Social Entrepreneurs Fund – Start It

Social Entrepreneurs Fund – Start It: Up to £5,000 of start-up funding for individuals with a business idea that addresses a social, environmental, and/or community issue.

A Start It award can help you pay for start-up costs. The kind of costs we can cover are quite wide-ranging; typical examples include: -Legal fees for setting up a legal entity for the enterprise, and/or registration as a charity or Community Interest Company -Rent -Website, branding, logo design and marketing materials -Stationery -Insurances

On receiving your application and if your idea is eligible, we will contact you within 2-4 weeks to undertake an assessment.

You can apply for Start it if you have an idea for a social enterprise but need some funding to get it up and running. The idea should be new, not a continuation of something already existing.

Anyone can benefit from our Start It funding and we assess each application on its individual merits. However, we will prioritise applications from individuals who have never had an award from us before.

You must also meet our eligibility criteria Applications must meet the following eligibility criteria: -The applicant is 16 or over. -The applicant is a permanent resident of Scotland. -The enterprise is operating primarily for the benefit of people or communities within Scotland. -The activities of the enterprise do not involve political campaigning or the advancement of religion. -The enterprise is an independent organisation and not the project or subsidiary of an existing body. -The enterprise is in the early stages of development - i.e. the ‘idea’ or ‘start-up’ phase. It has not begun trading on a regular basis yet. -The enterprise aims to provide direct social benefit to individuals, communities and/or the environment. -The idea does not form part of the applicant’s current employment. -If the enterprise requires premises to start trading, they must have identified a property and be able to confirm an agreement in principle.

If the application does not meet these criteria, it will be ineligible for Firstport funding.