The hard part of Social Value isn’t making the commitment. It’s delivering it and proving what changed.
Why this matters now
Community organisations deliver frontline services in every part of the UK, often where public provision has thinned. They’re close to need, quick to respond, and rooted in the areas they serve. But they’re doing more with less. Public giving is falling, competition for grant funding is intensifying and the cost of delivering services keeps rising. More than half drew on reserves to cover operating costs last year, according to Nottingham Trent University’s VCSE Barometer.
That makes corporate funding more important than ever.
Where NT16 comes in
SVP created the Social Value TOM System™, one of the most widely used frameworks for measuring and reporting Social Value across UK contracts. Within it sits NT16: supporting voluntary, community and social enterprises through donations, whether cash, equipment or use of space. It sits under the TOM System outcome of promoting a diverse and resilient business community, and is reported as total £ invested.
It is one of the more widely adopted measures in the TOM System, with £52.3 million of validated donations to date and a further £4.5 million committed to community organisations.
But committing is only the start. Where funding stalls on its way to communities, it’s rarely for lack of intent. Discovering verified non-profits, chasing governance documents, arranging payments and gathering the evidence afterwards is slow, manual work, often tracked across spreadsheets and email chains. It takes time and expertise busy teams rarely have to spare.
“Funders rarely lack intent. What they lack is a practical route from a commitment on paper to money in the hands of the right community organisations, with evidence of what changed. SVP created the framework the sector measures itself against. ActionFunder was built to deliver it. This partnership connects the two, so NT16 stops being a line in a bid and becomes funded work in real communities.”
Mark Shearer, CEO and Co-Founder, ActionFunder
What we’re doing about it
This is exactly what ActionFunder was built for. We’ve made more than £10 million available to community projects across the UK through our network of over 17,000 registered non-profits. As a Knowledge Partner to Social Value Portal, focused on NT16, we’re turning a manual process into a repeatable one.
- Find verified local community organisations in the places you need to reach.
- Fund them directly through the platform, with automatic due diligence and FCA-regulated payments built in.
- Follow the evidence every fund generates, and carry it through to your NT16 reporting in the TOM System.
Whether it’s your first NT16 commitment or your fiftieth, it means less admin, no scramble at reporting time, and confidence the funding is landing where it’s needed.
“VCSE organisations do incredible work and in many ways are the backbone of our communities. They also need the support of businesses now more than ever. NT16 is how the TOM System captures and values that support, and this partnership gives TOM System users access to ActionFunder’s expertise in making that support happen well, from vetting who the money goes to and moving it safely, to evidencing what it achieved. I’m delighted to welcome ActionFunder onboard as a Knowledge Partner, and look forward to what this means for VCSEs up and down the country.”
Guy Battle, CEO, Social Value Portal
What’s coming
We’re just getting started. Together with Social Value Portal we’re producing:
A free, practical guide to help TOM System users deliver NT16 well, written by ActionFunder and published by SVP. Coming September 2026.
A co-hosted webinar for anyone turning NT16 commitments into real delivery. 29 September 2026, 11am. More details coming soon.
A presence at the Social Value Conference, 2 to 3 December in Liverpool. Come and find us.
