We've had a busy few months at Lightning Reach! Read on to hear about our expanded range of support on the portal, where Lightning Reach is being talked out, and new functionality now being piloted to allow support workers to access the portal to find and apply for support on behalf of their clients.
Lightning Reach featured in The Big Issue article online
The Lightning Reach portal was recently featured on The Big Issue’s website to raise awareness that the portal is here to help individuals easily find financial support available from different sources that they may not have otherwise been aware of. You can read the article here.
New partnership with TSB Bank
We're delighted to be working with TSB to help their customers with their money worries and to get support to those being hit by the cost of living crisis. The Lightning Reach portal can now be accessed on TSB's Money Worries web page here. You can read more in TSB's press release here.
InBest Benefits calculator added to the Lightning Reach portal
The InBest Benefits calculator has been integrated into the Lightning Reach portal and is now available for users of the portal. This means users will be able to do a benefits calculation to ensure they are receiving all the benefits they are entitled to whilst also searching for financial support.
Support Worker Access Pilot
We’ve recently launched our pilot programme for Support Worker Access of the Lightning Reach portal to allow support workers to find and apply for support on behalf of their clients.
We were delighted by the interest in the pilot, which saw 100+ organisations apply to take part. We’ve selected around 20 different organisations across local authorities, housing associations and charities to take part in the 3 month pilot. Towards the end of 2023, after completion of the pilot, the full feature will be launched and will be open to all interested organisations to sign up, with free and paid versions available. Exact timings for the launch and pricing will be confirmed later in the year.
Awards recognition for Lightning Reach’s Founder
Our Founder Ren Yi Hooi was named as one of NatWest's #Wise100 2023 top women in social enterprise. The WISE100 recognises the most inspiring and influential women in social enterprise, impact investment and mission-driven business. You can read more about the top 100 this year here.
Ren has also been featured on the Innovate Finance Women in FinTech Powerlist 2022 in the Senior Leaders category - shining a spotlight on the amazing work of women over the past year. You can view the full list here.
New support available through the Lightning Reach Portal
It has been fantastic to welcome St Giles and St George to the portal. The charity is accepting applications through the portal for their grants for individuals on low incomes in the area around St Giles-in-the-Fields church in London to help them buy new household goods.
Lightning Reach featured in reports and publications
It was great to see our partnership with the Royal Naval Benevolent Trust (RNBT), who are delivering financial support through the portal, featured on COBSEO’s website, the membership body for the armed forces community. Read more here.
Some of our data about demographics of users of the portal was recently used in New Philanthropy Capital (NPC’s) report ‘Understanding Financial Hardship’. You can read the report here.
We were featured in an article about how fintech companies are helping to relieve the pressure from those facing financial hardship during the Cost of Living Crisis in Scotland. Read more here.
Events we have joined
The Lightning Reach team have been invited to speak at several events over the past couple of months to share more information about the portal, this includes speaking at:
A workshop ran in collaboration with the Association of Charitable Organisations (ACO) to share with their member charities how different charities are working with us to use the portal, over one year since its launch. You can view more info and a recording here.
A series of Fuel Poverty Forums run by National Energy Action (NEA) held regionally across the UK to share how the Lightning Reach Portal can help people struggling with fuel poverty. Read more about the Forums here.
An in-person event at East End Homes and a webinar run by Mobysoft to share how the Lightning Reach portal could help tenants to maximise their incomes.
We joined We Are Digital’s first IMPACT LAB of 2023 alongside other social impact orgs to work together to look at how we can create innovative solutions that will make a positive impact on the world.