JSSE Raises Just Under $50 Million for Charities and Special Assistance Appeals

The Jamaica Social Stock Exchange (JSSE) has raised just under $50 million for charities and special-assistance appeals, since its establishment in 2019.

This subsidiary of the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) was created to mobilise resources into the social sector, as well as facilitate stakeholder capacity-building and the supporting ecosystem’s overall development.

JSSE Manager, Nora Blake, tells JIS News that five projects were initially selected from 12 submitted to the entity, to be put to market .for financial support on the Jamaica Social Investment Market (JSIM) platform, through which corporate entities and other stakeholders are lobbied for donations, among other provisions.

These are the JaMIN Music Entrepreneurship Project, which was submitted by the Agency for Inner-city Renewal (AIR); the Alpha School of Music, submitted by the Alpha Institute; the Deaf Can! Coffee Project, for the expansion of the organisers’ experimental coffee farm; the Stop the Violence Project (formerly the Love Changes Lives) Project, which was submitted by the Spring Praise Foundation; and the Shalom Project, that focuses on mental health and wellness, which was submitted by Choose Life International.

Ms. Blake advises that two of the projects, administered by Deaf Can! and Alpha, which were seeking $7.5 million and $19 million respectively, have been fully funded.

Of the remaining three, the JSSE has raised $1.2 million of the targeted $5 million for phase one of the Shalom Project; $2.8 million of the JaMIN Entrepreneurship Project’s targeted $6 million for first phase implementation; and a portion of the $17 million being sought for the Love Changes Lives/Stop the Violence Project, which will be revised for phasing.

Ms. Blake says further to these, the JSSE received several local and overseas special appeal requests.

Among these was one from Missionaries of the Poor, headed by Roman Catholic Priest, Fr. Richard HoLung, which sought assistance for its Good Shepherd homeless shelter on Tower Street, in downtown Kingston, that was destroyed by fire in late 2019.

The JSSE received from the market approximately $1.18 million of the overall $31.3 million sought to rebuild the facility, to meet the immediate needs of the displaced residents.

Additionally, Ms. Blake tells JIS News that the COVID-19 pandemic’s onset sparked appeals from several other institutions, whose operations were under threat and required prompt assistance.

One such is the St. Ann-based Teen Challenge Jamaica, which focuses on addressing addiction challenges among young people.

“They have a small farm with a poultry operation and vegetable cultivation, from which produce were sold to the local hotel industry. But when COVID hit and curtailed activities in tourism, they were faced with a serious cash flow problem, with the possibility of having to close the venture, which would have affected the project’s mission,” Ms. Blake outlines.

She advises that the JSSE went to the market and was able to raise $1.5 million, to date, for the organisation, surpassing the $1 million targeted.

Ms. Blake says the JSSE also received a very “strong” appeal from the Engineering Department at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, through the Mona-Tech Engineering Department, which, she informs, facilitates biomedical equipment repairs, in this instance, ventilators in the public health system “that they knew they could repair”.

She notes that the JSSE was able to assist in raising the $3.5 million targeted, adding that “we were very pleased with that”, as this resulted in savings of $34 million to the Government’s budget.

The JSSE also collaborated with the Ministry of Education and Youth and the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) to raise $2.36 million, so far, for the ‘Connect a Child Ja’ Project, in support of the Government’s ‘One Laptop or Tablet Per Child Initiative’.

Ms. Blake says just before the end of 2021, the Mustard Seed Communities encountered a crisis where the lack of funds rendered them unable to make provisions of toiletries and personal-care items for the adults and children housed at their facility.

“We went to market and were able to raise almost $2 million towards that. Massy Distributors was our major partner in that effort, contributing $1.5 million in kind,” she points out.

Ms. Blake tells JIS News that the JSSE’s assistance also extended to the Eastern Caribbean, where they were able to support the relief effort in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, following the Soufriere Mountain volcanic eruption on the island last year.

“The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) reached out to the Jamaica Stock Exchange, which appealed to the JSSE. We went to market and were able to raise nearly $1.5 million for that effort as well,” she further indicates.

Ms. Blake notes that while there is a standard procedure for listing on the JSSE, provisions are made to accommodate special appeals.

She explains that the procedure entails an in-depth review of applications, with the prerequisites, including the submission of audited financial statements by the projects’ parent entities.

“Thereafter, there is a special convening of the Selection and Listing Committee of the Board, that goes through the protocols involved in [identifying] projects for selection and listing. They will make a determination based on technical and financial capability, organisational structure and governance and, significantly, their theory of change and expected impact,” the Manager notes.

The theory of change focusses on generating knowledge about whether a programme is effective and explaining what methods it uses to be effective.

Ms. Blake points out that the selection process usually lasts for one or two sittings.

“However, when there’s a special appeal, because of the urgency, there’s a shortening of the process. So, while it still must go for approval, this is fast-tracked,” she points out.

Ms. Blake advises that there are several additional entities interested in listing on the JSSE and cited a major project “that we will be collaborating on with the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica,” details of which will be disclosed shortly.

The JSSE Manager, who notes that the number of corporate stakeholders with whom the entity has partnered totals 28, expresses the hope that the level of participation will increase, as the initiative is further built out through a strong upcoming public awareness campaign.

Ms. Blake says that following passage of the Policy to facilitate Social Enterprises in the 2022/23 legislative year, it is intended to implement the JSSE’s second market – the Jamaica Impact Investment Market (JIIM).

She explains that under this component, social enterprises will be able to list and secure equity funding through public share offers.

Ms. Blake tells JIS News that the process, which is being spearheaded by the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce, “is underway… so we await that legal recognition of social enterprises.”