Northampton Social Investment Fund
West Northamptonshire Social Enterprise Town will be launching a new investment fund aimed at supporting the development and growth of social enterprises in Northampton on the 14th of March.
The Social Enterprise Development Fund is funded by Northampton Forward as part of the Town’s Fund and supported by West Northamptonshire Council as a community-driven initiative that aims to provide funding and support for local social entrepreneurs to maximise the impact of the Town’s diverse social enterprise sector.
Social Enterprise Start-up – Up to £5,000
The Social Enterprise Business Start-up investment funding is designed to support the creation and initial trading model for social entrepreneurs. It’s targeted at individuals who have a business idea which addresses a social, environmental or community issue.
Social Enterprise Build It Up – Up to £5,000
The Social Enterprise Build It Up Grant is targeted at social entrepreneurs who have an existing, tested social enterprise business and want to grow its trading opportunity and social impact
Investment Priorities
The WNSET Investment Fund welcomes applications that demonstrate the potential to grow and sustain the social enterprise sector in Northampton in supporting any evidence based societal or environmental inequality faced by any community. While the fund welcomes applications to create any social value, the following are priorities the fund would encourage applications from that address the following;
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Provide individuals with NVQ level 2 qualifications to enable them to access work.
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Provide individuals with NVQ level 3 qualifications to enable them to access work.
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Provide programmes that support individuals with a history of drug misuse to move them closer to employment.
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Provide programmes that support individuals with a history of alcohol misuse to move them closer to employment.
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Support ex-offenders to develop skills and confidence to move closer to employment.
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Support homeless people into accommodation.
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Support job seekers into paid full-time work.
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Support improvement in individuals’ mental health.
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Create sustainable paid jobs within social enterprises (sustainable defined as permanent contracts beyond 13 weeks).
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Have secured, or are using the investment to attract, additional match funding and/or are leveraging other resources into the proposal.
All applicants must provide evidence of value for money, outputs, and outcomes related to their proposal as part of their application to enable value for money assessments to be undertaken. Applications addressing the priorities identified in this section will be weighted within the scoring and assessment process.
FAQ & Application Process
Councillor Daniel Lister, Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Town Centre Regeneration and Growth at WNC, said:
“The Northampton Social Enterprise Development Fund forms an integral part of West Northamptonshire’s ambitious £33 million Towns Fund and Future High Street Fund regeneration programme to transform Northampton Town Centre.
“This project enables us to directly support the growth of our thriving social enterprise community who provide diverse and invaluable services for Northampton and beyond. We are delighted to see the launch of this fund and we look forward to seeing the positive contribution it makes to our community.”
Martin Mason, managing director of Tricker's and Northampton Forward Board member, added:
“We are delighted that as part of this project we’re able celebrate the independent spirit of social enterprises across West Northants and the vital role they play in developing and supporting our local economy. We look forward to working with our partners and businesses to drive this scheme forward.”