Member Article

£5.5m Northern Impact Fund launched to boost social enterprises

A new £5.5m fund, offering grant and unsecured loan finance to social enterprises has launched across the North of England and the Midlands.

Key Fund, a long-standing investor in community and social enterprises, is delivering the Northern Impact Fund, aimed at new and early stage enterprises who are seeking finance to support growth.

Matt Smith, CEO of the Key Fund, said: “With this fund we’re offering finance of up to £150k, but typical investments will be around £50k, with up to 20% of the amount available as grant.

“The Key Fund was one of the early pioneers in this space, and our original model was based on a grant and loan mix, so we’re really excited to be going back to that original model.

“It’s long been our belief that grants can play a very important role in helping new and smaller social enterprise become more robust.”

The Northern Impact Fund is open to applications from social enterprises operating in the Midlands, North East, North West and Yorkshire and the Humber.

Matt said: “We have always believed small organisations can deliver big impact in disadvantaged communities. In this current economic climate, we are seeing good businesses struggling and access to finance and support has never been so crucial, so we’re delighted to be delivering the Northern Impact Fund.”

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