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Bristol social enterprises urged to apply for fund
A £16.3m fund offering support to social enterprises impacted by the pandemic has reopened for applications.
The Social Enterprise Support Fund will provide grants of between £10,000 and £100,000 to businesses across the country, including in Bristol.
The funding from the National Lottery Community Fund is hoped will help 500 enterprises rebuild and grow their income from trading, following the impact of Covid-19.
The grants are being delivered by Big Issue Invest, Key Fund, Resonance, the School for Social Entrepreneurs and UnLtd.
Mark Norbury, chief executive of UnLtd, said: “Social entrepreneurs are vital to a society where everybody can thrive. This is why we’re offering this fund – so we can together transform our world for good.”
A first round of funding took place in December, which saw more than 800 applications from enterprises requesting grants to the value of £37m.
Bristol24/7 was successful in securing £30,000 which will allow us to complete vital development of our digital platform in order to scale and manage our membership.
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Danyal Sattar, CEO of Big Issue Invest, added: “We have a second round of funding opening, which gives even more excellent organisations an opportunity to apply for funds in order to restart and recover from the negative effects of the pandemic.”
The funders will particularly welcome applications from the BAME and LGBTQ+ communities as well as disabled people.
Daniel Brewer, CEO of Resonance, said: “We know that social enterprises are at the heart of communities and at the heart of the recovery from the pandemic, especially for those communities that already face social and economic inequalities.”
The second and final round of funding closes to applications on March 24. You can find out more information and apply by visiting: www.socialenterprisesupportfund.org.uk/.
Main photo: Develop Me/Babbasa
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