Hoping for a quieter August

In the lead up to the summer, working at the frantic pace that I do every day, I always fondly imagine that work will quieten down in August and that I will have time to draw breath. Why I even think this I don’t know, considering all my Augusts at the cdfa have been equally as hectic. And this year has proved no different. There was I, still hoping for a slowing of pace, when up popped a series of ideas, projects and initiatives all of which have rapidly approaching deadlines. Working with BIS, DWP, the banks and Yorkshire Forward and others on time-critical activities is both exhilarating and exhausting. Most of them are still in early stages so there will be more about them in another blog. Lest you think I do all this by myself, I would like to acknowledge the sterling efforts of cdfa staff who are always hard working, helpful and flexible in their approach: they need to be!

Of course we have our Annual General Meeting coming up on 24th September: the add-on discussion will be with ClearlySo, a social enterprise which is looking at the possibility of setting up a dedicated investment portal on their website to put CDFIs in touch with investors. Is this what our members want? If so, what should this website contain? How could it best be used? These are just some of the important questions to explore before we take the idea further. I believe the time has come for us to use technology to create a usable investment ‘broker’ for the sector, so I would be really interested to hear what our members think. AGM notifications will be going out to members at the end of the month, so look out for yours and book your place.

Many of you will know there is a government consultation open at the moment on the Social Investment Bank. I know this bank will hold the key to supporting the CDFI sector on a long term basis, so we need to put in a response that reflects the views of our membership. This is absolutely critical. The Office of the Third Sector has agreed to talk to members next month and attendance at that meeting will be very important indeed. To find out more and book your place see our website.

On the homefront

Saw two films recently: Bruno and Coco avant Chanel. Two fashionistas changing the world, pushing boundaries and creating scandals. I really think they should be introduced to each other. Now that would make an interesting film!