Charities, social enterprises and community organisations across England, Wales and Scotland can now apply for £17m of funding for any purpose, thanks to the new Community Builders Fund from Social Investment Business (SIB) announced today.
Now open to applications, the Community Builders Fund brings together five new partners to ensure funding reaches more organisations tackling some of society’s most pressing challenges.
Expanded partnerships
The Community Builders Fund is an expanded initiative, building on the legacy of the Recovery Loan Fund, which provided £16.5m to 68 organisations, while adding five new specialist delivery partners: Homeless Link, Groundwork, Co-operative and Community Finance, Fredericks Foundation, and The Architectural Heritage. This supplements the existing delivery partnerships with Wales Council for Voluntary Action, Resonance, Key Fund, Charity Bank and Big Issue Invest.
Open to charities and social enterprises improving people’s lives or the environments they live in, The Community Builders Fund will provide loans from £100k to £1.5m.
The additional partnerships announced today aim to drive funding to more organisations focused on some of societies big challenges, including nature and environmental work, homelessness, co-operatives, and architectural heritage organisations revitalising historic buildings.
Accessible finance
The fund aims to be accessible and affordable with the loans offered at a fixed rate, meaning organisations can borrow with certainty for up to six years, knowing that the interest cost will not increase at any time.
As part of SIB’s commitment to building a more equal society, there is also an additional £1m of grant funding to be disbursed alongside loans for Black and racially minoritised charities and social enterprises. The grant funding comes from Access – The Foundation for Social Investment, and is delivered in partnership with SIB, The Ubele Initiative and Create Equity and is limited to England only.
The Community Builders Fund is open for applications from Tuesday 18 March 2025. For more information – including full eligibility criteria, product details and how to apply – visit: https://www.sibgroup.org.uk/funds/community-builders-fund
Nick Temple OBE, Chief Executive of Social Investment Business says:
“So many charities and social enterprises are balancing huge demand for their services with a difficult and uncertain economic environment and rising bills. The Community Builders Fund is designed to provide vital investment at a critical time, supporting organisations to adapt, grow their services, invest in the assets they need, and diversify their income streams.
I am delighted that we can work together with so many trusted partners, uniting to support enterprises who are tackling some of society’s most pressing challenges while building their resilience.”
