NOTE: This event will be held at The Bayes Centre.
Scotland's charities and social enterprises are doing extraordinary things with too little resource and too little recognition. Meanwhile, billions of pounds in skilled volunteering go untapped, and funding flows through fragmented systems that exhaust the very organisations it's meant to support.
This evening brings together founders, funders, technologists, and changemakers to ask a simple question: what if we built better systems and used the skills we already have to change that?
Join us to learn about More Than Profit®, a new organisation launching in August supporting charities and social enterprises. An evening of honest conversations, inspiring spotlights, and connections that go beyond the room.
In partnership with:
Powered by Advanced Research + Invention Agency
Grab a drink, and join the conversation! Whether you're looking to meet potential collaborators, exchange ideas, grow your network, or simply continue the conversation, this is a great opportunity to connect with fellow innovators, entrepreneurs, and members of the community. You never know where a conversation might lead!
Find out more about the exciting startups and businesses in our ecosystem at our Innovator Showcase - the perfect chance to meet the people behind the ideas.
Join the Innovator Showcase and meet:
The Circle - Circle Scotland CIC is an award winning community interest company founded in 2016 that operates with a “more than profit®” ethos, using any profits to support social change. We operate hubs in Dundee and Glasgow that support charities, social enterprises and socially responsible organisations through affordable workspaces , consultancy, training ,networking and community focused services. Our model prioritises inclusive growth, local impact, shared ownership of opportunity and partnerships that build a fairer, more resilient economy where success is measured not only by financial outcomes, but by the positive difference created for people and places. In short, Circle Scotland CIC is a social enterprise that creates spaces, support and opportunities to help purpose-driven organisations and communities grow.
Digital Trustees Programme - Charities need boards that can make confident, informed decisions about digital, data and technology. Digital Trustees helps make that happen by bringing charities and skilled professionals together through a supported cohort programme. For charities, the programme helps them strengthen digital understanding at board level, identify gaps in skills and experience, and prepare to recruit or work effectively with a digital trustee. For professionals working across digital, data, design and technology, it offers a practical route into trusteeship. Participants learn more about charity governance, explore how their experience can create meaningful social impact, and connect with organisations that need their skills. Third Sector Lab has delivered Digital Trustees with partners including Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, Scotland Women in Technology, The National Lottery Community Fund and The Robertson Trust, helping build stronger, more diverse and digitally confident charity boards.
The Scottish Tech Army - The Scottish Tech Army is a not-for-profit organisation that connects skilled technology volunteers with charities and third sector organisations to help them solve real digital challenges. We support organisations that want to improve how they work but don’t have the in-house skills or budget to do it alone. Whether that’s reaching more people, delivering services effectively, or using technology to save time and resources.
Smart Works Scotland - Smart Works Scotland empowers unemployed women into work with coaching, confidence and clothes [all of which are provided for free], helping them to secure employment and change the trajectory of their lives. Nearly 70% of all the women we help find employment within a month of their appointment. If you could refer clients to us, support us as a volunteer coach, dresser or ambassador, or donate clothes to our wardrobe, we would be delighted to meet you.
Building a sustainable future invites us to re-examine our relationship with 'stuff': how we attach to our possessions, how they feed our sense of self, and what it would take to share them. Who said that can't be fun?
Armed with sticky notes and a marker, join us for an interactive workshop of doodling and discussion. Draw yourself surrounded by your belongings, and then we can explore our consumption, identity, and idle resources. Let’s find out what collaborative consumption would actually look like.
Come ready to reflect, challenge each other, and maybe even let someone borrow your hiking poles.
Take a seat and hear from Venture Café Edinburgh Director, Claudia Cavalluzzo who will go through how to make the most of a Thursday Gathering and give you a quick preview of what's in line for this week's event.
More Than Profit® will launch at the start of August, making this event the first public gathering to bring together the people and organisations it exists to serve. Hear directly from Professor Kirsty Thomson-Gillespie about this new organisation and what it means for charities, social enterprises, and funders navigating a fragmented system.
Meet inspiring founders as they share their journeys at our Social Impact Spotlight.
What does it take to build organisations that can survive, scale, and sustain their impact? A frank conversation between social enterprise founders, funders, and sector leaders on where the system is failing and what it would look like if it worked.
We’re bringing a bit of Fringe to Venture Café Edinburgh this week with comedian (and CEO & Co-founder of Creative Entrepreneurs Club) Rachael Arnold!
NOTE: This event will be held at The Bayes Centre.
Scotland's charities and social enterprises are doing extraordinary things with too little resource and too little recognition. Meanwhile, billions of pounds in skilled volunteering go untapped, and funding flows through fragmented systems that exhaust the very organisations it's meant to support.
This evening brings together founders, funders, technologists, and changemakers to ask a simple question: what if we built better systems and used the skills we already have to change that?
Join us to learn about More Than Profit®, a new organisation launching in August supporting charities and social enterprises. An evening of honest conversations, inspiring spotlights, and connections that go beyond the room.
In partnership with:
Powered by Advanced Research + Invention Agency
Grab a drink, and join the conversation! Whether you're looking to meet potential collaborators, exchange ideas, grow your network, or simply continue the conversation, this is a great opportunity to connect with fellow innovators, entrepreneurs, and members of the community. You never know where a conversation might lead!
Find out more about the exciting startups and businesses in our ecosystem at our Innovator Showcase - the perfect chance to meet the people behind the ideas.
Join the Innovator Showcase and meet:
The Circle - Circle Scotland CIC is an award winning community interest company founded in 2016 that operates with a “more than profit®” ethos, using any profits to support social change. We operate hubs in Dundee and Glasgow that support charities, social enterprises and socially responsible organisations through affordable workspaces , consultancy, training ,networking and community focused services. Our model prioritises inclusive growth, local impact, shared ownership of opportunity and partnerships that build a fairer, more resilient economy where success is measured not only by financial outcomes, but by the positive difference created for people and places. In short, Circle Scotland CIC is a social enterprise that creates spaces, support and opportunities to help purpose-driven organisations and communities grow.
Digital Trustees Programme - Charities need boards that can make confident, informed decisions about digital, data and technology. Digital Trustees helps make that happen by bringing charities and skilled professionals together through a supported cohort programme. For charities, the programme helps them strengthen digital understanding at board level, identify gaps in skills and experience, and prepare to recruit or work effectively with a digital trustee. For professionals working across digital, data, design and technology, it offers a practical route into trusteeship. Participants learn more about charity governance, explore how their experience can create meaningful social impact, and connect with organisations that need their skills. Third Sector Lab has delivered Digital Trustees with partners including Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, Scotland Women in Technology, The National Lottery Community Fund and The Robertson Trust, helping build stronger, more diverse and digitally confident charity boards.
The Scottish Tech Army - The Scottish Tech Army is a not-for-profit organisation that connects skilled technology volunteers with charities and third sector organisations to help them solve real digital challenges. We support organisations that want to improve how they work but don’t have the in-house skills or budget to do it alone. Whether that’s reaching more people, delivering services effectively, or using technology to save time and resources.
Smart Works Scotland - Smart Works Scotland empowers unemployed women into work with coaching, confidence and clothes [all of which are provided for free], helping them to secure employment and change the trajectory of their lives. Nearly 70% of all the women we help find employment within a month of their appointment. If you could refer clients to us, support us as a volunteer coach, dresser or ambassador, or donate clothes to our wardrobe, we would be delighted to meet you.
Building a sustainable future invites us to re-examine our relationship with 'stuff': how we attach to our possessions, how they feed our sense of self, and what it would take to share them. Who said that can't be fun?
Armed with sticky notes and a marker, join us for an interactive workshop of doodling and discussion. Draw yourself surrounded by your belongings, and then we can explore our consumption, identity, and idle resources. Let’s find out what collaborative consumption would actually look like.
Come ready to reflect, challenge each other, and maybe even let someone borrow your hiking poles.
Take a seat and hear from Venture Café Edinburgh Director, Claudia Cavalluzzo who will go through how to make the most of a Thursday Gathering and give you a quick preview of what's in line for this week's event.
More Than Profit® will launch at the start of August, making this event the first public gathering to bring together the people and organisations it exists to serve. Hear directly from Professor Kirsty Thomson-Gillespie about this new organisation and what it means for charities, social enterprises, and funders navigating a fragmented system.
Meet inspiring founders as they share their journeys at our Social Impact Spotlight.
What does it take to build organisations that can survive, scale, and sustain their impact? A frank conversation between social enterprise founders, funders, and sector leaders on where the system is failing and what it would look like if it worked.
We’re bringing a bit of Fringe to Venture Café Edinburgh this week with comedian (and CEO & Co-founder of Creative Entrepreneurs Club) Rachael Arnold!