The seventh edition of the B-Value social transformation programme, promoted by the Banco Sabadell Foundation and the Ship2B Foundation and co-promoted by the Juan Entrecanales de Azcárate Foundation, has ended with an awards ceremony at which four of the finalist social entities were honoured during the Demo Day.
The support service Aquí Estoy Chat, delivered via Whatsapp and giving hope to young people suffering from loneliness, was awarded funding of 30,000 euros and a communication campaign from the comms agency After, which will allow it to consolidate and expand its impact throughout Spain. The entity The Self-Investigation, which aims to improve journalists’ mental health, received a total of 25,000 euros and talent consulting services from Salto con Red, which will help it to further strengthen its team.
For its part, Integrados, a Special Employment Centre that seeks to reduce the unemployment rate among disabled people and those with mental health issues whilst also seeking to reduce plastic waste, was awarded 20,000 euros by Sabadell Seguros, to fund a project offering socio-occupational opportunities to vulnerable groups. The entity also received strategic consulting services from PwC. Lastly, the Segunda Parte Foundation, which works to help those suffering from acquired brain damage to recover their independence and quality of life through sports, received connect-and-contrast strategic consulting with companies of the Hazloposible Foundation.
The Demo Day event, held in the auditorium of the Banco Sabadell branch in calle Serrano (Madrid), attended by key representatives from the third sector and philanthropic institutions, kicked off with words of welcome given by the organisations promoting the programme: Clara Navarro, co-Founder and Director of the Ship2B Foundation; Sonia Mulero, Director of the Banco Sabadell Foundation, and Inés Entrecanales, Director of the Juan Entrecanales de Azcárate Foundation. In addition, the event featured a dialogue between two entities that had taken part in previous editions of the programme: Javier Dias, Founder of A+Familias, and Silvia Sombría, Co-Founder of the Capacis Foundation. Banco Sabadell’s director of Corporate Culture, Emili Pascual, also took part to recognise the work of the 40 professional mentors from the Bank, who take part as volunteers in the programme to help entities enhance their value propositions. Additionally, as a new feature this year, 15 professionals from Sabadell Seguros also participated as mentors, assisting the finalist entities in the second stage of the programme.
Seven editions helping entities to transform and promote their offer
Since it began in 2017, the social transformation programme for third sector entities has helped a total of 284 social entities with their transformation towards more innovative models and self-sustainability. According to a study carried out by the promoting entities, 80% of finalists’ projects currently remain in operation and, on average, after one year in the programme, the accelerated projects have multiplied their income by 3.5 times and have quintupled the number of beneficiaries served.
In addition, following this edition, B-Value has surpassed one million euros in financial support and pro-bono awards distributed since 2017. “We really believe that the support provided over almost one year, together with the financial aid or pro-bono awards contributed at the end of the year, strengthens the projects and takes them to the next level”, states Cristina San Salvador, Director of Venture Philanthropy and Expansion at Ship2B Foundation. “Now that the programme is a benchmark after 7 editions, we can hopefully attract more funds and support more participating projects or increase the amounts awarded, to achieve greater depth and scope”, she adds.
In each edition of the programme, more than 160 professionals work with the entities for several months, delivering face-to-face and online training and specialist mentoring. “Having access to the human capital of experts from different disciplines and, specifically, the 40 volunteer professional mentors from Banco Sabadell who each year dedicate some of their own time to helping social entities that participate in B-Value, has intangible value, both for the entities that receive mentoring assistance from expert professionals and for the volunteers themselves, because of the emotional value involved in taking part in a project with a social impact .” explains Sonia Mulero, Director of the Banco Sabadell Foundation.
The organising entities have confirmed that they are working on the eighth edition of the programme which will start its call for applications at the beginning of 2024.
