Business support
Scottish Hydro Electric Community Trust
Please note the closing date for applications are Monday 20 May and Monday 2 September 2024
The trust is intended to support charities and community groups with the cost of an electricity supply connection to a community project - to a new property or to upgrade an existing supply. The level of award granted is at the sole discretion of the Trustees. For community projects, a grant of routinely between 50% and 75% may be awarded and the benefit to the community will influence the grant
UnLtd
Please note the closing dates for applications are Sunday 30 June and Monday 30 September 2024
Grants plus business support are available to social entrepreneurs that are looking to start or grow an existing social venture through 2 funding streams
- Grants of up to £18,000 to grow an existing social enterprise that has been operating between 1 and 4 years
- Grants of up to £8,000 for social businesses not yet established or been running under a year
UnLtd are committed to providing 50% of their awards to Black, Asian and minority ethnic social entrepreneurs, and/or disabled social entrepreneurs.In addition to the Awards, UnLtd has two focus areas where they think social entrepreneurs can make a big difference. UnLtd has dedicated teams and specialist support available to social entrepreneurs with ideas to help people in the areas of Healthy Aging and Access to Employment
DPO Centre Charity and Community Fund
Please note DPO Centre has set aside a £150,000 funding pot, split into 3 application periods throughout the year. The opening date for applications is Saturday 1 June 2024
This fund provides charities and not-for-profit organisations with access to their data protection consultancy services at an 80% reduced rate. Applicants can apply for up to £10,000 for consultancy services including data protection training, policy drafting and reviews, data sharing, impact assessments and gap analysis from subject matter experts and data protection professionals to help decrease the potential for compliance failure across their organisation, leading to fewer data breaches.
Mandi Conway Fundraiser Training Fund
Please note applications are reviewed on a monthly basis
Fundraising Everywhere’s Mandi Conway Fundraiser Training Fund helps fundraisers access professional development opportunities. The fund is for employed fundraisers working at a UK-based charity who haven't been allocated any budget for training. You can apply to receive full or partial funding for your next course or conference.
Digital Infrastructure Development - Open Grants Programme
The Clothworkers' Foundation's eligibility criteria for applications to their Open Grants Programmes has expanded to include digital projects beyond hardware. One-off funding will now be considered for some types of digital software and products. Their support aims to enable organisations to be more sustainable, engage more people more effectively, and support their staff and volunteers to do their work more efficiently.
Investing in Enterprise Fund
Foundation Scotland offers blended grant and loan investment to social enterprises, community organisations and charities working across Scotland. The fund can invest between £10,000 and £250,000 per organisation; up to 25% of this can be in the form of a non-repayable grant and the remainder a repayable loan.
Investments made by this fund must demonstrate that they meet their social investment charitable objectives:
- to prevent or relieve poverty among those living in Scotland
- to advance community development, and urban and rural regeneration, in Scotland
- to advance education in Scotland
Loans are repayable over a 10-year period. Appropriate security must be available for the loan.
The National Lottery Awards for All
Awards for All now offers funding up to £20,000 and can support your project for up to 2 years. You can apply for funding to deliver a new or existing activity or to support your organisation to change and adapt to new and future challenges – you must do at least one of these things:
- bring people together to build strong relationships in and across communities
- improve the places and spaces that matter to communities
- help more people to reach their potential, by supporting them at the earliest possible stage
- support people, communities and organisations facing more demands and challenges because of the cost-of-living crisis.
Trusthouse Charitable Foundation Small Grants
Applications are open to not-for-profit organisations with a total annual income under £250,000 with a demonstrable track record of success working to address local issues in communities of extreme urban deprivation and deprived rural districts. Apply for up to 50% of revenue costs including core costs, salaries, running and project costs – with a focus on Community Support.
Trusthouse Charitable Foundation Major Grants
Please note Major Grants are decided at Grants Committee meetings which take place in January, April, July and October. Please allow 12-15 weeks for the entire two-stage process.
Organisations are invited to apply for either single-year grants between £10,000 and £100,000 for core costs, salaries, running and project costs or multi-year grants for a maximum of 3 years, not to exceed £100,000 in total over this period, for core costs, salaries, running or project costs. Organisations should have a focus on Family Support
Social & Community Capital - Community Business Loan
Loans between £30, 000 and £750, 000 are available for established third sector organisations that are delivering high social value - in a sustainable way. Organisations must be financially sustainable and deliver a positive impact on society and/or the environment. The three main areas they look to support are:
- Employment, education & training for those furthest from the marketplace
- Delivery of services to the most disadvantaged people/communities
- Community regeneration
District Heating Loan Fund
Loans are available to help address the financial and technical barriers to district heating projects as commercial borrowing can be extremely expensive and difficult to obtain. Loans of more than £1 million are available as low-interest unsecured loans with repayment terms of either 10 or 15 years. A typical interest rate of 3.5% applies for low-risk projects (dependent upon credit status).
Used Electric Vehicle Loan for Businesses
The Used Electric Vehicle Loan can be used for the purchase of a used electric car, van, utility vehicle, motorcycle or moped by businesses that currently actively operate in Scotland. Your business must have been trading or operational for at least 12 months. There is no fee to apply and the loans offered are interest-free
Business Energy Scotland: SME Loan Scheme
Cashback grants of £30,000 and interest-free loans up to £100,000 are available to charities, community organisations and social enterprises to install energy-efficient systems, and equipment or to upgrade building fabric such as energy-efficient lighting. Free assessments are available.
The Fat Beehive Foundation
Please note applications are considered on a rolling basis at quarterly trustee meetings
UK charities can apply for funding of up to £2,500 to help them improve their online digital presence. The funding is available to charities with an average income of less than £1 million a year to support hard-to-fund digital expenditures that other funders will often not cover. Funding will help organisations to build websites and apps, digitise services, and purchase digital products. Priority will be given to projects which focus on environmental protection or climate change mitigation, human rights, international development, equality and diversity, social justice/refugees/housing, education, art and culture, health and wellbeing, and prisoner rehabilitation.
LaunchMe
Firstport’s social investment readiness programme for ambitious social and community enterprises, seeking investment to scale their impact. It supports ambitious, social and community enterprises to scale and increase their social impact.
The Charities Aid Foundation Venturesome
The new £10 million fund to help charities and social enterprises grow their social impact. A mix of unsecured loans and grants, with unrestricted funds to allow organisations to invest in infrastructure and capacity building (often not covered
by grant funding). Organisations are encouraged to register their interest in the first instance.
British Business Bank Investment Fund for Scotland
The fund aims to drive sustainable economic growth by supporting innovation and creating local opportunities for new and growing businesses across Scotland. It offers a range of commercial finance options with smaller loans and debt finance from £25,000 to £2 million and equity investment up to £5 million. The fund covers the whole of Scotland, including rural, coastal and urban areas. The fund offers three finance options:
- Smaller loans £25k-£100k
- Debt finance £100k - £2m
- Equity finance up to £5m
DSL Business Finance
DSL Business Finance (DSL) has been chosen as the exclusive Scottish business support partner for Start Up Loans. Loans of up to £25,000 and free mentoring are available.
The Garfield Weston Foundation
Please note applications are considered on a rolling basis and may take 16 weeks for an outcome
The foundation supports a wide range of charities that make a positive difference, working in different sectors in the UK. These include welfare, youth, community, environment, education, health, arts, heritage and faith. Regular and Multi-year grants under 100k and Major grants over £100k. Maximum £110k. Types of funding include Capital i.e. a building project, repairs, equipment, etc.
The Prospectory - Idea Fund
Please note once the fund’s allocation has been used, it will be closed for applications until the funding pot has refilled
I’ve got an idea” is a micro fund (£250-£3K) for individuals or small groups or organisations who have a novel technical idea which they want to try out. They are looking for ideas that: are based on a novel technical idea; would deliver a social or environmental benefit; are intriguing, inventive and have an element of fun.
Growth Impact Fund
The fund provides social investment for early-stage, growing organisations who are looking to help tackle inequality. Investment is targeted at organisations with diverse representation at board and leadership level.
The fund is for organisations that have more than 75% representation at board and at least 50% representation at Senior Leadership Team of individuals who fall into one or more of the following categories:
- Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic
- Disabled; Women
- LGBTQIA+
- Lived experience of a social challenge
- Experience of socio-economic disadvantage
They will support those who are looking to significantly grow trading income and social impact and are interested in seeking funding as a repayable investment. They offer between £50,000 and £1,500,000 of social investment. They can also provide up to £15,000 of grant funding to support your organisation before social investment, and up to £20,000 grant as additional funding to help grow your organisation.
The Schroder Charity Trust
Grants are available of up to £5,000 towards core and project costs to UK charities for work under the following categories: Arts, Culture and Heritage Education, Training and Employment Environment and Conservation Health and Wellbeing Strengthening Communities
The Henry Smith Charity Strengthening Communities
Grants of between £20-60K per year for up to three years are available to community-led charities and not-for-profit organisations working to support communities in the most deprived areas of the UK. Focusing on supporting the running costs of organisations working at grass-roots level, to ensure that funding reaches the most disadvantaged areas, targeting places that are economically marginalised and affected by poverty. Funding could be used to increase existing service provision, take on a new staff member, improve sustainability or cover small capital costs. Apply at any time and decisions are usually made within 6 months.
Foyle Foundation
Grants of up to £10,000 are available to support small, grassroots and local charities (turnover under £150K) which are currently delivering services to the young, vulnerable, elderly, disadvantaged or the general community across the UK. Funding can be used to cover projects, core costs, building projects, or essential equipment to enable ongoing service provision for charities that can show financial stability and a clear need for their services.
The Morrisons Foundation
Grants of up to £10,000 for capital spend or direct project delivery are available for charities (registered for a minimum of 1 year) that make a positive difference in local communities. The fund will prioritise applications from small charities with an income of less than £1 million.
Ventures Lab - 0% Interest Loans
A recent initiative called the Ventures Lab from the Challenges Group with support from the Scottish Government, will provide 0% loans of up to £100,000 for a minimum of five new purpose-led businesses in Scotland every year for the next five years. They want to hear from and support all types of purpose-led individuals or businesses. Ideally, you have an idea, product or service that has the potential to make a difference in multiple locations, either here in Scotland or globally
Social Investments Scotland
Social Investment Scotland (SIS) creates tailored funding packages from a range of active funds, with loan finance from £10,000 to £1.3 million with flexible terms available. You could use the funds to achieve your growth ambitions, ease cash flow or buy assets and vital equipment. Get in touch with the SIS team for an informal conversation to get the ball rolling. SIS also provide programmes and support to help communities and social enterprises develop capacity, confidence, and resilience.
SME Loan Scheme for energy efficiency projects
A free lighting assessment provides a detailed report showing how much you could save. Your report can then be used to apply for an interest-free loan with a cashback grant. Loans up to £100k are available for SMEs (including charities and social enterprises) to help you pay for energy and carbon-saving upgrades in your business. You could also receive a cashback grant of up to £30k.
DSL Business Finance (DSL)
DSL has been chosen as the exclusive Scottish business support partner for Start Up Loans. Loans of up to £25,000 and free mentoring is available.