MoreNESsT and Citi award the Blue Bird Foundation with USD10,000 in the 2012/2013 Social Enterprise Performance Competition in Hungary

Jul 4, 2013

On June 14, NESsT and Citi awarded the Blue Bird Foundation, the winner of the 2012/2013 NESsT-Citi Social Enterprise Performance Competition with USD10,000 for operating the Tit-Bit Restaurant (Ízlelő Étterem) in Szekszárd. The goal of this competition is to promote excellence in social enterprise development among social enterprises belonging to the NESsT Portfolio. Based in Budapest, NESsT provides capital and business development support to enable non-profit organizations and small businesses to plan for and better manage social enterprises.

From left to right: Eva Hencz, Public Affairs Officer for Citi Hungary, Andrea Mészáros, Director of Blue Bird Foundation, Anna Mészáros, member of NESsT’s Supervisory Board at the award handover ceremony

Competition applicants included organizations working with people with various disabilities, assisting marginalized social groups in order to gain employment and stimulate rural economic development and community cohesion. Among the competing social enterprises there were sheltered workshops employing people with physical or intellectual disabilities in candle and paper making, restaurants; and organizations in the fields of environmental education and skill-building of at-risk youth. NESsT staff and local business advisors screened the applicants using enterprise performance and social impact as key criteria in evaluating potential success.

Based on its 2012 performance, this year’s award goes to the Blue Bird Foundation for operating a restaurant which trains and employs people living with various disabilities and at the same time offers a nutritious dining alternative for the community. The Foundation has dual goals with the social enterprise: they wish to increase the financial sustainability of the foundation and at the same time they aim to showcase the colorful abilities of people with disabilities. In 2012, the Tit-Bit Restaurant had a turnover of over HUF22 million and provided stable and fair employment to 13 people living with disabilities.

Éva Hencz, Public Affairs Officer of Citi Hungary and Anna Mészáros, member of NESsT’s Supervisory Board presented the award to the winner at the 3rd Social Enterprise Day in Hungary.

Éva Hencz, Public Affairs Officer for Citi Hungary at the award ceremony said, “In our joint program with NESsT we have helped build close to 90 social enterprises from Hungary since 2007. Blue Bird Foundation’s Tit-Bit Restaurant is a great example of running a sustainable social enterprise that has created the resources for investing in expanding its operations and creating new jobs for disabled people who could hardly find other job opportunities in the surroundings. Building sustainable social enterprises and creating jobs for marginalized people are our top priorities in supporting the joint program with NESsT.”

“This award appreciates our great colleagues with disabilities who get up early every day to turn their disadvantages into advantages through serving the communities in our town and in the neighborhood. With delivering exceptional work they are clear evidence to the world that disabilities do not mean the lack of abilities,” said Andrea Mészáros, Director of Blue Bird Foundation upon receiving the award.

“The Tit-Bit Restaurant is an exceptional social enterprise and serves as a great model for others, because it continuously seeks opportunities to scale its social impact but never forgets about financial sustainability,” explains Anna Mészáros, member of NESsT’s Supervisory Board, the reasons behind the decision.

The Blue Bird Foundation as member of NESsT’s Scaling Portfolio is now working on the expansion of its restaurant: with a remarkable investment which will increase its capacities from 24 to 80 persons, providing the opportunity to work for additional people with disabilities.

About the Social Enterprise Day event in Hungary

The Social Enterprise Day in Hungary is an annual event organized by NESsT and other partner organizations with the aim of increasing awareness of the power and potential of social enterprise to solve critical social problems and to create economic opportunities for marginalized communities. The event brings together leaders from social enterprise, government, philanthropy, business and the nonprofit sectors to celebrate social enterprise and to create an enabling environment that fosters social enterprise. This year’s event focused on the timely opportunities that Hungary currently has to foster social enterprise building on lessons learned from the past and recent policies enacted in the EU. The day highlighted a panel of well-known speakers on social enterprise best practices in Hungary and abroad and included practical workshops on different strategic aspects of running a social enterprise. The participants had the chance to visit the Social Enterprise Marketplace where around 30 social enterprises from all over Hungary showcased and sold their products and services.