In our regular feature in the Funding Information North East (FINE) ebulletin we ask funders to tell us about their grant giving over the next few months. Subscribe to our FINE Online ebulletin by getting in touch with jen.thompson@vonne.org.uk
Thanks to Laura Richards at Northstar Ventures for responses.
North East Social Investment Fund
What are your current funding priorities?
The North East Social Investment Fund has a geographical reach of the North East, from the borders in the north to the Yorkshire boundary in the south and across to the Cumbrian border (i.e. the NELEP and TVU areas). It focusses on seven key areas:
- Reduction in homelessness
- Reduction in debt & poverty
- Improvement in health & social care needs
- Improvement in mental health provision
- Improvement in young offender rehabilitation
- Reduction in unemployment
- Regeneration of deprived communities
The fund can invest in charities / CLG’s / Community Benefit Societies / CICs / CIOs that have a social impact in any of the key areas. Investees should be working towards financial sustainability and applications must be for projects that will generate both income and impact. Investments will usually be in the form of loans of between £100,000 and £1million.
Are there any applications that you are struggling to bring in that you would encourage?
We would like to see applications from all areas of the North East and all our key impact areas. We are currently trying to overcome the challenges associated with ‘lending’ into VCSE organisations and as such would encourage any organisation to speak to us if it is interested in social investment rather than self-excluding itself.
Are there any key pieces of advice you would give groups to help them submit quality applications and increase their chances of being successful?
Talk to social investors at an early stage, so that both the VCSE and the investor can understand the requirements and solutions better.
When is the next deadline and how do groups go about applying?
We do not have a formal application process; rather we encourage organisations to call or email us. Typically the first step is for one of our Investment Managers, Peter Gilson or Michelle Cooper, to arrange a visit to an organisation where they will learn more about the activities it runs and sources of income. From there Peter or Michelle will work with the organisation, which will be asked for a business plan and financials.
The organisation may be approved based on the information provided, or our team may want to work with them further to help strengthen their plans before investing. We have a strong network of support providers that we work with to ensure all applicants receive the help they need to take on social investment successfully.