Natwest offering £20K Grant to social enterprises in Wales

NatWest is offering social enterprises in Wales the chance to receive a £20,000 grant to develop a project that creates a direct social impact on a community with need.

Part of a UK-wide celebration of the 20th year of Social & Community Capital (S&CC) – an independent charity launched by NatWest in 1999 – the grant is intended to create a positive impact on people who are considered vulnerable and marginalised.

A £20,000 grant will be offered to an organisation in each of the following regions: Wales; Scotland; North; Midlands & East of England; South West; London & the South East and Northern Ireland.

In order for businesses to apply they must meet NatWest’s eligibility criteria (below), including having to be UK-based and focused, have social aims, have been trading for at least two years and have a turnover of up to £2.5m per year.

Eligibility Criteria: organisations must:

• Be operating in the UK
• Have a legal operational structure as a charity, social enterprise, community interest company or co-operative. Companies Limited by Shares may be eligible if they have a mission statement enshrined in their Articles, a mission lock and they cannot distribute more than 50% of profits to shareholders
• Have social aims, reinvesting profits to deliver a positive impact
• Be able to demonstrate a healthy current financial position, robust standards of management and governance, and a strong potential for future income
• Not be insolvent
• Have an annual turnover of up to £2.5 million
• Have been trading for at least 2 years
• Project must:
  – Be UK-based
  – Create direct social impact on a community with need
  – Have potential to become a sustainable product or service
  – Help people who are considered vulnerable or marginalised by tackling one or more of the following three areas:
  o Employment, training and education
  o Income and financial inclusion
  o Mental health and well-being
  – Commit to clear measurable outcomes
  – Be closely monitored to ensure aims and objectives of the project are being met and to provide evidence of social impact

To apply for a NatWest Social & Community Capital £20,000 grant, please click here.

Paul Edwards, Regional Managing Director South West and Wales, said:

“NatWest has a strong focus on helping the community, so it is fantastic to be able to offer a local business additional funding that they can use to make a positive impact locally. We encourage all qualifying businesses to apply.”

S&CC was created to provide flexible loan finance to social ventures that may be unable to access mainstream funding. NatWest is the only bank to have set up a specialist vehicle to do this. The charity offers loan funding of between £30,000 and £750,000 and in the last five years has approved over £10 million in loans to more than 80 organisations throughout the UK. In 2018, S&CC loan funding led to more than 60,000 people and 117 groups supported, more than 370 jobs created and a further 730+ jobs maintained.

Simon Jacobs, Chair of Trustees at NatWest Social & Community Capital, said:

“The work that S&CC does throughout the UK is unrivalled in banking. I am honoured to be involved, and to have seen first-hand the amazing work that the ventures we support are able to do in their respective communities and areas. To have not only been going for 20 years, but to have grown exponentially is something the whole bank is rightfully proud of. None of it would have been possible however, without the fantastic businesses and business owners that we have worked alongside for the last two decades. Each one works for the benefit of others and are some of the most fascinating and well-run businesses we have worked with in any capacity. To celebrate our 20th birthday with a series of grants available for the UK is the least we can do to help support the current generation of ventures and we cannot wait to see who receives them.”