Throughout the pandemic, there has been new recognition that communities make us a more resilient country. At Power to Change, we know community businesses must be part of building that resilience.
However, to play that role, community businesses need to have all the right tools and capabilities themselves. Research by Think Social Tech tells us that community businesses need support with their financial capabilities, and Power to Change are seeking proposals from organisations with great ideas that will help to transform the sector, making it more resilient and sustainable for the long term.
We are looking for organisations with expertise in developing financial capabilities in the specific areas of: actively addressing weaknesses in financial management, moving from spreadsheets to cloud-based accounting, accessing grant funding from national trusts and foundations, and reviewing business models.
We anticipate proposals of varying sizes to be submitted which could be an expansion of an existing successful programme, or completely new ideas. We anticipate we will commission up to a maximum of three proposals to be a pilot of a larger, scalable solution. Once reflections and learnings from the pilots have been evaluated, we anticipate further funding of up to c.£2 million to be available until 2025.
We will particularly welcome applications from organisations that focus their support on communities that experience racial inequity, younger people and those working in areas of the highest economic deprivation (IMD 1-3).
Once you’ve read through the brief, we are inviting prospective bidders to contact matt.fazal@powertochange.org.uk to discuss whether your proposal could be a good fit with our desired outcomes. When this is done, we will then send you full details on how to apply.