£2.5m available for businesses providing positive social impact

The sixth round of the Community Business Fund will open next month, offering grants of between £50,000 and £300,000 to businesses in England which trade "for the benefit of and accountable to their local communities". A total of £2.5 million is available in this round. The Community Business Fund is provided by Power to Change, an independent trust. So far it has supported over 90 organisations in England to become more financially sustainable. These range from farms and libraries to canal moorings to cinemas. Colette Harvey, Programme Manager at Power to Change, said: “We’re very excited to make a further £2.5m available to community businesses and aim to support 15 more organisations through this next round of funding. Community businesses are doing exceptional work at delivering more cohesive local communities and a stronger civil society. We look forward to receiving a broad range of applications from a wide variety of places and sectors.”   How to apply Power to Change will host a webinar on 13 September to give would-be applicants an overview of the fund and its eligibility criteria.  They can also read the fund's guidance and sign up to the Power to Change newsletter to be kept informed as to when the online application form goes live. The closing date for applications from community businesses is 9 October 2018. Grant awards will be made at the start of 2019.   More funding rounds There will be further rounds of the Community Business Fund, with the next application window open in early 2019.   Watch: Crediton Community Bookshop Crediton Community Book Shop received a Community Business Fund grant to purchase premises, expand services for children and create a community hub. Money from book sales goes back into the community through book fairs, school outreach, author events and reading workshops. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtEjjLuh5b8    

from UK Fundraising https://ift.tt/2POuqV6