Leeds - Social Enterprise Funding
Social enterprises are businesses with primarily social objectives whose surpluses are principally re-invested for that purpose in the business or in the community.
There are a number of agencies who can provide practical help with developing your ideas for social enterprise.
The Leeds Social Business Centre
The Leeds Social Business Centre (LSBC) is a training, meeting and business centre providing ongoing training, advice and mentoring to people with mental health issues who wish to set up a social business. The Centre will provide a non-threatening setting for people to pop in to talk to qualified and experienced staff about their business idea, who will offer the resources and advice to progress that business idea right through to establishment. The Centre will also provide start-up premises - that will include personal space within an open place office that is furnished with desk, chair, PC, telephone etc (phone lines and ISDN lines are also available). Ring Lisa Burnett on 07915 296056 or email leedssbc@hotmail.co.uk or write to Leeds Social Business Centre, Buslingthorpe Lane, Leeds LS7 2DG
Some of the information about sources of funding for social enterprises has been provided funded by an organisation called Social Business Consulting. If you would like more information about the support they can provide for social enterprises, in Leeds, please Email: rob@socialbusinessconsulting.co.uk or ring Rob Greenland or Moira Halliday Tel: 0113 2443280 or visit the Website: www.socialbusinessconsulting.co.uk
Other websites that may be of interest are:
- www.startups.co.uk - aimed at people wanting to set up in business, there are also lots of good tips that would be of interest to social enterprises with a good business idea
- www.businesslink.gov.uk - sources of information, primarily for businesses
- www.sbs.gov.uk - follow the links to social enterprise, then finance, then financial links, for more info on grants and other sources of income.
Social Enterprise London have produced a useful guide - Unlocking the potential - a guide to finance for social enterprises. Further details can be found on their website www.socialenterprise.org.uk, and search for it under search resources, or ring 020 7968 4894.
Adventure Capital Fund (ACF)
c/o Local Investment Fund
7th Floor, Ibex House
42-47 Minories
London EC3N 1DY
Email: info@adventurecapitalfund.org.uk
Tel: 020 7680 1028
Fax: 020 7488 9231
Website: www.adventurecapitalfund.org.uk
No deadlines, rolling process
Offers community-based organisations several types of investment concentrating efforts on more disadvantaged neighbourhoods. They aim to help organisations become stronger and more self-sufficient through enterprise so they can become more self-sustainable and less grant-reliant. They provide access to finance, mentoring & support services.
Will: provide loans, funding & gift capital; encourage organisations to use different types of finance; share risk. They are looking for groups that want to become truly sustainable.
Esmee Fairbairn Charitable Trust
7 Cowley Street, London, SW1P 3NB
Tel: 020 7227 5400
Website: www.esmeefairbairn.org.uk
The Trust has a Social Change: Enterprise & Independence programme. This aims to help develop new ways of tackling the needs of those at greatest disadvantage through: work which enables voluntary and community organisations to achieve some degree of sustainability (for example through trading activities or increasing other earned income); social enterprises to improve their business or social performance; organisations taking an entrepreneurial approach to tackling social needs by experimenting with new methods; new opportunities for people to become more economically independent, for example by moving into paid employment.
NCVO
Regent's Wharf
8 All Saints Street
London N1 9RL
Website: www.ncvo-sfp.org.uk
Tel: 0800 2798798
The National Council for Voluntary Organisations has a "Only Connect" fund as part of its Sustainable Funding Project. This gives grants of up to £150 in order to allow groups to meet one another and explore ideas around income generation. It is sponsored by Triodos Bank and allows voluntary and community organisations to visit another group with a proven track-record in making money. Travel expenses up to £100 are eligible and the host organisation can apply for a £150 grant towards their time giving advice.
The Prince's Trust Yorkshire and The Humber
1st Floor, King Charles II House
Headlands Road,
Pontefract WF8 1DD
Tel: 01977 698 000
Email: webinfoyh@princes-trust.org.uk
The Prince's Trust provides a range of services for young people aged 14-30. Grants of £50 to £500 may be available to help you get into education, training or employment. For those looking at setting up a business, loans & grants are also available, together with ongoing business support, specialist advice and access to a business mentor.
Social Enterprise Coalition
Social Enterprise Coalition
54 Haymarket
London SW1Y 4RP
Tel: 020 7968 4921
The SEC provides a national platform for showcasing benefits of social enterprise. Sharing best practice and influencing policy in order to create an enabling environment for social enterprise
West Yorkshire Social Enterprise Link
"A unique partnership between Business Link West Yorkshire and the Social Enterprise Support Centre to deliver tailored support to social enterprises. This includes: social enterprise advisers, procurement support, business development grants, learning grants, support for specialist clusters and for social enterprises from the BME sector. The contact is now Louanne Craven, 07764 158 224 louanne.craven@blwy.co.uk or Riyaz Loonat, 07740 835 340 riyaz.loonat@blwy.co.uk
Inam Ratyal Tel: 07740 835339
Business Link, Unit 4 Meadow Court
Millshaw Business Park
Leeds LS11 8LZ
Tel: 0845 8336000
Email: info@blwy.co.uk
info@wyselink.co.uk
SESC, Pennine Camphill Community
Boyne Hill
Chapelthorpe
Wakefield WF4 3JH
Yorkshire Forward has approved a further £5.7 million in social enterprise support to be delivered by Business Link in partnership with the Social Enterprise Support Centre (SESC). The target markets are: social enterprises already in business; new start-up social enterprises; existing social organisations who want to start selling products or services in addition to receiving grants. Up until March 2009, the WYSEL will provide:
- social enterprise advisers
- business development grants to support the creation of sustainable jobs
- learning grants to support the acquisition of skills in any business-related knowledge
- Social Enterprise Loans of between £500 to £10,000
UnLtd
123 Whitecross Street
London EC1Y 8JJ
Tel 02075661100
Fax 02075661101
Email: info@unltd.org.uk
Website: www.unltd.org.uk
Foundation for social entrepreneurs. They provide a complete package of funding and support to help start up and run projects that deliver social benefit. Their focus is on supporting individuals rather than organizations. They provide Award Winners with everything they need to ensure their projects are successful, from training and project shaping meetings to Award days.
Their prime objective is to distribute Millennium Awards to social entrepreneurs. These awards are funded by income generated from an investment of £100 million given to UnLtd in 2002 through the Millennium Awards Trust.
Level 1 Awards between £500 and £5,000. Level 2 Awards can be up to £20,000
Like any other business, you can approach high-street banks and other organisations to ask for a loan but you would need to generate income to re-pay this, together with interest. The rate of interest partly reflects the amount of risk in the business and, on occasions, the bank may also ask you for personal guarantees against the loan. Understandably, people involved in social enterprises may not want to give personal guarantees for any loans that their business takes out as they are not likely to gain, personally, from any future success the enterprise may have (as this is channelled back into the community).
Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFI's)
There are a number of CDFIs which lend money in West Yorkshire, including Charity Bank (www.charitybank.org), Bridges Community Ventures (www.bridgesventures.com) and Partnership Investment Finance (see below). Further details can be found at www.cdfa.org.uk
CDFIs are a new financial tool for social, economic and physical renewal in under-invested communities. They lend and invest in deprived areas and underserved markets that cannot access mainstream finance. They are sustainable, independent organisations that provide financial services with two aims: to generate social and financial returns.
They're not necessarily any cheaper than other forms of lending - but they tend to have a good understanding of social enterprise and their terms are likely to reflect this - for example, they may allow payment holidays when cashflow is tight.
Partnership Investment Finance
Unit 1
Silkwood Business Park
Fryersway
Ossett
WF5 9TJ
Tel: 01924 237850
Website: www.partnershipif.co.uk
They manage a £37 million fund to help small & medium sized enterprises (SME's) and social enterprises access financial support by means of equity investment or loan finance. The fund is managed by YFM Venture Finance with investment from Barclays Bank. There are four funds: Equity (investments of £100,000 to £1 million); Mezzanine (£100,000 to £250,000); Small Loans (£15,000 to £100,000); and Micro (up to £15,000). The project must be a commercially viable business with under 250 employees and a turnover of under £35 million.
Specialist Lenders
Triodos Bank www.triodos.co.uk and Unity Trust Bank www.unity.uk.com both specialise in offering loans and other financial services to the social economy. Triodos have some interesting products, including borrowing communities - where a number of your supporters agree to repay a loan for a minibus for example - and communities of guarantors, where a number of people each guarantees a part of a loan.
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