Community Builders Fund

• Based in England, Wales, or Scotland. 

• Legally constituted and a registered charity or social enterprise**. 

• Primarily constituted for social benefit improving people’s lives or the environments they live in, within England, Wales, Scotland. 

• Operating for at least two years. 

• Minimum turnover of £400k in the last financial year (or £200k if the organisation is based in Scotland or Wales). 

• Not subject to any insolvency proceedings e.g. winding-up, administration, insolvency, bankruptcy. 

**This includes any UK Charity, Community Interest Company or Community Benefit Society, or if none of these then must comply with the BSC Governance Principles. 

The following sectors are not eligible:  

• Banks, Building Societies, Non-bank Deposit-taking Organisations. 

• Insurers and Reinsurers (excluding Insurance Brokers). 

• Public sector bodies. 

• State funded primary and secondary schools. 

See the Application Form Guidance for further information on eligibility, including a list of eligible/ ineligible items. 

Subsidy 

The assistance provided through this fund could be regarded as a Subsidy.  Please visit our Subsidy page. 

We run and set up the fund, with initial investment from SIB and the Fusion21 Foundation – the charity parent and social investor of social enterprise and public sector procurement provider Fusion21. Better Society Capital, Church of England, Clothworkers Foundation, Isenberg Family Trust, MFS Asset Management, The Archbishop’s Council and Treebeard Trust have since joined as further investors in the fund. 

SIB works with experienced social investor partners to deliver the fund: Big Issue Invest, Charity Bank, Co-operative & Community Finance, Fredericks Foundation, Groundwork UK, Homeless Link,  Key Fund, Resonance, The Architectural Heritage Fund, Triodos Bank and  Wales Council for Voluntary Action. 

We established the fund to make it easier for charities and social enterprises to benefit from the Government’s guarantee scheme – Growth Guarantee Scheme. 

The Growth Guarantee Scheme (GGS) is a UK Government Guarantee Scheme launched in July 2024 and is designed to support access to finance for UK small business as they look to invest and grow. 

The Growth Guarantee Scheme aims to improve the terms on offer to borrowers. If a lender can offer a commercial loan on better terms, they will do so. 

Businesses that took out a CBILS, CLBILS, BBLS or RLS facility before 30 June 2024 are not prevented from accessing the GGS from July 2024, although in some cases it may reduce the amount a business can borrow. 

Growth Guarantee Scheme-backed facilities are provided at the discretion of the lender. Lenders are required to undertake their standard credit and fraud checks for all applicants. 

Guarantee is to the lender: The scheme provides the lender with a 70% government-backed guarantee against the outstanding balance of the facility after it has completed its normal recovery process. The borrower always remains 100% liable for the debt.

Business Finance Support 

The British Business Bank has a range of guidance and resources available to all businesses, including content on managing your cash flow and a list of independent advice services. 

Legal Notice 

The Growth Guarantee Scheme is managed by the British Business Bank on behalf of, and with the financial backing of, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy. British Business Bank plc is a development bank wholly owned by HM Government. It is not authorised or regulated by the PRA or the FCA. Visit: https://www.british-business-bank.co.uk/finance-options/debt-finance/growth-guarantee-scheme 

The assistance provided through this fund could be regarded as a Subsidy.  Please visit our Subsidy page.