Big Potential
June 2014 - September 2017
Big Potential was a £20m Big Lottery Fund grant fund that provided grants and support to charities and social enterprises to help them work out how social investment could help them become more sustainable, build their capacity and scale up to deliver greater social impact.
The grants were used to help pay for specialist support from approved ‘providers’. All providers were individuals or organisations with specialist expertise that could provide technical, financial, legal, business or other support.
Impact Readiness Fund
September 2014 - June 2016
This £4m pilot fund was set up to help social ventures demonstrate and improve their social impact. The programme, funded by the Cabinet Office, offered charities and social enterprises in England the opportunity to apply for either Impact Readiness or Impact Growth grants.
Investment and Contract Readiness Fund
May 2012 - March 2015
This fund offered grants to promising social ventures to better equip them to compete for public service contracts and secure other forms of investment. We managed this fund on behalf of the Cabinet Office, providing £13.2 million of grants to 155 ventures.
If you want to find out more you can read the full evaluation ‘In Pursuit of Readiness’.
Community Assets and Services Fund
October 2012 - March 2014
This fund helped organisations run local services or take over the management of local buildings or land of community value. A range of grants were available to help with the process of taking over a service or an asset including pre-feasibility, feasibility and capital grants.
The Fox & Hounds (Denmead) Community Co-Operative received funding from Community Assets and Services Fund to help relaunch a popular local public house.
Social Enterprise Investment Fund
July 2009 - April 2013
This fund provided loans and grants to social enterprises providing health and social care services in England. We managed this fund on behalf of the Department of Health, providing £98 million to 650 social enterprises in the health and social care sector.
Communitybuilders
October 2009 - May 2012
This fund offered grant and loan finance to community-focussed organisations in England which provided local services and facilities. We managed this fund on behalf of the Department of Communities and Local Government, providing £70 million to community organisations.
The remains of Communitybuilders were endowed to us in 2011.
Futurebuilders England
2004 - 2010
This fund provided loan financing to third sector organisations in England to help them bid for, win and deliver public service contracts. What made it different was its size. With £145 million of loan financing, it remains the largest social investment fund of its type in the UK.
As of Jan 2017, over £58.5m has now been repaid.
For more information you can read the evaluation of the fund ‘A Tale of Two Funds’.
Adventure Capital Fund
December 2002 - December 2009
The one that started it all! This fund offered a combination of financial investment and expert support to community enterprises to help them become sustainable.
Bootstrap received funding from the Adventure Capital Fund to help them refurbish their creative workspace enterprise.
