Flexible Finance Fund

The Flexible Finance Fund by the Social Investment Business, The Ubele Initiative, and Create Equity offers a blend of grants and loans to Black and Racially Minoritised-led charities and social enterprises in England.

Provided by: Social Investment Business

Scheme details

Area: Newcastle upon Tyne, Sunderland, County Durham, Gateshead, South Tyneside, North Tyneside, Northumberland

Categories: Finance & funding, Grant, Loan

Type: Mixed Grant & Loan

Value: £50k - £1.5m (up to 50% grant)

What is the Flexible Finance Fund?

The Flexible Finance Fund is a partnership between Social Investment Business, The Ubele Initiative and Create Equity. It will be providing £4m of funding and support to 15-25 Black and Racially Minoritised charities and social enterprises in England with a material package of funding and support to help them to grow or take on assets and become more resilient

Flexible Finance works through providing a flexible grant and support alongside a loan from the Recovery Loan Fund with the grant being up to 100% of the loan value (grant ranges from 50% to 100% of the loan value and is capped at a maximum of £200k) alongside direct support from Ubele or Create Equity through the funding application process. The loan alongside the grant can range from £50k to £1.5m and be repaid over 1 to 6 years.

The fund is supported by the Government guarantee scheme – Growth Guarantee Scheme.

Who is it for?

The Recovery Loan Fund with Flexible Finance is for Black and Racially Minoritised charities and social enterprises based in England who are improving people’s lives, or the environment they live in.

Visit our Flexible Finance FAQs page.

Am I eligible?

  • Black and Racially Minoritised-led: 51% or above of the organisation’s board and senior management team must be from Black and Racially Minoritised backgrounds. 
  • Legally constituted and a registered charity or social enterprise. 
  • Primarily constituted for social benefit improving people’s lives or the environments they live in. 
  • Operating for at least two years. 
  • Minimum turnover of £200k in its last financial year. 
  • Not subject to any insolvency proceedings e.g., winding-up, administration, insolvency, bankruptcy. 
  • No previous repayable finance: Your organisation must not have received repayable finance of greater than £25k. This excludes Bounce Back Loans. 
  • Grants are only available for organisations operating in England.

A loan cannot be used to support the following sectors: 

  • Banks, Building Societies, Non-bank Deposit-taking Organisations. 
  • Insurers and Reinsurers (excluding Insurance Brokers).
  • Public sector bodies.
  • State funded primary and secondary schools.

 

Take the next step...

For further information about this scheme, including how to apply, visit the provider website.

Find out more