We’ve been named among Britain’s 100 most impressive social enterprises
Clean Slate has been honoured for its groundbreaking work with a spot in a prestigious list of the top 100 social enterprises in the UK.
The SE100 Index, run by NatWest and Pioneers Post, looks for organisations that display “social purpose and business savvy” and Clean Slate’s work with people on low incomes and its remarkable growth during the pandemic impressed the judges.
The challenges of the pandemic have seen a surge in households facing financial difficulties and Clean Slate has grown quickly and transformed its business model to meet the new demands.
Our work has never been so important
Clean Slate founder Jeff Mitchell
Our mission to support people on low incomes to manage their money, find work or boost their earnings and get online switched from in-person advice centres to phone and digital alternatives in the wake of Covid. Staff numbers have surged from 15 in 2020 to 50 in 2021.
Clean Slate’s founder and director Jeff Mitchell said: “We are proud and delighted to receive the recognition of a place in the SE100 list.
“Covid-19 has shown that many of us are only a few steps away from the poverty line. This last year, many people have experienced true poverty for the first time, while others feel themselves further away from ever escaping it. Many people are unaware of what they are entitled to, unable to get online, get back into work or access the help they need.
“Our work has never been so important and we have ambitious plans to reach even more people via partnerships with local authorities, housing providers and other organisations delivering support services.”
I was a single mum trying to find work. Clean Slate helped me with my computer skills. letting me use their computers and getting me a laptop
Clean Slate client Ellimay Wade
And the praise from the judging panel was echoed by Clean Slate client Ellimay Wade, from Bath.
“I was a single mum trying to find work,” she said. “Clean Slate helped me with my computer skills by signposting me to courses, letting me use their computers and even getting me a laptop so that I could sort out my CV and apply for jobs.
“They’ve kept in touch and been a great moral support. I was in very difficult circumstances in sheltered housing but when it came to moving to my own place this year I felt I had the skills to make my money go further.”
With her newfound digital skills and help from Clean Slate, Ellimay found furniture on free sites and discounted white goods. Now she grows her own produce, keeps chickens and goats and has a lifestyle a million miles from her previous circumstances.
Clean Slate offers a variety of programmes, including a crucial money health check, where people are taken through a simple questionnaire to assess their financial resilience and then supported to make changes to boost their finances and improve their job prospects.
More than 60 per cent of clients said they were confident their finances had improved after coming to Clean Slate, a survey earlier this year found.
Our Set up and Go sessions left clients an average of £317 better off. The six-week Walk the Walk budgeting course saw gains of £950 per client and the 12-week Claimants in Crisis course put a whopping £2,250 back in clients’ pockets on average.
The organisation has grown geographically too, with services across Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, Gloucester and London, and plans to scale up across the whole country.
“It’s never easy to make our final selection,” said Tim West, founding editor of Pioneers Post, which created the SE100 alongside NatWest. “But it’s always an inspiring exercise. Their stories remind us what’s possible when social purpose and business savvy come together, even in these times of incredible pressure and uncertainty.”
