News

Communitybuilders format announced

Finance | Gareth Jones | 19 Aug 2009

The Adventure Capital Fund (ACF) has announced that the format of the £70m Communitybuilders Fund has been agreed and that it will open on Monday 7 September.

The fund is designed to provide “a mix of loans, grants and mentoring support to a range of community anchor-type organisations across England”.

The fund will be split into three investment packages:

• the development package, which will provide bespoke business support and leadership grants of £2,000;
• the feasibility package, which will provide further support of up to five days and up to £20,000 for development of a growth plan, or grants of up to £75,000 and 30 days support for larger projects; and
• the investment packages, which will consist primarily of loans between £50,000 and £2m offered at 5 per cent for an initial three-year period of a ten-year loan term. They will be tailored for investees who wish to “develop, grow and expand their role in the community”.

The eligibility criteria is for organisations that are:

• Becoming more financially independent and less grant-dependent through activities that have community relevance and social value;
• Based and working in England;
• Operating for the benefit of a defined neighbourhood;
• Locally controlled with local people or representatives of local groups making the spending, staffing and other decisions around priorities;
• Multi-purpose - providing or hosting a number of different activities and services;
• Working inclusively within their community, including marginalised groups;
• Empowering, or planning to empower, their community through multi-purpose community development and stimulating community led action; and
• Able to demonstrate a track record of delivering to the community it is based in.

Futurebuilders scales up

ACF subsidiary Futurebuilders is recruiting 12 new members of staff primarily as a result of the imminent Communitybuilders Fund, though most of them will work across the various funds.

The posts available are a head of investments, five senior investment officers, two investment assistants, an investment team leader, a contract manager, an advances control manager and an advances control officer.

The new jobs will take the number of staff at Futurebuilders up to 87.

Tweet

Who's Who: Gareth Jones