Aims/priorities: The programme is focused on social enterprises supporting people facing increased social and economic challenges as a result of the pandemic. Funding is intended to support them in evolving and growing sustainable community services, in the face of ongoing disruption.
Priorities of the fund include:
- Reaching the most marginalised communities and promoting inclusion.
- Supporting social enterprises to recover from the impacts of the pandemic.
- Supporting communities to recover from the impacts of the pandemic.
Social enterprises should demonstrate that they are working with communities that are disproportionately affected by COVID-19 and supporting those communities to recover. This could include:
- Reducing poverty and/or providing debt management services.
- Enabling routes back to employment (eg skills and job training, access to vacancies.)
- Overcoming educational disadvantage.
- Improving physical health.
- Improving mental health.
- Reducing isolation by bringing community spaces back to life.
The funding can be used for two types of support:
- Funding for activities supporting people and communities affected by COVID-19.
- Help organisations overcome any acute financial difficulties they are facing as result of the crisis.
Examples of what could be funded include:
- A community outreach worker to support people to return to the local community centre.
- Pilot costs for the provision of an additional educational support service for children and young people.
- A community supermarket to provide affordable food for the local community.
- Local partnerships to provide skills training and employment for communities particularly hit by COVID-19.
The grants can be used to cover essential costs of sustaining current services or refocusing services to address immediate needs of people affected by COVID-19. This includes:
- Staff salaries.
- Project activities.
- Running costs.
- Small-scale refurbishment.
- Items of equipment to help organisations to become COVID-secure.
- Organisational development.
- Training and support for staff and volunteers.
- Contributions to fixed costs.
- Investments in systems.
- External business support or consultancy up to a maximum of £5,000.
Part of the funding can be used to fund external consultancy and business support. Grantees will also be offered two one-to-one support surgeries with social enterprises advisors and signposting to support services.
Grants must be spent within 12 months of the grant offer. This may be extended in exceptional circumstances, but no further than June 2023.
Who can apply? Social enterprises in England can apply.
The following organisations types are eligible:
- Charitable companies.
- Charitable incorporated organisations (CIOs).
- Community Interest Companies (CICs).
- Community Benefit Societies (CBS/Registered Society).
Companies limited by guarantee (CLG), companies limited by shares (CLS), and co-operative societies (or other registered societies) are eligible, if, within their governing document they have:
- A clear social purpose.
- A restriction on distribution of profits, to the extent that at least 51% of surpluses are reinvested for its social purpose.
- An asset lock.
Grant amount: Grants of between £10,000 and £100,000 are available. However, as funding is very limited, most grants will be in the range of £10,000 to £50,000.
Groups are advised that they are unlikely to be granted an amount which is more than their annual income from previous years.
Application process: Guidance notes and the online application form are available on the website of the Social Enterprise Support Fund.
Deadline: The deadline to apply is 13:00 on Thursday 24 March 2022.
Contact information: Email help@sesupportfund.org.uk
Website address: socialenterprisesupportfund.org.uk