Lloyds Bank and Bank of Scotland seek social entrepreneurs
Melanie May | 29 March 2017 | News
Lloyds Bank and Bank of Scotland are seeking entrepreneurs with ideas for social change for their programme of funding and support.
The Lloyds Bank and Bank of Scotland Social Entrepreneurs Programme supports entrepreneurs in starting up and growing businesses that tackle some of the most difficult social issues within their communities.
The programme is run in partnership with the School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE) and jointly funded by the Big Lottery Fund. It provides entrepreneurs with ideas for social change with a grant of up to £10,000, a learning programme with the School for Social Entrepreneurs, which also provides taster sessions, and a dedicated business mentor from Lloyds Banking Group.
There are three levels:
- Start Up: for projects in the planning stages but ready to start, or less than two years old, and with a project income of less than £15,000 a year (or zero)
- Trade Up: for projects established at least a year ago, and probably with at least one paid member of staff, and with an income of more than £15,000 a year
- Scale Up: for projects probably established two or more years ago, with two or more paid members of staff, and a project income of more than £75,000.
It is part of Lloyds Banking Group’s Helping Britain Prosper Plan 2017 to help people, businesses and communities across the UK by supporting skills and training, and has supported over 1,300 entrepreneurs since 2012 with plans to support 2,350 social entrepreneurs by 2020. Applications are open until 26th April.
Alastair Wilson, CEO of the School for Social Entrepreneurs said:
“School for Social Entrepreneurs’ partnership with Lloyds Banking Group enables us to deliver on our vision to reach inspired people with the desire to solve problems first-hand within their communities. The Lloyds Bank Social Entrepreneurs Programme, in partnership with School for Social Entrepreneurs and jointly funded by the Big Lottery Fund, has created thousands of jobs and benefitted over a million beneficiaries.”
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More information on the levels and how to apply, as well on the taster sessions is available on the SSE site.
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.