CAF launches ‘evergreen’ cause-universal social investment fund
Melanie May | 10 September 2024 | News
Charities Aid Foundation’s (CAF) new Venturesome Impact Fund is described by CAF as an ‘evergreen’ fund, remaining continuously open for applications. It is also cause universal, to enable social purpose organisations to access affordable, repayable finance to grow and improve their resilience.
The Venturesome Impact Fund opens with £10mn of philanthropic capital from CAF’s private clients, businesses and other foundations, with the goal to grow available funding to at least £20mn.
Most social investments will be unsecured loans since many social purpose organisations do not have property assets that can be used as collateral and can struggle to access finance from banks. For smaller organisations that face additional income pressures, the fund can also offer blended finance packages that are part loan and part grant.
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The new fund will provide:
- Mostly unsecured loans, standby facilities and blended finance packages (part loan/part grant), typically over a three-to-five-year period with a regular repayment schedule.
- Total packages from £50k to £1mn with a fixed interest rate of 5.5% p.a.
- Blended finance packages for organisations with a turnover of less than £500k and will typically be a 70% loan/30% grant.
Ashling Cashmore, CAF Head of Impact and Advisory said:
“As we mark our centenary this year, we are excited to launch our new ‘always-on’ social investment offering to provide what social purpose organisations say they need from social investment and address where there are currently gaps in the market.
“The Venturesome Impact Fund allows one pot of money to benefit many different organisations and causes throughout the UK. Helping them to grow and accelerate their impact will improve communities and individual lives, and have a positive influence on the environment.”
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.