Social enterprises and community organisations in Bath and the surrounding area can win up to £50,000 under a new awards scheme.
The Santander Social Enterprise Development Awards (SEDA) have been created as part of the bank’s commitment to supporting small businesses in the UK. Social enterprises play a vital role in local communities, helping to deliver social regeneration, and the SEDA scheme aims to help those with the potential to expand their work.
Social enterprises can win £50,000, £30,000 or £15,000 depending on their turnover to fund one of three community benefits: improving social inclusion, supporting disadvantaged people or creating a greener environment.
The awards are targeted at growing social enterprises and community interest companies, those who need a financial boost to help them increase their impact.
Santander Corporate Banking regional director Julian Alexander said: “We are committed to investing in and supporting communities across the region. The Social Enterprise Development Awards will help social enterprises looking to expand to realise their goals, and at the same time support economic development.”
Alice Meason, grants director at the Quartet Community Foundation for the West of England, added: “A wide range of organisations in our area are engaged in social enterprise as a means of helping our communities. Through this award scheme Santander will be able to help some of the best in this field have an even greater impact.”
To enter, organisations can complete a short entry form downloadable from www.santanderseda.co.uk detailing how an award could be used to grow their business to benefit the community. The deadline for applications is the February 3 with the winners announced in April.
Alongside the prize money, winning social enterprises will receive access to support from Santander including mentoring programmes, funding for internships and university business courses and training.
Winning organisations will also receive valuable input from the Quartet Community Foundation which will work with them to assess the social impact of their business and the prize fund on local communities.
The Award three prizes are:
• £50,000 for social enterprises with a turnover of £250,000 – £500,000
• £30,000 for social enterprises with a turnover of £100,000 – £250,000
• £15,000 for social enterprises with a turnover of up to £100,000
The awards are open to organisations based in Bath and NE Somerset, Bristol North Somerset, and South Gloucestershire.
