A new Resilience and Recovery Loan Fund has been set up to get much-needed emergency funding to social enterprises, charities and small businesses in disadvantaged areas affected by Covid-19.

SASC has been working with partners in the social impact investment sector to maximise the support available to the third sector. The fund is backed by the Government and comes in addition to the government’s £750m package of support for civil society that was announced on 8th April.

The new lending facility will offer loans to charities and social enterprises facing cash flow problems and disruption to their trading to obtain urgent finance which they otherwise couldn’t access. These emergency loans will be offered without the requirement of personal guarantees and no fees or interest will be charged for 12 months.

SASC will be one of three fund managers (alongside Big Issue Invest and Charity Bank) delivering this programme, which is being run by Social Investment Business. Initial funding is being provided by Big Society Capital and backed by the Government’s existing Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS). Additional investment is being sourced from banks and other investors.

The fund will be open for applications from the middle of April, with the first loans expected to be made in early May.

We are delighted this additional support has been made available to charities and social enterprises during this unprecedented crisis and that SASC is able to play a meaningful role.

More details about the fund can be found here and the team at SASC is available to offer advice on any funding requirement you or your organisation might have: info@socialandsustainable.com