Social Enterprise Support Fund to reopen with £16.3m available
Melanie May | 11 November 2021 | News
The Social Enterprise Support Fund is reopening to provide more grants to social enterprises in England supporting those impacted by Covid-19.
Grants of between £10,000 and £100,000 will be available, with Big Issue Invest, Key Fund, Resonance, the School for Social Entrepreneurs and UnLtd to jointly deliver £16.3m in total, aiming to help 500 enterprises. Money for the fund comes from The National Lottery Community Fund.
The fund previously launched in 2020 and delivered £18.7m of grants to over 600 social across the length and breadth of England.
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The Social Enterprise Support Fund will reopen for applications at 1pm on 25 November and is focused on social enterprises supporting people facing increased social and economic challenges as a result of Covid-19.
The fund is available to social enterprises if most of their beneficiaries are in England, with an annual income between £20,000 and £1.8m in either of the last two financial years. It will support social entrepreneurs who help these communities, including leaders with lived experience, and ensure they can put their solutions into practice to help people most impacted by the crisis.
The fund will work to ensure that the at least 50% of grants reach groups that are led by people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities; LGBTQ+ communities; disabled people; and/or leaders with lived experience of the issues their social enterprise is addressing.
Mark Norbury, Chief Executive, UnLtd said:
“Last year social entrepreneurs across the UK sprang into action to help their communities at a time when needs felt overwhelming. We are delighted that we can provide crucial support again at a time when communities are really squeezed and when social enterprises urgently need funding to enable them to support these communities through the next six months, while also rebuilding, adapting and significantly contributing to how the UK moves forward in 2022.
“We know that the pandemic has had deeply unequal effects, exacerbating existing barriers and marginalisation in society. The right funding must be given to those addressing these harms. Over 50% of grants will go to Black, Asian, minority ethnic and or disabled entrepreneurs. If this sounds like you, we want to hear from you, and we’re here to help, however we can. Social entrepreneurs transform our world for good, and we hope this fund offers them the critical finance they need to make that vision possible.”
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.