Cool2Care, a social enterprise and Community Interest Company (CIC) which supports families with disabled children and young people, received £500,000 of investment to expand its services in May.

The finance is a blended form of debt and grant-based investment and comes from a consortium of three social investors: Big Issue Invest, Venturesome and CAN.

Big Issue Invest has committed £200,000 of structured debt from its Social Enterprise Investment Fund; Venturesome is investing £150,000 in similarly structured debt; CAN Breakthrough is investing £150,000 in the form of venture philanthropy-backed grant to fund business development and diversification. Returns are capped at 10%. The impact will be measured quarterly, though draw down of funds is not dependent on performance against them.

Cool2Care was founded by  Philip Conway, inspired by his young son Shaun who has a disability.

Of the estimated 770,000 disabled young children in the UK, less than one in 10 receives care from their Local Authority. This leaves many families struggling with the demands of raising a disabled child.  Conway says the investment means up to 5,000 families can receive flexible one-to-one support. He says: “This will give parents regular help with caring, offering them short breaks and improving their ability to raise the young person at home. It can improve family relationships and in some cases help parents access training or employment. Each young person receives friendship, help with basic tasks and a chance to engage in the local community.”

Nigel Kershaw OBE , CEO of Big Issue Invest and chairman of The Big Issue, says: “There has been a lot of talk about social enterprise and the Big Society. I believe Cool2Care is a great example of both. It will make a huge difference to disabled children and their parents’ lives through a truly transformative model of care and support.”

John Kingston, director of CAF Venturesome adds: “Cool2Care is an example of a growing social enterprise that recognises the need to blend earned income with grants. We are particularly delighted to be working in an investment consortium with Big Issue Invest and CAN Breakthrough, demonstrating the increasing maturity of the social investment market in the UK.”

Andrew Croft, chief executive of CAN says: “As outlined by the government’s own social investment strategy, venture philanthropy like Breakthrough can play a catalytic role in attracting greater investment for ambitious social enterprises like Cool2Care. This collaborative social investment is a real force for good and an example we hope other investors will follow.”