Community Enterprise Fund

The Community Enterprise Fund is a funding programme that helps community organisations to start trading or set up social enterprises in Scotland. It offers grants of up to £5,000, to be spent over 6 months. Funding comes from the Scottish Government’s Social Entrepreneurs Fund (SEF).

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Is a Community Enterprise (CE) award right for us?

The Community Enterprise Fund is for you if your group wants to begin trading activities or set up a social enterprise so you can generate income, become more financially resilient, reduce reliance on grant funding and be better equipped to support your community.

Your community group is ready to apply for a CE award if it can demonstrate:

• A strong business model- showing how the idea will generate income, so it does not rely on grants in the long term.
• A clear social impact– demonstrating that your group has identified a social or environmental issue they want to tackle.
• A determined and motivated team – SEF focuses on the people involved in the idea, so we want you to tell us about the skills, knowledge, and passion within their team for the issue they are tackling and how these will help to make the idea a success.

If you need to work on any of these areas before applying, we encourage you access the Accelerate programme by Community Enterprise before you start working on an application.

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Eligibility

The Community Enterprise Fund is open to constituted third sector or community groups. To be eligible, your organisation must:

• Be based in Scotland
• Operate primarily for the benefit of people or communities within Scotland
• Be a constituted group (unconstituted groups are not eligible; if your group is not yet constituted, you may be better suited to the Start It programme)
• Not yet be trading on a regular basis
• Not be involved in political campaigning or the advancement of religion
  
  Your proposal must:
• Be or plan to be a social enterprise – i.e. an asset-locked organisation where all profits are reinvested into the business and its social aims (no private individuals or bodies can benefit from the assets or uncapped dividends of the business)
• Be in the early stages of development – i.e. the ‘start-up’ phase and not yet regularly trading
• Request eligible costs associated with starting up a social enterprise
• Cover a 6-month period, with a clear spending plan for the funds within that timeframe
• Outline how the enterprise will become financially sustainable through trading (not reliant on ongoing grant income)
• Provide direct, measurable social impact to individuals, communities, and/or the environment
• If trading will require premises, demonstrate that suitable premises have been identified and an agreement in principle with the owner/landlord is in place
  
  Additional notes:
• If you have previously received a Start It award as an individual, you are not eligible to apply to the Community Enterprise Fund as an organisation
• There is no maximum turnover limit, but we expect the fund to be most suitable for smaller community organisations that are not yet trading. Larger organisations may apply if they meet all other eligibility criteria (including not having started trading)
• The fund is specifically for projects that enable organisations to begin trading and generating their own income. It is not for funding core costs of existing community services or projects that are already operational

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What is the funding for?

The grant can be used for most start-up and development costs, including:

• Legal fees for setting up a legal entity for the enterprise, and/or registration as a charity or community interest company
• Rent for premises/office space
• Venue hire
• Utilities – including phones
• Website, branding, logo design
• Marketing materials and stationery
• Insurance
• Accountancy
• Equipment
• Laptop and/or software

For more information on eligible and ineligible costs, please see the guidance notes.

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Funding priorities

Any eligible constituted group can apply, and we assess each application on its own merits. Because the demand for funding is high, we will prioritise applications that demonstrate the strongest potential to generate both income and social impact.

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Support with your application

Applying for funding can be time-consuming, and you want to give yourself the best chance of success. This is why we encourage you to access the Accelerate programme by Community Enterprise if you need help to develop your application.

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How we assess your application

• You will receive an automatic acknowledgement confirming we received your application. We will then contact you within 2-4 weeks to arrange a time to discuss your application. This is an informal meeting via phone or Teams, which gives you the opportunity to tell us more about your idea, your motivation, and your plan.
• All eligible proposals go to an independent funding panel who makes the final decisions.
• You will normally receive a decision within 12-14 weeks of submitting the form.

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Ready to apply?

To apply for the Community Enterprise Fund, you need to create an account in our Application Portal:

• Click on the Apply Now button at the top of this page.
• If you have never applied for a Firstport grant or loan before, you will need to register to create an account and password.
• If you have applied before, you will have an account in our system already. Select ‘Forgot Password’ and follow the instructions to set up a new password.
• Once you log in, click on the Apply tab, select Community Enterprise Application from the drop-down list and fill in your details.
• Once you have completed your application and uploaded the relevant documents, you can submit it.
• You will receive an email confirmation and will hear back from our team within the timescales provided.

Community Enterprise is an open, rolling programme. If you are ready to apply, make sure you first read the guidance notes below in full and follow the link at the top of the page to start your application.

If you have a question that is not covered in this page, by the guidance or our FAQs, please get in touch via the Contact Us page.