We are thrilled to announce that our investee Furniture Resource Centre (FRC Group) won Social Enterprise of the Year at last night's UK Social Enterprise Awards 2019, held in the magnificent Guildhall.
The UK Social Enterprise Awards run by Social Enterprise UK, the national membership body for social enterprises, recognise the nation’s most pioneering social enterprises. The awards event is the biggest celebration of social enterprise in the country and was a truly inspiring and entertaining evening.
“We are proud to support Furniture Resource Centre to help them in the next stage of their growth. We are also delighted to see that so many of our long-standing investees were included in the shortlist; getting the recognition they deserve.”
Holly Piper, Head of CAF Venturesome
From grassroots Liverpool, spreading across the north in 30 years
Furniture Resource Centre (FRC Group) is a Liverpool based social enterprise, now with sites in Manchester, Oldham and North Tyneside, providing essential furniture to poorer households alongside jobs and workplace training.
FRC has reused over one million items of furniture, delivered new and used furniture to over 155,000 families, trained over 450 people, awarded 2,500 qualifications along the way and supported 500 volunteers.
As well as paying all their staff a living wage, the FRC’s paid training programme offers people in need of a helping hand to move either from unemployment, or insecure low-paid employment, into a sustainable job. The FRC Group also runs a high street store in Liverpool city centre providing “pre-loved” furniture items at steep discounts for the local community.
They marked their 30th anniversary by increasing their turnover from £7m to £10m per annum with help from a £400,000 social investment in the form of a secured loan from CAF Venturesome.
Fewer children being taken into care
They have helped families get a good night’s sleep, have somewhere to sit and share a meal together, cooked on a cooker they have provided with food stored in one of their fridges. They have helped them to make a house a home. Their new Safety Net scheme, delivered with Liverpool City Council’s Children’s Services Instant Response team literally keeps families together and helps to prevent children being taken into care because their homes are not fit for purpose due to the lack of essential furniture items.