About Big Issue Group
Working to end poverty in the UK
At Big Issue Group, we’re on a mission to dismantle poverty in the UK through social business solutions. Turning handouts into hand-ups.
With 6.8 million people in the UK living in very deep poverty, and this number rising, our work has never been more important.
We work to create opportunities and solutions for people to work, earn, learn and thrive. And ultimately lift themselves out of poverty.
As a growing social business and B Corp the Group brings together our Media, Investment, Recruitment, Impact and Support services, all of which operate around our five impact pillars.
These pillars are the heart of everything we do. The issues that we tackle in our journalism. The programmes of work we champion to improve the lives of our vendors and recruit candidates. The investments we facilitate through Big Issue Invest and our political campaigning work to change the law and end poverty in the UK.
Big Issue Group’s five impact pillars
We have identified 5 impact pillars that we believe are vital to dismantling poverty in the UK, these provide a foundation and focus for all work delivered across the Big Issue Group:
Learning & Employment: Investing in education and skills, results in higher and more stable and secure employment, higher earnings and less exposure to low income and poverty.
Housing: Secure housing is an important step in creating a stable environment to move forward and rebuild peoples lives.
Health & Wellbeing: Poverty causes ill health, drives inequality in health outcomes and increases the use of health services. It’s expensive keeping people poor, with indirect costs to the state and lost opportunity and productivity.
Environment & Community: Community initiatives at a local level to improve our environment and combat inequality.
Financial & Digital Inclusion: We must ensure we equip everyone with basic financial and digital skills, alongside access to the internet, communication and bank accounts, critical to driving inclusion and enable earning and employment.
Every year we publish a report detailing the impact across the Big Issue Group.
Group Services
Award-winning social impact journalism, published online and in the weekly Big Issue – the product vendors sell.
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Supporting thousands of Big Issue vendors earn an income and provide access to support and training.
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Social impact investing in organisations who are providing core solutions to end poverty.
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A specialist recruitment service, supporting people who face barriers to joining the workforce with finding sustainable employment.
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Supporting businesses to show how they deliver social impact, based on 35 years of Big Issue expertise.
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