Funding Socials: Eden Court (Inverness)
30 Sept 2026, 10:00 - 13:15
- Highlands and Islands
- Funding Socials
Funding Socials is Social Investment Scotland's inspiring in-person event series designed for charity and social enterprise leaders looking for fresh ideas and connections to help boost income generation and grow their impact.
Funding Socials is an inspiring in-person event series designed for established charity and social enterprise leaders considering their social impact and growth plans. Looking at fresh ideas and connections to help boost income generation, grow their impact and gain a better understanding of social investment loan products. Social Investment Scotland (SIS) is working in partnership with Firstport and a range of other funders and support agencies to bring you this event.
Who this event is for?
These sessions have been created to support organisations that have growth plans and potential to scale their operations and impact.
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You’re likely to have been established for at least 2-3 years.
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You are considering patient finance (social investment) to support your growth plans, have visibility on how loan repayments can be met in the future (typically through a clear income stream) and you want to find out more
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Your Board is engaged and supportive of your future growth plans.
The sessions have no sector “focus”, all growing and scaling social impact organisations are welcome including those supporting arts, culture, nature and environment, child and social care, heritage, young people services.
Your hosts for this session are:
Kieran Daly, Head of Market Building, Social Investment Scotland
Kieran Daly is Head of Market Building at Social Investment Scotland (SIS) and part of its senior leadership team, leading on all Market Building income generation, programme delivery, and business development to support social enterprises across Scotland. His career spans senior roles in enterprise, investment, and the arts, including Country Manager (Scotland) at Big Issue Invest, where he managed a £1.5m early-stage fund, and Chief Operating Officer/Deputy CEO at FoodCycle in London, where he scaled its social café model nationwide.
He is currently a Board member at Impact Arts and a long-standing Board member and former interim Chair of Social Enterprise Scotland, with previous trustee roles at Time for Inclusive Education (TIE) and MsMissMrs CIC. Kieran is passionate about building ecosystems that enable mission-led organisations to thrive. A graduate of the Glasgow School of Art, he combines creativity with strategic leadership to support organisations tackling social challenges across Scotland and beyond.
Louisa Shanks, Investment Manager, Social Investment Scotland
Louisa joined Social Investment Scotland in January 2026, bringing a range of experience from across the funding and cultural sectors. Louisa joined SIS from Nesta, where she worked as a freelance Programme Consultant with the Challenge Works team, managing the delivery of a multi-partner innovation funding programme.
Before this, Louisa worked as an Investment Associate for Arts & Culture Finance (now Figurative), where she managed a portfolio of UK arts and culture organisations. Louisa started her career in film, working on the Edinburgh and London Film Festivals and as a Producer at Into Film, the UK’s leading film education charity.