The Big Issue Group has announced that it has merged its Company frontline sales operation with its Big Issue Foundation charity frontline services, into one new Community Interest Company (CIC), the Big Issue Changing Lives Community Interest Company.
Having experienced a 10% increase in vendors in 2022 and a 20% increase in vendors needing urgent support, the two organisations will bring their frontline operations together to extend the reach of Big Issue’s services to help more people, more effectively.
To continue to provide the vendor services that are so critical at this time, all Big Issue Foundation frontline staff will be transferred to the CIC and the support staff in fundraising and finance will transfer across to the Big Issue Company. No redundancies will be made in the process.
The new CIC will bring improved ways of working under one unified team, enabling us to support more people affected by poverty and create more impact. It will further the Big Issue Group’s mission of ‘changing lives through enterprise’ and its ambitious goal of having up to 11 million people every year (by 2026) engaging with its products and services.
Over the last 28 years, the Big Issue has supported vendors through two distinct frontline services teams: a sales team and a support and outreach team. The frontline sales team has been a part of the Big Issue media business and has supported vendors to sell the magazine and to earn a living. The frontline service team has provided vendors with wellbeing, debt, mental health and employment support.
During the pandemic, the two teams worked as one to provide urgent support to vendors who were unable to sell. As society continues to change rapidly, with changing work patterns, shopping patterns and the growth in cashless society the sales and outreach support of vendors will need to adapt quickly and this will be best delivered through one combined team.
In 2022, the Big Issue Foundation supported 1,174 vendors to access support services, including housing, wellbeing, financial advice and support, employment, and food and fuel support. Vendors in 2022 rated the quality of support and the likelihood of recommending it to others as 9/10, with many Big Issue vendors citing the Foundation invaluable when it came to helping them get the support, they needed to improve their lives:
Jamie, Big Issue vendor, said: “I have experienced homelessness on and off for decades. I was an addict because I was homeless, and drugs were a coping mechanism. But I didn’t want them to define the rest of my life. I started selling Big Issue a few years ago and have made progress with the support of the Foundation. Big Issue works for me on a day-to-day basis – it gives me motivation, confidence and money in my pocket.”
Tony, Big Issue vendor, said: I’ve lived with long-term health conditions like asthma and epilepsy all my life, making it hard to secure permanent work. I found myself sleeping rough but was eventually put in temporary accommodation by the council and began selling the Big Issue. I was threatened with eviction due to length of time in the local area, but the Foundation supported me to get legal advice and the courts said because of my health conditions, they couldn’t evict me. I was also connected with an organisation to help me manage my money. I wouldn’t be here today if I was back on the streets without the support of the Foundation.”
Alison Newman, Big Issue Foundation Chair, said: “It has been an absolute privilege to lead the Foundation for the last five years and I am indebted to my fellow trustees and staff, who have created a strong and effective organisation that has grown its services whilst making a profound difference to the lives of some of the most vulnerable people in society.
“As Trustees our responsibility is to steward the Foundation to the best of our abilities. The landscape has changed significantly over recent years forcing us to think hard about the optimal way to support vendors. After extensive conversations with Big Issue Group over recent months, we have agreed to move towards a new chapter for vendor support and we are proud that we pass the Foundation onto the CIC in such good shape.”
Lord Bird, Founder of the Big Issue, said: “We are indebted to the Big Issue Foundation, its Trustees, CEOs, and staff, past and present, for the fantastic commitment they have given to all of the vendors it has worked with and supported over the last 28 years. It has provided us with an amazing platform with which to begin the next stage of our journey for vendors and others. This new structure brings together the incredibly talented and dedicated teams that both support and fundraise for our vendors.”
