New £17mn loan funding available to charities ‘for any purpose’

Howard Lake | 1 April 2025 | News

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Charities and community organisations can now benefit from £17 million of repayable funding via the Social Investment Business. The funding can be used for any purpose.

The Community Builders Fund is open to charities, social enterprises and community organisations across England, Wales and Scotland. Loans are available from £100,000 to £1.5 millions.

The fund is building on the legacy of the Recovery Loan Fund, which provided £16.5 million to 68 organisations. It has added five new specialist delivery partners: Homeless Link, Groundwork, Co-operative and Community Finance, Fredericks Foundation, and The Architectural Heritage. These organisations join the existing delivery partnerships with Wales Council for Voluntary Action, Resonance, Key Fund, Charity Bank and Big Issue Invest. 

The new partnerships are designed to help the funding reach more organisations taking on some of society’s big challenges, including nature and environmental work, homelessness, revitalising historic buildings. 

Loans are being offered at a fixed rate, so organisations can borrow with certainty for up to six years, knowing that the interest cost will not increase at any time. 

Additional grant support for Black and racially minoritised organisations

There is also an additional £1 million of grant funding to be given alongside loans for Black and racially minoritised charities and social enterprises. The grant funding comes from Access – The Foundation for Social Investment, and is delivered in partnership with SIB, The Ubele Initiative and Create Equity and is limited to England only. 

Nick Temple OBE, Chief Executive of Social Investment Business said:

“So many charities and social enterprises are balancing huge demand for their services with a difficult and uncertain economic environment and rising bills. The Community Builders Fund is designed to provide vital investment at a critical time, supporting organisations to adapt, grow their services, invest in the assets they need, and diversify their income streams.  

“I’m delighted that we can work together with so many trusted partners, uniting to support enterprises who are tackling some of society’s most pressing challenges while building their resilience.” 

The Community Builders Fund is open for applications from Tuesday 18 March.

About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale. He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.