Access launches £40m development programme for charities

05 Sep 2018 News

Access - The Foundation for Social Investment has launched a £40m Enterprise Development Programme to fund charities which want to increase their earned income.

And it has announced that the first £1.85m in grants will be available from 24 September for the youth and homelessness sector, as part of a pilot programme.

Feasibility grants of £5,000 to £10,000 will be available to organisations just starting to develop their enterprise function.

Larger development grants of around £50,000 will be available for organisations scaling up an existing enterprise function and exploring how they might use social investment.

The fund will be managed by Social Investment Business and Homeless Link, The Centre for Youth Impact and UK Youth will work as sector partners on the grant programme, as well as a research project that will run alongside it.

The pilot grant and research programmes will help to inform Access’s the broader £40m five-year scheme, which aims to focus on the wider charity and social enterprise sectors.

Seb Elsworth, chief executive of Access, said: “We have chosen to start this work in the homelessness and youth sectors because we have seen that they have significant untapped potential for enterprise development and therefore a latent requirement for social investment.

“We will build on what we learn from these pilots, as well as our other programmes, such as the Reach Fund, to shape the broader design of this £40m programme for the wider sector.”

Deborah Smart, head of grant programmes at Social Investment Business, said: “Times are changing and as supporters of charities and social enterprises, we must help organisations adapt and take advantage of new opportunities that would otherwise be unavailable to them.

“We’re proud to be managing the grant-side of the programme and look forward to boosting organisations with the capital and confidence they need to become more enterprising.”

Information about how to apply for the programme can be found online

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