The Inclusive Recovery Fund

The Inclusive Recovery Fund is a £4.75 million fund to help social entrepreneurs in England, designed to help social entrepreneurs deliver their important services and grow their impact while adapting to the challenges the Coronavirus crisis has presented. 

The fund will offer grants between £10,000 and £500,000 to asset or mission-locked ventures, with an emphasis on ventures with ideas to accelerate their growth, build resilience and create a deep and lasting impact. 

It aims in particular to support those with direct experience of the social problems they are seeking to address, known as leaders with lived experience. Projects it aims to fund include:

• New emerging opportunities to grow impact (for example, services that have emerged during the pandemic)
• Projects or infrastructure that will benefit social enterprises’ future resilience, recovery and growth
• Existing services, projects or models that are performing well, with the potential to accelerate growth and impact.

In recognition of the pandemic’s disproportionate impact on these communities, UnLtd particularly encourages applications from social entrepreneurs who identify as Black, Asian or from a minority ethnic background, and disabled people. UnLtd aims for 50% of the funding to reach these typically underrepresented groups.

Eligibility

They are looking for ventures with ideas to create deep and lasting impact, build resilience and accelerate their growth.
The key eligibility for the Inclusive Recovery Fund:

• England-only
• An incorporated social purpose organisation
• Substantially reliant on trading income
• Annual income between £20,000 and £2.5M

The applications will be assessed on these principles:

• Long-term social impact
• Impact during the crisis
• Resilience
• Inclusion
• Financial need