Kent’s £3m Big Society Fund opens for business

Applications are being welcomed to a new £3m fund to support social enterprises as they improve the economic, social and environmental life of Kent and its residents.

The money has been made available by Kent County Council after it was agreed that a one-off budget allocation totalling £5m would be made available. With this latest £3m being used for supporting social enterprises, the remaining £2m has been set aside to tackle youth unemployment through the Kent Employment Programme, expected to be developed later this year.

Launched by Kent County Council in partnership with the charity Kent Community Foundation, the Big Society Fund will help social enterprise at a time when finance from high street banks and grant funding from the public sector is increasingly difficult.

The £3m will be made available via the Kent Community Foundation over the next three years. Loans available will normally be between £10,000 and £100,000 and the repayments will be fed back into the fund to continue to provide new loans to other organisations.

Any additional donations into the Big Society Fund from private individuals and businesses will be eligible for tax relief and gift aid. The county council and the community foundation hope to also attract money from philanthropic and other sources to help support the fund.

Applications can be made online.

Mike Hill, Kent County Council Cabinet Member for Customer and Communities, said: ‘The Kent Big Society Fund will help social enterprises to make a real difference to local people and the local economy. Now is the time for Kent to really get behind social enterprises and support them in their hugely valuable efforts. It is also an excellent opportunity for new organisations to realise their ambitions to benefit individuals and local businesses.’

Carol Lynch, CEO of Kent Community Foundation, said: ‘We hope that this source of funding will encourage more community-based enterprise to tackle social issues and turn around disadvantaged lives and communities. We believe this type of fund will be particularly helpful to social enterprises which might struggle to find finance elsewhere. An example of the kind of enterprise we hope to see applying could be a business, such as a bike shop or a caterer, set up to give training and employment to vulnerable people.

‘We hope the Kent Big Society Fund might also encourage existing charities and community projects to consider whether social enterprise is a way of developing financial sustainability which is so important in a climate of constrained grant funding.

‘As the fund develops, we will be encouraging local businesses and philanthropists to invest in the Kent Big Society Fund, financially and by offering their business knowledge and expertise to mentor budding social entrepreneurs.’