The ins and outs of the social enterprise support fund
The Social Enterprise Support Fund is a source of community funding dedicated to providing support to businesses recovering from COVID. In this blog, we’ll answer any and all of your questions have around this fund.
Why is this fund in place?
The main reason this fund exists is due to the pandemic. Communities were suffering, and the social enterprises that had aided them were suffering too. In partnership with the National Lottery Community Fund, five social enterprise support agencies have been chosen to deliver this fund:
What are the priorities of the Social Enterprise Support Fund?
The Social Enterprise Support Fund holds preferences for social enterprises if:
- Their organisation is working with the most marginalised communities in England
- They’re led by and/or working with disabled people and/or from Black, Asian and minority ethnic and/or LGBTQIA+ communities
- They’re led by people with direct lived experience of the issues they are seeking to support.
What other documents do I need?
Alongside your application, you need a few documents which help back up your eligibility for the grant.
- Annual accounts for the last two years – Preferably these need to be full accounts. Draft accounts can be accepted.
- Management accounts – This is the option if your organisation is too young to have annual accounts. They need to be at least up to the 30th of September 2021.
- Cashflow statement – This is only applicable if you’re applying for a grant of £50,000 or over.
- Social impact report/case study – The Social Enterprise Support Fund would prefer this to be as recent as possible.
How should the funding be used?
Generally, the funding should be used for three aspects of your social enterprise:
- Providing economic relief to your social enterprise
This could mean putting funding into marketing/advertising and developing new services.
- Improving your reach and impact within the community
This essentially falls to anyone that has been hit hard by COVID-19. Things such as:
- Helping increase employment rates
- Helping children catch up with their education
- Providing support in any form to bereaved families
- Delivering aid and support to long COVID patients.
- External consultation and training
Any further learning aimed at strengthening your organisation’s reach can be funded up to £5,000.
How much is available for the Social Enterprise Support Fund?
Grants can go from £10,000 to £100,000, however, for the majority of the grants, the maximum amount will be £50,000.
Do I need to be a charity to apply for the Social Enterprise Support Fund?
Although charities are preferable, the Social Enterprise Support Fund allows for CICs (Community Interest Companies) to apply.
As long as your company has an asset lock, you should have a higher chance of being accepted. Asset locks are essentially the promise that profits from applicants are going to social purposes, and not to private individuals.
However, you cannot apply as a sole trader or an unincorporated association.
Some other points of eligibility are as follows:
- The majority of your clients are in England
- You’ve been incorporated for at least a year
- Your income is anywhere between £20,000 – £1.8 million
- You’re reliant on income from trading (trading income, grants, donations etc.).
Can I have a draft of the application?
You can start the application form and return to it later. To do this, you need to provide your email so the website can save your application. The website will then send you a link to your application.
Some points to consider before applying to the Social Enterprise Support Fund:
- How exactly does your social enterprise address a social need?
- Do you have your details to hand?
- How did your social enterprise change during the pandemic?
- How many volunteers/staff do you have?
- What’s the timeframe for your service?
- Do you appeal to a specific section of the community? If so, which one?
- What’s your income from sales, rent/lettings, contracts, trading, donations, etc?
- Are there any changes to income due to COVID-19?
- Do you have or have you developed any fiscal management strategies?
- How buoyant are your cash reserves and have they been impacted by the pandemic?
- Do you have a clear plan of growth/recovery from the impact of the pandemic?
- Can you survive financially for the next 12 months without the aid of the Social Enterprise Support Fund?
In summary
So now you know all about the Social Enterprise Support Fund. You’ll be prepared for the next round of funding, which starts on Monday 28th February – Thursday 24th March 2022.
We’ve covered a large amount of content, so for those who need it, here’s a small recap.
Why is the Social Enterprise Support Fund in place?
A growing need to respond to the suffering endured by communities during the pandemic. The fund specifically aids social enterprises in expanding their scope of support for these communities.
What are the priorities of the Social Enterprise Support Fund?
- Their organisation is working with the most marginalised communities in England
- They’re led by and/or working with disabled people and/or from Black, Asian and minority ethnic and /or LGBTQIA+ communities
- They’re led by people with direct lived experience of the issues they are seeking to support.
What other documents do I need for the Social Enterprise Support Fund?
- Annual accounts over the last two years
- management accounts
- Cashflow statements
- Social impact report/case study.
What is the intended use for the Social Enterprise Support Fund?
- Providing economic relief to your social enterprise
- Improving your reach and impact within the community
- External consultation and training.
How much is available for the Social Enterprise Support Fund?
- £10k -100k
Do I need to be a charity to apply to the Social Enterprise Support Fund?
The fund allows for CICs (Community Interest Companies) to apply.
Can I have a draft of the application?
Provide your email to the website. They will send a link so you can resume your application later.
Points to consider before applying:
- How exactly does your social enterprise address a social need?
- Do you have your details to hand?
- How did your social enterprise change during the pandemic?
- How many volunteers/staff do you have?
- What’s the timeframe for your service?
- Do you appeal to a specific section of the community? If so, which one?
- What’s your income from sales, rent/lettings, contracts, trading, donations, etc?
- Are there any changes to income due to COVID-19?
- Do you have or have you developed any fiscal management strategies?
- Did your cash reserve suffer due to the pandemic?
- Do you have a clear plan of growth/recovery from the impact of the pandemic?
- Can you survive financially for the next 12 months without the aid of the Social Enterprise Support Fund?
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