UnLtd Awards

Aims/priorities: Applications are assessed on the following principles:

• Social impact: We want to work with social entrepreneurs with the most potential to create impact on people and communities across the UK. Our ambition is to work with social entrepreneurs to build a more inclusive, resilient and sustainable society.
• Financial Sustainability: We will make an assessment on the potential financial sustainability (how you make enough enough money to cover your costs), growth potential or viability of your venture.
• Inclusion: We want to ensure we support all social entrepreneurs who need us. In doing so we want to better reach those entrepreneurs who identify as being from Black Asian and Minority Ethnic communities, disabled people, those over 50, and leaders with lived experience of the issues that their social business is addressing.

Who can apply? Applications will be accepted from social entrepreneurs aged 16 and over who are living in the United Kingdom.

The social entrepreneur must:

• Have identified a social issue and developed a business model that works to solve it.
• Be committed to, and have a track record of, delivering local, regional or national social impact at scale.
• Be experienced, ambitious and capable of growing their venture.
• Have a realistic growth plan.
• Be committed to working full-time in their social venture.

The social venture must:

• Be at least one year old and ideally less than five years old.
• Be dynamic and ready to grow to local, regional or national scale and have a logical and appropriate plan to deliver this.
• Have a compelling performance to date and/or a logical and appropriate plan for rapid growth to reach local, regional or national scale.
• Not solely exist to secure investment in the year ahead.
• Target beneficiaries predominantly based in the UK.

Grant amount: The following levels of funding and support are available:

Start Your Venture - for social entrepreneurs with an idea or who are in the early stages of development.

• Funding of between £500 and £5,000 to support essential start-up costs (except wages).
• Support from an UnLtd Social Entrepreneur Support Manager.
• Access to UnLtd Connect, a network of skilled experts for advice and mentors.

Grow Your Venture - for social entrepreneurs to grow their existing social venture to help it make a bigger difference.

• Funding of up to £15,000 to support wages and living costs.
• 12 months' mentoring and tailored support from an UnLtd Social Entrepreneur Support Manager, providing advice on operations and growth strategies.
• Expert advice including access to workshops and masterclasses.
• Connections to investors, corporate partners and other successful entrepreneurs, helping the social entrepreneur to develop their networks.

Application process: The online application form is available at the website of UnLtd.

Deadline:  The following deadlines apply:

• 30 June 2021
• 30 September 2021.

Website address:  www.unltd.org.uk/awards