Social challenge and reasons for project’s initiation

Immediacy of the social problem

General: The lack of financial literacy, the lack of revenue or low profitability among social entrepreneurs and NGOs.

Specific: Rosbank seeks dialogue and partnership with NGOs to address important social issues together. Helping people with disabilities is one of the biggest and most complex issues facing us today.

External reasons for project’s initiation

Social entrepreneurs in Russia perennially encounter difficulties with funding their projects and turning profit. They are often altruistic; they come up with ideas because they want to help people, not make money. Often, they focus on just one model of generating revenue – offering paid services to beneficiaries, including people with disabilities. Since most of the people in the target audience have almost no income, social entrepreneurs have no idea how to cover their costs, how to price their services and how to ensure their stable operation. They often work for free, invest their own money, take out loans in their own name. A sustainable financial model is a puzzle which includes a number of pieces: a quality product, teamwork, a marketing strategy, finding the right partners, inspiration, knowing how to work through legal issues, etc.

Internal reasons for project’s initiation

Rosbank has been working with social and charity projects over 20 years. Start Differently is a project where we share our expertise and our best practices. For example, Rosbank employees offer pro bono consultations and mentorship guidance. By building a professional community, we help people build ties and generate new ideas. As we make inclusive projects sustainable and even profitable, we empower social entrepreneurs to make quick progress toward their goals and help a larger number of people.

Coverage

Russia

Project description

Key stages in 2018:

• Applications received through the project’s official website, https://rosbankcares.ru/, from May 24 – July 16, 2018
• 12 finalists shortlisted, August 20, 2018
• One-on-one meetings and an orientation workshop for finalists in Moscow, September 6-7, 2018
• Remote training program, September–November 2018
• Final workshop in Moscow, announcing the winners, November 22, 2018
• Transferring grants to the winners, a trip to Paris for the top winner, before April 30, 2019

Eligible applicants:

• Social entrepreneurs
• NGOs with elements of business operation

       The projects had to help people with disabilities, including the following areas: helping people with disability get employed, inclusive education, access to equal opportunities in various areas (creativity, sports, communication, etc.), health improvements, rehabilitation and psychological support.

How we pick finalists

       To become one of the 12 finalists, candidates had to fill out an application form on the official website, https://rosbankcares.ru/, and go through three selection rounds:

1. Technical selection by the organizing committee using basic criteria
2. Evaluation by experts based on four criteria: the urgency of the social issue, the efficiency of the proposed solution, prospects of financial sustainability, and the team’s potential and motivation. Each bid was evaluated by three experts: one Rosbank employee and two experts in social entrepreneurship, inclusion and business modelling. At this stage, 25 projects are shortlisted for the next round.
3. Projects are evaluated remotely, and then judges gather and vote to select 12 finalists. Judges make their decision based on the criteria listed above, plus the degree of innovation offered by the project.

EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM

The Start Differently educational program includes the following elements:

• the introduction webinar where we explain the mission and goals of the program, what modules and key events the program consists of
• a two-day workshop for finalists in Moscow where we educate competitors about business mentality, equip them with necessary skills, audit the project and identify prospects for future development
• a remote educational course, which includes the following:
  • a series of webinars on financial sustainability, social impact, media communications and promotion, teamwork, value proposition and sales
  • pro bono consultations by Rosbank employees on a variety of subjects: finance, sales, product management, promotion and SMM, media communications, business planning. This was the first time the Bank launched such an initiative, and it proved quite successful: 13 employees provided 15 consultations for projects; NPS for consultations by projects was 90; many participants indicated that they acquired valuable and helpful knowledge
  • mastermind groups (regular meetings to discuss a particular issue, brainstorming sessions offering support, recommendations and comments by independent observers)
  • working in groups with a mentor (at the initial stage, projects are divided into three groups with four projects in each, and each group gets a mentor). The mentor gets weekly updates on the progress and helps the projects to press on.
• the final workshop in Moscow where projects present their results to the judges and experts. The judges evaluate all presentations and identify three winners.

Team and partners 

Team

Yelena Kozhadei, Director for Communications and Advertisement, Rosbank

Yekaterina Pluzhnik, Head of Corporate Projects, Sponsorship and CSR, SG Russia

Kseniya Churkina, Lead Specialist of Corporate Projects, Sponsorship and CSR, SG Russia

Yekaterina Khaletskaya, co-founder and CEO of Impact Hub Moscow

Partners

• Impact Hub Moscow
• Rostelecom (on digital projects in 2019)

Resources

Financial resources

The project’s budget is undisclosed.
The prize fund was 500,000 rubles, which includes the grand prix, a three-day trip to Paris, and grants of 200,000 and 150,000 rubles for the second and third place.  Also, in 2018 the judges gave an additional prize to the project that came fourth, a 50,000 ruble grant for an educational trip from Magnitogorsk to Moscow.

Human resources

The program used experts and professionals in the areas of inclusivity, social entrepreneurship and business as judges, speakers and experts during selection rounds. These included Valery Panyushkin (Rusfond), Vladimir Filippov (Moscow City Government), Mitya Aleshkovsky (Takie Dela), Gor Nakhapetyan (Druzya Foundation), Yulia Zhigulina (Nashe Budushcheye Foundation), Olga Ryabova (independent expert in social entrepreneurship), Dmitry Ravkin (Banking Review), Evgenia Voskoboinikova (Dozhd TV anchor), Ivan Biryukov (CEO, Opportunity Technologies), Eduard Zhuchkov (Marketing Director, Global Venture Alliance), Roman Ulyanov (investment manager, Igor Rybakov family office), etc.

20 Rosbank and Societe Generale Russia employees offered pro bono consultations, sharing their expertise in finance, business planning, sales, product management, PR, SMM, etc., with participants. 

Technological and material resources

Applications were received through the program’s official website, https://rosbankcares.ru.

Time resources

Our employees donated about 100 hours in pro bono consultations.

Achieved results

Immediate results:

• In 2018, we received 154 applications from 69 cities, which was twice the initial KPI. The cities with the largest number of applications were Moscow (16%), Saint Petersburg (11%), Ufa (4%), Kazan (3%), Nizhny Novgorod (3%) and Tyumen (3%). Most of the applications came from nonprofits (53%), followed by businesses and self-employed individuals (17% each) and others (13%).
• In 2018, 11 social projects were picked as finalists: Dream Journeys (Kaliningrad), Kinesthetics (Novokuznetsk, Kemerovo Oblast), Simple Things (Saint Petersburg), Nadezhda Samoilova Children’s Centers (Saint Petersburg), Special Masters (Verkh-Neivinsky, Sverdlovsk Oblast), Daisy (Novokuznetsk), Okoyom (Moscow), Inclusivity For All (Irkutsk), Fil-In (Moscow), Comfy Things (Magnitogorsk), and Interaction (Moscow).
• Thanks to the program, 10 finalists out of 11 were able to increase their revenue, seven became self-sufficient, and four started generating profit. The finalists gave the program an NPS (Net Promoter Score) of 100. Each of them said the program produced practical improvements.
• We reviewed and collected the best practices in Russia for sustainable models in working with disabled people, providing practical guidelines for social entrepreneurs and nonprofits engaged in social entrepreneurship projects (https://rosbankcares.ru/overview).

External project assessment:

Feedback from beneficiaries

Project’s distinctive features and know – how

One of the program’s special features is that, while focused on financial sustainability,  it takes a comprehensive approach to developing social entrepreneurs. The educational program include various tutoring methodologies overseen by a team of mentors who help participants along the way. (Mentors are social entrepreneurs and experts in project areas.) Even when the program is over, they stay in touch and offer additional opportunities for developing the project: strategy sessions, pro bono consultations, invitations to events (corporate charity fairs, etc.). Also, the program included a review of the best practices in sustainable social projects which included over 30 experts. The results of the review were used in designing the program and training the finalists.

Plans of further development   

We plan to make the program an annual event.

In 2019, we renewed the program after making some innovative changes. For example, we improved the following elements of the educational program: the social impact model, product management, finance, sales and promotion. Each of the elements will now include homework and a webinar consultation. In additional to common modules, each project will have a special individual development plan designed together with pro bono consultants (Rosbank employees) and a mentor. The finals of the 2019 program will take place on November 22, 2019.

In the future, we may increase the number of participants (currently, we select 12 projects). We may also prepare an open course on financial sustainability. One of our long-term goals is to build a community of Start Differently alumni, social entrepreneurs who support each other and help newcomers through collaboration. (In part, this is already happening.)

Project’s documents

Terms and Conditions of the Contest