# Charities Act 2011, Section 292A: Meaning of “social investment”


(1) This section applies for the purposes of this Part.
(2) A social investment is made when a relevant act of a charity is carried out with a view to both—
(a) directly furthering the charity's purposes; and
(b) achieving a financial return for the charity.
(3) References to an act of a charity are, in the case of an unincorporated charity, to an act of the charity trustees.
(4) A relevant act of a charity is—
(a) an application or use of funds or other property; or
(b) taking on a commitment in relation to a liability of another person (such as a guarantee) that puts the charity's funds or other property at risk of being applied or used.
(5) An act mentioned in subsection (4)(a) is to be regarded as achieving a financial return if its outcome is better for the charity in financial terms than expending the whole of the funds or other property in question.
(6) A commitment mentioned in subsection (4)(b) is to be regarded as achieving a financial return if—
(a) it is not called upon; or
(b) it is called upon without resulting in the expenditure of the whole of the funds or other property put at risk.
(7) The fact that a relevant act may also have results other than those mentioned in subsection (2)(a) and (b) does not prevent the carrying out of that act being regarded as the making of a social investment.
(8) The fact that carrying out a relevant act of a charity is regarded as the making of a social investment for the purposes of this Part does not of itself make the act an investment for any other purpose.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2011/25/section/292A (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/charities-act-2011/section-292A
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.