Fuel-cell maker Bloom Energy finally sheds cloak of mystery this Sunday. Bloom Energy is finally ready to debut its Bloom Box, a fuel-cell capable of running up to 100 homes — carrying the potential to fundamentally change how utilities and companies alike generate and distribute energy.
The Sunnyvale, Calif. company plans to unveil the massive device this upcoming Sunday on 60 Minutes. According to a preview of the episode on CBS News’ web site, Bloom has already recruited a prestigious roster of 20 early customers, including Google, Wal-Mart, eBay, and none other than the CIA. Some of them already have the fuel cells, which retail for between $700,000 and $800,000, installed. More information is sure to be revealed on the show, and again during a company-hosted press conference next week. ClearEdge is a bit different, focusing on $50,000 fuel-cell generators suited to powering individual households and depending solely on natural gas. The company fully expects to become a multi-billion dollar business in the next five years. CBS News Videos Online.
Gift Aid for CICs - CIC Association. I've written about how a CIC could make use of EIS to get tax relief for investors and you can download a fact sheet from my blog on this site.
However where you have a willing donor, who doesn't necessarily wish to have ownership of the CIC but does want tax relief, I have always felt that a far better and cheaper alternative would be The CIC in question to find a charity that has charitable objectives similar to the CIC'sThe donor gives to the charityCharity claims Gift Aid (& maybe skims off an 'admin fee' - check the tax position!) Charity passes on donation to CIC as a Grant to fund its social activities Until now I thought this might be hard to achieve, but I recently became aware of Community Foundation Surrey who specialise in receiving donations and giving grants to local charities, community groups, or social enterprises.
Their charitable objectives are wide enough to support just about any public benefit in Surrey and so donations could easily be funnelled through them to CICs. Increasing investment opportunities for CICs - Proposal 1 - CIC Association. Increasing capital flows into CICs, and how best to go about that, is undoubtedly one of the largest challenges facing CICs.
Access to secure and sustainable funding, whilst a general challenge to all small business, can prove especially tricky for CICs. Anecdotal evidence suggest both CLS and CLG suffer from systemic awareness issues when trying to access funding, (indeed trying to do anything!) And it will be interesting to see what findings come out of the questionnaire. Specific issues such as exit strategy, lack of investor awareness and the dividend cap create further challenges that require creative thinking. We think it’s important to challenge the (sometimes unduly negative and inaccurate) status quo that is the current opinion on investing in CICs. Concepts such as patient capital, debt with equity characteristics and quasi equity may sound like science fiction to some, but in practice they’re useful everyday tools that CICs can use to attract investment. What is a CDFI? Community development finance institutions (CDFIs) lend money to businesses and people who struggle to get finance from high street banks.
They are social enterprises that invest in customers and communities. CDFIs create jobs and help businesses to start and grow. They help people to pay bills, meet unexpected expenses or improve their home. They help people who may otherwise use high cost credit, such as payday lenders. They provide support as well as finance, giving extra help and advice where it’s needed. They are about people. There are currently around 60 CDFIs supporting customers in all regions of the UK. What next? Find your local CDFI by visiting www.findingfinance.org.uk.
Philantrophy. Investor networks. Grant sources.