North East Flexible Social Finance fund

We know a thriving social economy delivers inclusive local growth and creates more vibrant neighbourhoods with opportunities for local people. 

But the right kind of finance – at the right time – can ultimately make or break the success of community businesses. Our partnership with the North East Combined Authority (NECA) aims to meet this need, growing the region’s community business sector and shaping innovative finance that works for everyone.   

The Flexible Social Finance fund gives community businesses and other ‘socially trading organisations’ in the North East access to the flexible and tailored finance and support they need to thrive.  

The history

In March 2022, we launched a strategic partnership with the NECA (then called the North of Tyne Combined Authority) with the shared objective of growing and further developing the region’s social economy.  

As part of this partnership we co-fund the Policy and Economy Advisor post, held by Mandi Creswell, which brings dedicated capacity to social economy growth within the Combined Authority. You can email Mandi to talk about support available in the North East.

A joint call for evidence in Spring 2022 told us about the nature and scale of the social economy in the North East region and explored appetite for innovative financial products. Read the findings.   

We have since used our experience of backing the community business sector across England to help shape NECA’s £4million flexible social finance offer. We’ve collaborated with national and local partners including Big Issue Invest, NEEAL, and VONNE to design the fund, and collated valuable input from community businesses and other socially trading organisations through a series of roundtables across the region. As a result, the fund design directly addresses the challenges that community businesses face in delivering significant social impact. It supports organisations struggling to secure loans from traditional sources, including those previously rejected by other lenders. 

September 2024 sees the launch of the first phase of the fund, with a £1.5million pilot. As a partnership, we’ll use these learnings to improve future iterations. This way we can best support the region’s community businesses to thrive well into the future. You can apply for the fund via Big Issue Invest.