Grants for essential financial support to help social enterprises during Covid, to meet additional demand; change working ways; make spaces covid secure, manage liquidity, over next 6 months.

Funding has been provided by The National Lottery Community Fund to give essential financial support to help social enterprises during COVID-19. It will help social enterprises to meet additional demands, change the way they work, make their spaces COVID-secure, and manage liquidity during the next six months. Grants are for between £10,000 and £300,000. Three rounds, first closing on 20th July.

Will fund social enterprises who have been incorporated for at least a year; had an annual income of  between £25,000 and £1.5 million before COVID-19 and was financially stable and substantially reliant on trading income; delivers social impact and supports people who are at high risk from COVID-19, or supports people most likely to face increased demand and challenges as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.

Five social enterprise support agencies have come together to deliver the fund. Big Issue Invest, The Key Fund, Resonance, the School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE) and UnLtd will jointly deliver £18.5 million in grants, with support from CAF Venturesome, the Young Foundation and Ashoka.

There is a focus on the impact to people who are at high risk from COVID-19 and/or who are most likely to face increased challenges as a result of the COVID-19, which are led by people from BAME and LGBTQ+ communities, people with disabilities, and leaders with lived experience of the particular issues the enterprise is addressing.

As the crisis is disproportionately hurting communities who already experience social and economic inequalities, the funding will support social entrepreneurs who support these communities, including leaders with lived experience.

The fund will ensure they can put their solutions into practice to help people most impacted by the crisis.The UK’s 100,000 social enterprises will be at the heart of community recovery from this crisis. Social enterprises create economic growth while helping people in need or improving the environment. Social enterprises employ two million people.

They create jobs for the most vulnerable people. Almost half (42%) of UK social enterprises seek to employ people who are typically disadvantaged in the labour market – such as those with disabilities, care leavers, ex-offenders, homeless people and veterans. Social enterprises have been hit doubly by this crisis. Vulnerable people need their support more than ever. But they are struggling to make enough income to help people, as their trading activities have taken such a knock. About half of the UK’s social enterprises could run out of cash by the end of June, as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, according to estimates from Social Enterprise UK. 

The fund is committed to inclusion, working to ensure that the grants reach groups that are led by people from BAME communities, LGBTQ+ communities, people with disabilities, and leaders with lived experience of the issues that the social enterprise is addressing. 

Deadline for first round is 20th July. Second round opens 13th August – 20th August, third is 10th September to 17th September.

Further details at: https://www.socialenterprisesupportfund.org.uk/

Voluntary Action Leeds