SNG Commercial Support Fund

Applicants must: 

• Be a social enterprise or community business trading primarily for social/environmental purposes and constituted and registered as a CIC, CIO or other registered charitable organisation as articulated in their governing documents. 
• Earn at least 25% of income from trading and this must be clearly recognised within your financial accounts (for the purposes of this grant we define ‘trading’ as generating income via charges for services to customers, such as a café or shop). 
• Demonstrate that social outcomes are being achieved, with a direct and tangible benefit to the local community. 
• Demonstrate that the organisation is directly supporting the communities in which SNG work. 
• Support SNG residents and communities in at least one of the key priority areas of addressing poverty and inequality, supporting those at risk of disadvantage or supporting people to enter employment or training. 
• Be independently owned/controlled. 
• Have been trading for at least 12 months with a clear and sustainable forecast for the next 12 months+ OR have a robust and achievable business plan for opening a trading ‘arm’ of an existing charity with clear and realistic intention to be trading within the next 12 months.  

Please note that if you are shortlisted for a grant then we will require evidence of your business plan. 

• Cosmetic building works such as refitting or developing a shop or community space. 
• Small items such as shop signage, shelving/display areas, carpets. 
• Health and safety equipment for use in the premises (unless part of the fabric of the building) 
• Physical promotional material such as banners and pop-up display that help to generate more impact.  

• Direct staffing costs. 
• Structural repairs to the building (internal or external). 
• The repayment of debts or loans. 
• The development of a new business idea that does not already have a clear business plan (as above) 
• Costs already incurred. 

The SNG Commercial Support Fund is a £50,000 fund in total. We will award grants of between £1,000 and £4,000 per social enterprise. 

If you aren’t sure if your enterprise is in an SNG Community or will benefit SNG residents, check the map or get in touch with our Grants Officer who will be able to chat this through with you – grants@sng.org.uk.

Fund goes live – 21 November 2024  

Information webinar – 5 December 2024 (10am) Book your place on the webinar today

Fund closes – 31 January 2025 

Decisions communication – February 2025 

All projects that meet the criteria set out above will be reviewed and assessed by an expert panel to determine which projects will be offered funding. If your project does not meet the eligibility criteria, it may be rejected before the panel meeting, and you will receive a notification of this via ActionFunder. 

We may request further information from you following the panel discussion, and in some cases, may encourage you to reapply for funding with amendments to your project. 

Should we offer you funding, you will have the opportunity to accept or reject the grant via the ActionFunder platform. Before a payment can be approved and released to the applicant, all checks will need to be completed in respect of relevant permissions, policies, and insurances. 

We will provide feedback to all shortlisted applicants who are unsuccessful at the panel. Please note, we will be unable to provide feedback for applicants do not progress to the shortlist for panel. 

Grantees will be required to evidence how the funding has delivered impact within their community and how it has improved their sustainability.  

 Grantees will be required to complete a reporting form 6 months and 12 months after receiving the grant, alongside at least one impact story, ideally with media, to provide qualitative evidence of impact.  

To apply for funding, you will need to register your project on the ActionFunder website, a platform that connects funders with community projects. By uploading your project, you can match with multiple funding opportunities beyond just this one.  

When registering your project, you will be asked for the following information, so please have this to hand when starting your application:

1. The pitch 

In the first section explain why your project is needed and what it will achieve. You have the option to provide this information in written form or submit a video pitch. 

For written applications, you will be asked to answer the following three questions: 

• Problem statement: Describe the challenges or needs in your community that your project will address. Using quotes and statistics can help us understand the specific needs of your community. 
• Solution: Summarise your project idea and key outputs. By reading this, you should be able to understand what exactly the applicant intends to deliver. 
• Why are we best placed to deliver? Explain why your organisation is suited to deliver this project. Do you have specific relevant experience? A team of volunteers? Any relevant qualifications? 

2. Delivery plan

In the second section, provide more detailed information about how much your project will cost and what the impact of your activities will be.  

Budget breakdown: This section is for you to record your project budget. Whilst we are looking for budgets to represent good value for money, we also want them to be realistic. It is important to know exactly how much you will need to carry out your activities effectively, and not underestimate costs, as this can lead to long-term financial problems and can impact project delivery.  

Eligible funding items

• Cosmetic improvements (e.g. updating a community space) 
• Small items like signage, shelving, or carpet 
• Health and safety equipment (not building fixtures) 
• Physical promotional materials like banners 

Ineligible funding items 

• Staff salaries 
• Structural repairs 
• Debt repayment 
• New business development 
• Costs already incurred 

3. Beneficiaries 

Specify the total number of beneficiaries you will engage with during your project. You will then have the option to choose specific groups from a multiple-choice list of groups. 

4. Expected impact 

Describe the results you hope to achieve from your activities. Try to be as specific as possible with your outcomes and how they connect to your problem statement.

5. Track record 

This is an opportunity to share examples of your organisation's previous work, including feedback from previous beneficiaries or partners. 

Need help? 

If you have any questions about accessing or using the platform, you can contact the ActionFunder team directly at hello@actionfunder.

Communications and branding 

By uploading your project to ActionFunder, you agree to allowing ActionFunder and SNG to use your content for marketing and promotional purposes. Please read ActionFunder’s terms of use for more information. 

Successful applicants must acknowledge financial support of SNG in its documentation and publicity material by following our communications protocol and brand guidelines. To see a copy of these, please email grants@sng.org.uk.