Social Enterprise Boost Fund

The Social Enterprise Boost Fund is a new programme funded by the UK government. It aims to kick start and accelerate social enterprise activity in local areas and demonstrate social enterprises’ impact on their communities.

As part of the programme, social enterprises get access to free one-to-one support and coaching, group workshops and digital resources, as well as seed funding starting at £1000 to try out and grow social enterprise ideas.

We are working with PNE to deliver the Social Enterprise Boost Fund in South Tyneside and Sunderland.

Types of funding

There are three levels of funding available, depending on the stage and needs of the social entrepreneur/enterprise.  

• Kickstart: These grants of up to £5,000 will help you cover the costs of setting up a social enterprise. If you have already set up your business, Kickstart grants can help you with development costs, such as training and equipment
• Grow: If you make good progress and successfully complete a Kickstart grant, you can go on to apply for a Grow grant of up to £5000 to take your idea further. You must demonstrate how the additional funding would allow you to develop or consolidate your idea
• Try: We will also provide some smaller grants of up to £1000 to support very early-stage applicants who are not quite ready for the Kickstart grant but could benefit from help to pilot an idea and explore its potential. We hope that some successful Try recipients will then move on to apply for further funding through the other programme levels, with support from us

The grants are designed to help social entrepreneurs progress as their ideas develop. The maximum amount an applicant can secure is £10,000.  In most cases, this is likely to consist of a £5000 Kickstart grant, followed by a £5,000 Grow grant. However, in the event that an applicant receives a £1,000 Try grant, and then a £5,000 Kickstart grant, the maximum Grow grant they can apply for is £4000. 

Eligibility requirements