Community Business Trade Up Programme

Business development and grant support are available to boost the growth and sustainability of community businesses across England that are being run for the public benefit.

Provided by Power to Change in partnership with the School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE), the scheme offers match trading grants of between £2,000 and £10,000, a 12-day learning programme (spread over nine months between April 2020 and December 2020) and peer-to-peer networking opportunities to support early stage community businesses to:

• Grow a stronger, more sustainable business or project.
• Increase income from trading and sales.
• Benefit from time to reflect and map out next steps.
• Improve leadership and business skills.
• Build a support network of other people running similar organisations.

Eligible organisations should be locally rooted, accountable to and trading for the benefit of their local community, and making a broad community impact.

Businesses and projects should be working towards Power to Change’s Social Impact goals:

• Reducing social isolation.
• Improving health and wellbeing.
• Increasing employability.
• Creating better access to basic services.
• Improving the local environment.
• Enabling greater community cohesion.
• Fostering greater community pride and empowerment.

Grants be used for any costs that support the growth of community businesses, including salary costs, marketing costs, equipment and running costs.

The deadline for applications is 27 November 2019 (1pm).

Full details…