An organisation (“the organisation” throughout this guide) that operates with the primary aim of achieving measurable social and environmental impact. Social purpose organisations include charities, non-profit organisations, and social enterprises (registered as e.g. Community Interest Companies, cooperatives or Industrial and Provident Societies, limited companies). Throughout this guide, “social purpose organisation” (“the organisation”) is used to refer to organisations that are themselves generating impact directly, while social purpose funds or social investment finance intermediaries (SIFIs) are included in the term impact investor (“the investor”).
