Sporting Assets will soon launch Sporting Capital, the first social investment fund that focuses specifically on organisations and projects that help to develop people and communities through sport and physical activity.
We are passionate about supporting organisations to deliver wider impact through sport. We know the power of sport; it can play a role in bringing communities together, have a social and cultural impact, connect people from different walks of life and reduce crime and anti-social behaviour.
Sporting Capital enables us to extend the vision of Sporting Assets, by financing organisations that make a difference to develop people and communities through sport and help them to become sustainable.
What we fund
The £3m Sporting Capital Fund provides loan funding of between £50,000 and £150,000 to eligible projects. We expect to invest into around 30 to 50 organisations over the next 3 years.
The loan funding will be used to help organisations develop new projects, operations and revenue streams. Whilst every organisation’s needs will differ, we expect the funding to be used for projects and activities such as:
- Equipment to support revenue streams
- Recruitment, training and deployment of staff and volunteers
- Equipment to support business functions, including finance, project management and governance
- Other operating costs
If you are unsure if your idea or project fits our criteria please get in touch.
Who we can fund
We can invest in a wide range of organisations and projects from social enterprises, charities and profit-with-purpose businesses. And if you need support to get ready to take on repayable investment, you may be eligible for grant funding to pay for this.
Each investment will be tailored to the organisation. Loans will be repayable over 3
to 5 years and a repayment holiday of up to 24 months will be available, giving projects time to generate sustainable revenue.
Please get in touch if you are looking for investment. Our team can work through our specific eligibility criteria with you to help you understand whether you are right for investment from us.
Who we work with
Examples of projects we may be interested in investing in are highlighted below.
Supporting young people through football
The club develops young people to fulfil their ability and contribute to society, primarily through community based football teams and programmes. They focus on the individual but with a bigger goal of developing stronger, more cohesive and resilient communities. Investment will help the club to:
- Develop sustainable revenues to support expansion of their youth programmes
- Expand their offer to the local community with new spaces that can be used by other local organisations
- Increase their volunteering activities and employment and training opportunities
Cycling community hub, in the heart of the city.
The project aims to create a community facility that delivers physical and mental well-being opportunities, education services and community activities all based around a community cycling hub in an urban environment.
It aims to deliver key social impact outcomes through a range of services including:
- Successfully scale Youth Offender and pupil referral unit activities
- Develop employment and volunteering opportunities through community café, trail building and training centre project
- Increase opportunities for physical and social activity to the local community
Investment will help grow their revenue streams, including through their community café, education and training services, Youth Offender and pupil referral unit activities, to develop a truly sustainable community hub.
Find out more
Sporting Capital will launch in September 2017 and make its first investments in early 2018.
To find out more contact:
enquiries@sportingcapital.org.uk
0203 637 8232
www.sportingcapital.org.uk
About us
Sporting Capital has been formed through a pioneering partnership between Sporting Assets and the Access Foundation, and is funded through the Big Lottery Fund and Big Society Capital.
Big Lottery Fund
- The Big Lottery Fund is the largest funder of community activity in the UK. We put people in the lead to improve their lives and communities, often through small, local projects.
- We are responsible for giving out 40% of the money raised by National Lottery players for good causes. Every year we invest over £650 million and award around 12,000 grants across the UK for health, education, environment and charitable purposes.
- Since June 2004 we have awarded over £8 billion to projects that change the lives of millions of people.
Website: http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk
Twitter: @biglotteryfund #BigLottery
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BigLotteryFund
For funding and general enquiries call:
BIG Advice Line: 0345 4 10 20 30
Text Relay: 18001 + 0345 4 10 20 30
For press enquiries call:
Press Office: 020 7211 1888
Out of hours media contact: 07867 500572
Big Society Capital
Big Society Capital is a financial institution with a social mission, set up to build the social investment market in the UK, so that charities and social enterprises can access appropriate repayable finance to enable them to grow, become more sustainable and increase their impact on society. It is doing this by building a diverse social investment market: encouraging investors to lend or invest money to achieve a social as well as a financial return. Since it was set up as an independent organisation in 2012, Big Society Capital has invested over £270 million in specialist organisations who lend to charities and social enterprises.
http://www.bigsocietycapital.com
@bigsocietycap
Press office: 020 7186 2540 / 0788 587 9500
Access
Access – The Foundation for Social Investment exists to bridge the gap between charities and social enterprises and social investors. Access does this through two main programmes: the Growth Fund which blends grant from Big Lottery Fund and loan from Big Society Capital and is focused on enabling the provision of the simple and affordable investment products that charities and social enterprises tell us they need; and the capacity building programme, which provides charities and social enterprises with the support they need to get ready to take on investment.
@si_access