridgeshire community, our strength lies in understanding the unique challenges faced by the local community and our close relationships with individuals, local organisations and charities allows us to take a practical and impactful approach to addressing the needs of local communities.

We are a trusted local partner, frequently identifying gaps and connecting others to help provide solutions.  Whether creating local charity networks or working collaboratively with local government, we are committed to improving the lives of those living in the communities we serve. 

Whilst we often lead the way in identifying community needs, we recognise that we may not always be best positioned to implement solutions.  That is when we reach out to our extensive local network and help bring together organisations who can develop and deliver the most effective response.  

Why we’re seeking partnerships 

At CHS, our mission is simple: to enable individuals to flourish by providing secure, affordable housing and creating opportunities for personal growth. Yet, for many, significant barriers exist that prevent access to these opportunities. These challenges often exceed our capacity to address them alone and that’s why strategic partnerships are vital in helping us connect people with the services, care, and support they need. 

Our partnerships have always been grounded in social value, and we have a strong track record of collaborating with local organisations to provide meaningful support to those in greatest need. By working together, we can make a more substantial and lasting impact. 

Bespoke and innovative approach 

In addition to these four campaigns outlined here, we welcome the opportunity to work with partners who want to think outside the box in finding ways to support the local community. 

Get in touch

To find out more about how we could work together to bring about real change within Cambridgeshire, please get in touch 

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