Ethos Public Relations Manchester

Social Enterprises to benefit from NWDA grant of £500,000

by Ethos public relations

A unique loan fund is set to help even more social enterprises in the region, thanks to a recently awarded grant of £500,000 from the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

The Social Enterprise Loan Fund (TSELF) is a Community Development Finance Institution (CDFI) and a registered charity aiming to support social enterprises engaged in social regeneration projects with the provision of loan finance.

TSELF has, to date, invested £8million in social enterprises across the UK, helping clients to generate job opportunities as well as training places.

And now, with the newly awarded funding from the NWDA (£250,000) and ERDF (£250,000), TSELF will provide Small Loans for Social Enterprise awards up to £50,000 to help even more organisations in the North West.

Small Loans for Business, is part of Solutions for Business, the Government?s package of publicly funded business support designed to help companies start and grow.

Steven Broomhead, Chief Executive of the NWDA, managing body of the Northwest ERDF programme, said: "The Small Loans for Business scheme is designed to help Northwest business owners, entrepreneurs, charities and social enterprises start up and expand their businesses.

"Over the past two years, the fund has provided small loans to new and growing businesses and social enterprises making it easier for more people to access finance, start up and grow their own enterprises in the region. This type of funding has been vital for some small businesses and social enterprises over the past year with the challenging economic conditions making it difficult for enterprises to access finance from traditional commercial sources."

Roy White, North West Regional Director at TSELF, said: "There is a vibrant social enterprise sector in the North West which we are committed to helping to grow. The grant from the NWDA and the ERDF is a great boost, and we are now looking forward to working with more social enterprises, charities and small businesses across the region that are unable to secure sufficient funding from mainstream sources."

One organisation to have recently benefited from help from TSELF in the North West is Charitable Trust, Catalyst Science Discovery Centre in Widnes.

With four award-winning galleries, Catalyst offers a range of lessons and interactive shows, and with a recently awarded loan of £50,000 from TSELF, will now be able to employ a full-time Marketing Manager, to ensure the organisation is actively promoted both across the region and nationally.

Social enterprise organisations throughout the UK are bucking the trend and thriving in the difficult economic climate and the Social Enterprise Movement as a whole, is now made up of tens of thousands of organisations and accounts for more than one per cent of the UK?s total economy.

Roy White added: "The work of social enterprises is invaluable and we are keen to hear from such organisations which need to secure additional funding.

"TSELF provides loans to social enterprises and charities ranging from £3,000 to £250,000. We are here to help, so we would encourage any social enterprises looking for loans, to contact us immediately."

For more details about TSELF in the north west visit www.tself.org.uk or call 01829 261019.

Posted at 12^th January 2010