29th May 2025
Meeting Anna led to an innovative new giving model and a collaborative relationship that has spanned two decades. We spoke to Nigel Kershaw OBE, Chair of Big Issue Invest, about working with Prism and what he thinks the future holds for social investment.
Back in 2009, social investment was still relatively unknown. Big Issue Invest had been co-founded by Lord John Bird and Nigel in 2004, and Nigel was on the fundraising trail to support its new social investment model. That’s when he met Anna Josse, Prism’s Founder. Their shared entrepreneurial spirit sparked a lasting collaboration and an innovative new approach to social investment.
Big Issue Invest is the investment arm of The Big Issue, dedicated to tackling poverty and social inequality by supporting enterprises that deliver positive social impact. They currently have 140 organisations in their portfolio and last year brought £30 million in new funding, bringing funds under their management up to £68 million.
Prism developed a new model with Big Issue Invest
Nigel first came across Prism and its founder Anna while sitting on a panel discussing new social investment opportunities for philanthropists.
“In those days, it was new; nobody really knew what we were talking about. I was on the panel at Prism including Stephen Brenninkmeijer a Dutch investor whose family were prolific in social investment in the early days.”
Nigel and Anna realised their organisations had shared values and vision, and she was keen to help find investors. This pioneered the way for Prism donors to become early investors into social enterprises by supporting Big Issue Invest. Prism pooled the investments made by its clients and the return on these investments went back pro-rata to the client’s Donor Advised Funds, allowing them to use these funds to support other charitable causes.
“It was great working with Anna. She’s got a real entrepreneurial spirit and energy—the whole Prism team have.”
The early challenges
What was the response to the new investment model in the early days?
“The Big Issue, co-founded by Lord John Bird, was started with a £300,000 investment from co-founder Gordon Roddick and we wanted to replicate what he had done for us by investing in social enterprises that were preventing poverty. Social investment was so new; I did a lot of talks about how the social investment models would work and what investors would get in return. But it was hard. I think I had over 450 people on my initial list, and by the end, I had 22 pioneering investors including Prism —but it was a start. Sales strategy is great, but when innovating sometimes you just need to kiss a lot of frogs!
Big Issue Invest has grown hugely over the years, investing in enterprises across the UK. Last year, over 1.8 million people were supported through their investments. They provide much more than just money – their team is hands-on, offering support and advice at each stage of the business journey.
“People believe that you can’t do good things through charity business but we’re saying that actually, you can do good things through business and investment.”
“Our co-founder was Gordon Roddick of The Body Shop, which transformed the face of the high street. When Anita Roddick’s lorries were going down the road – one side with foot lotion ads and the other side with an awareness campaign against domestic violence. It wasn’t a CSR [Corporate Social Responsibility] initiative; it wasn’t charity. There was no contradiction promoting the values of the company. They were totally intertwined.”
Collaboration and innovation with Prism
Over the years, either Big Issue Invest or Prism have reached out for support on new ideas and projects. Sometimes it’s gone brilliantly, like with the Columbia ‘Threadneedle UK Social Bond fund’. At other times, it has been more of a challenge, but the energy and drive to find innovative solutions is a value both organisations share. “Sometimes when we announce something, I’ll get an email from Anna saying, ‘How can we help?’ She’s so proactive.”
The future of social investment
A lot has happened over the last 20 years – more people are aware of different models and opportunities.
“The mainstream has changed. I think we’ve impacted the mainstream so that you’re seeing more and more funds now that are about positive societal impact. And I don’t think that was true when we launched.”
Nigel thinks the next 20 years need to shift the focus from philanthropy to social investment.
“I think that if we carry on just raising philanthropic capital for the next 100 years, we’ll be doing the same thing. What we’ve got to be talking about is how we create systemic change, rather than chasing the money to do more and more emergency work. It must be about sustainable prevention.
“There’s nothing wrong with philanthropy and of course we need a humanitarian response to emergencies. We need to be out there asking ourselves: how can we make philanthropy redundant! The conversations need to be about prevention and sustainable solutions.”
Shaping the Future of Giving
In the meantime Prism is here to help the innovators, change-makers and donors make positive changes in the world and support incredible initiatives like Big Issue Invest.
This year, Prism celebrates 20 years of shaping the future of giving. We have raised over $1 billion for charitable causes around the world, working with changemakers like Nigel. If you would like to read more about the other inspiring people and projects we’ve supported, read more in our spotlight section.
