[cma-l] Communitybuilders opens - England only

[CMA-L]

The Government’s £70 million Communitybuilders fund for multi-purpose,
community-led organisations in *England *has now opened. The fund aims to
move organisations towards long-term financial stability so that they can
meet the future needs of their communities. Ways in which organisations can
become viable over the long-term include acquiring and running assets,
taking on contracts for service provision and establishing community and
social enterprises.

Support is available as a mixture of grants and loans in three areas,
*Development,
Feasibility and Investment:*

*Development*
This strand offers a needs assessment, business support and grants for up to
£2,000 for staff training and development. The aim is to develop governance,
financial systems, leadership and core functions to a point where
organisations will be ready for investment.
*
Feasibility*
Under this strand, organisations can access additional business support and
up to £20,000 to develop projects to get them ready for investment. Some
grants of up to £75,000 are available for larger projects.

*Investment*
The Investment strand is for organisations that are ready to increase and
extend their role in their community. It offers mainly loans between £50,000
and £2 million over up to ten years, with the initial 3 years’ interest rate
being set at 5%. There are also some capital and revenue grants. Business
support from Communitybuilders, or through grants to use with external
consultants, is also available.

The loans are based on the *‘patient capital’* model, which can have
features that may be more suited to community organisations than traditional
loans. This could be for example, longer repayment terms, deferred
repayments, lower interest rates or using increased social benefit as a way
of paying back some of the loan.

The investment can be used for property purchase, development or
refurbishment, to support the ongoing activities of organisations while they
build new income streams and to support cashflow and immediate additional
costs.

Eligible organisations should be:

   - Based and working in England
   - Working for the benefit of a defined neighbourhood
   - Locally controlled by local people or representatives of local groups
   - Looking to become more financially independent, and less dependent on
   grant finance
   - Multi-purpose and providing activities in the areas of social welfare,
   education, recreation (including culture and sport), environmental activity,
   economic or vocational services, voice and advocacy
   - Inclusive of all sections of their community
   - Seeking to empower their community through development and
   community-led action
   - Able to demonstrate how they can empower their communities through
   development and action
   - Able to show a track record of providing services to the local
   community.

The Communitybuilders contract is held by the Adventure Capital Fund and is
being delivered by Futurebuilders and the Community Alliance, on behalf of
Communities and Local Government and the Office of the Third Sector. Visit
the Communitybuilders website for more information:

http://www.communitybuildersfund.org.uk

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