Social Business Trust invests in The Reader Organisation

Great news for the Reading Revolution - the Social Business Trust is investing £280,000 in The Reader Organisation, helping us to reach even more people through shared reading and combat social isolation through great literature.

The Social Business Trust (SBT) was formed in 2010, offering expertise and advice to social enterprises who want to grow and scale up their operations, alongside financial investment. Looking at a social enterprise, SBT assesses the obstacles facing the organisation and establishes the best possible support from their partners, managing investment and links between enterprises and supporters.

SBT's investment in The Reader Organisation is its eighth investment in a social enterprise  - others have included The Challenge Network, the London Early Years Foundation and the Shakespeare Schools Festival - and will be made up of a £100,000 cash grant and £180,000 worth of professional support from SBT's corporate partners. The professional support package, led by British Gas with support from SBT's other corporate partners, will underpin our growth and business development, defining development strategy and recruiting new positions.

Adele Blakebrough, Chief Executive of Social Business Trust, said of the investment:

“The Reader Organisation is an incredibly inspiring social enterprise. Many people start off sceptical about how useful it can be to encourage people to read in groups, but when you see it in action the impact is transformational and uplifting. We are so pleased to be able to help them grow and reach more and more people with their wonderful work."

SBT's investment will be vital in ensuring that Get Into Reading goes from strength to strength, reaching more of the people who most need the benefits that come from sharing great literature with good company. Currently, over 350 groups reach hundreds of people each week, bringing positive impacts such as self-esteem, boosted confidence and reduced social isolation. With the investment we can go some way towards achieving the ambition of delivering 1,920 weekly reading groups within five years and engage over 17,000 individuals, bringing closer our vision of providing access to shared reading groups to everybody in the UK.

Founder and Director of The Reader Organisation Jane Davis said:

"We are absolutely thrilled to be backed by SBT in this way. The process to date has been an extremely valuable one, and we are looking forward to learning new ways of thinking and working through the support provided. The Reader Organisation has grown at a rate of about 30% since we were founded in 2008, but this is going to be different! It's really exciting to be at the beginning of a period of unprecedented yet strongly supported growth which will help us spread the reading revolution across the UK.”

SBT’s partners are: Bain & Company, British Gas, Clifford Chance, Credit-Suisse, Ernst & Young, Permira and Thomson Reuters. For more information about SBT, visit the Social Business Trust website.