How Riverlution diversified its income to drive lasting environmental impact

Being mission-led is all well and good, but to grow your impact you need to grow your income too

Geoffrey Guy stepped into the role of Managing Director at Riverlution in 2022. He knew the organisation had a compelling mission, but felt it lacked the commercial resilience to match.

Based in Sheffield, with smaller sites in Hull, Doncaster, and Leeds, Riverlution is dedicated to restoring and protecting rivers and surrounding habitats. But while the brand was respected, it was still evolving beyond its roots as a community engagement project. To survive and scale, Riverlution needed to become more than mission-driven, it needed to become business-savvy.

Now, with 12 staff and dozens of volunteers, a rapidly growing commercial training arm, and a robust network of partners across Yorkshire and the Humber, Riverlution is proving that environmental purpose and commercial acumen can go hand-in-hand.

From community initiative to standalone organisation

Riverlution’s origins trace back to the catastrophic floods that hit the North East in 2007. In response, the Environment Agency and Sheffield Wildlife Trust established a partnership to engage communities in ‘soft’ flood mitigation (smaller-scale conservation projects designed to prevent flooding without large infrastructure).

Operating for years under the umbrella of the River Stewardship Company, Riverlution functioned as a community-facing brand without a formal corporate structure. ‘The idea was always strong,’ Geoffrey explains, ‘but resourcing was heavily dependent on shared staff, systems, even the leadership. When I joined, my brief was to grow the operation so Riverlution could stand on its own two feet.’

In 202, that transition achieved a significant step in its evolution when Riverlution became its own CIC. But with independence came new pressure. ‘If we don’t have a commercial mindset, then all these good things we’re doing will go away. We have to make it work as a business as well’, says Geoffrey.

A three-pronged approach to diversification of income

To ensure its success, Riverlution diversified its approach to income by building resilience through three key revenue streams: strategic grant funding, commercial training services, and strong local partnerships.

1. Grant funding, built on strong networks

Unlike many small CICs that scramble for last-minute funding, Riverlution is often ahead of the curve. That’s partly down to the relationships Geoffrey and his team have nurtured with local authorities, utility companies, and environmental bodies.

‘We’re part of networks where we’ll often hear about funding opportunities by word of mouth, sometimes even before they’re published,’ Geoffrey says. The team also uses platforms like Your Tender in Yorkshire and national tender portals to stay on top of opportunities.

Their agility is vital. ‘Just this week, we learned about a new training fund that fits perfectly with our plans, but the deadline is in a few days,’ he explains. ‘Because we’ve invested in a training manager and a new business development role, we have the internal capacity to respond.’

Takeaway: for all SMEs, relationships are as valuable as applications. Invest time in building trust with funders, join local tender networks, and ensure your team has the capacity to act fast when opportunities arise.

2. Commercial training: from pilot to profit centre

Riverlution’s training services began as a way to upskill individuals not in education or employment, using Geoffrey’s background in land-based education. But the training offer has since evolved into a commercial venture, and a sustainable income stream in its own right.

By becoming a recognised Lantra training provider, Riverlution now offers industry-standard qualifications in areas like chainsaw operation, all-terrain vehicles, and first aid. These courses attract everyone from corporate teams to individuals pursuing CPD. ‘Some book for leisure learning, some for work. It’s grown so much it now turns a profit,’ Geoffrey explaines.

Importantly, that profit is reinvested into community programmes. Riverlution sponsors at least two six-month training programmes annually for those furthest from the job market. This includes a growing number of adults with special educational needs, a group they’re now uniquely positioned to support in Sheffield.

Takeaway: start with a mission-aligned training offer, register with an awarding body to gain credibility, and reinvest profits into your social mission to enhance both impact and financial sustainability.

3. Partnerships with purpose

Riverlution’s third income stream is its partnership model with local businesses and organisations. From factory owners with riverside properties to councils needing habitat restoration, many find value in outsourcing river and land management to Riverlution’s trained teams.

These relationships offer more than just income, they often lead to new opportunities. One recent example involved building sand martin nesting habitats for Rotherham Council, a project that turned into a profitable contract and opened the door to similar work in nearby regions.

With a new Business Development Manager now in place, Geoffrey hopes to further scale these partnerships. ‘There are more opportunities than we’ve had capacity to pursue,’ he says. ‘Now we’ve got someone dedicated to building both our training and partnership wings.’

Takeaway: don’t underestimate the commercial value of your inhouse expertise. Local businesses often prefer to support purpose-led providers, and these relationships can act as a springboard for growth.

Training that builds the business

The training model has knock-on benefits beyond revenue. Many of Riverlution’s full-time operational staff are graduates of their own programmes, including apprentices now working in supervisory roles. This internal pipeline ensures that the teams delivering river restoration work are highly trained, locally rooted, and aligned with the organisation’s values.

‘We don’t just pay apprentice wages and work them to the bone, we give them a ladder they can climb.’ That approach not only generates social value, it ensures Riverlution has a reliable, scalable workforce.

They’ve even trained specialists to operate devices like the ‘Waste Shark’ — an amphibious drone that clears rubbish from rivers. ‘We were able to provide that qualification. That’s where training meets innovation.’

The role of the Help to Grow: Management Course

Geoffrey credits the Help to Grow: Management Course with sharpening his commercial mindset. ‘I’d run small organisations before, but I never had formal business training,’ he says. ‘The marketing module was a real eye-opener. In previous roles, I’d either relied on word of mouth or had a marketing department. This was the first time I realised the importance of getting it right myself.’

The outcome? Riverlution now has a full-time marketing apprentice, supported by a PR agency for mentoring and brand building. ‘Without that investment, we could have lost out on serious opportunities,’ Geoffrey admits.

The Growth Action Plan from the course also gave structure to Riverlution’s expansion. ‘It broke things down into manageable stages and helped us prioritise, especially as we scaled quickly.’

Behind every community-led project is a business model that supports it. One that’s been built thoughtfully, with training, partnerships, and commercial resilience at its core.

For other mission-led businesses, Riverlution offers a powerful lesson: you can grow your impact, but only if you grow your income too.

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