Match funding means £1m in social investment now available for early intervention projects
The CAN Early Intervention Fund has secured match funding from Funding London that will enable the fund to double the loans they can offer and expand to 16 boroughs across London.
Whereas previously the Early Intervention Fund had only awarded disbursements of up to £50,000, the match funding from Funding London now means that organisations can now apply for £5,000 –£100,000 in loan funding.
Andrew Croft, Chief Executive, CAN said: “We are extremely pleased to have Funding London’s support, as it allows us to expand our offer of unsecured loans at a maximum interest rate of 4% APR. With this funding, we will be able to support to organisations providing much needed services for children and young people across London.”
The £1m fund provides loans and business support to voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations that deliver effective products and services for the benefit of children and young people, especially in the areas of child welfare, early years and education, training and unemployment for young people and gangs and anti social behaviour.” It now supports work across 16 London boroughs:
- Central & East: City of London, Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Newham, Waltham Forest, Redbridge, Barking and Dagenham, and Havering
- South: Lewisham, Greenwich, Bexley
- West: Hammersmith and Fulham, Ealing, Brent
- North: Enfield, Haringey
Maggie Rodriguez-Piza, Chief Executive, Funding London said: “Funding London was established in 2004 by the then Mayor of London with the specific long term mandate to support the Economic Development Strategy for London through its SME funding activities... [with any profits] ploughed back into the London ecosystem. We are pleased to be investing a proportion of our returns back into the social enterprise sector and in particular to be able to fund SME’s supporting young people. We chose the Early Intervention Fund because we believe it is a powerful model combining funding on fair commercial terms with hands on business support to assist social SME’s in achieving key milestones in their growth plans.”
UBS are the inaugural funder and supporter of CAN’s Early Intervention Fund. Sarah Craner, Director, Corporate Responsibility and Community Affairs, UBS commented: “UBS is delighted that CAN has successfully leveraged matching of our capitalisation of the Early Intervention Outcomes Fund. Funding London’s contribution means that yet more people will benefit from the increased support provided to more organisations. Impact in this critical field of work has been significantly increased.”
The Early Intervention Fund has already approved circa £100,000 for three social enterprises working in London. Each investment comes with business support, which enables organisations to expand their impact or move towards a sustainable model, whilst continuing the mission of saving social costs in the future.
Organisations that are interested in the Early Intervention Fund should apply via the CAN Invest website at: can-invest.org.uk/services/funds-investment/can-early-intervention-fund
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Notes to editors:
Please note that CAN (formerly known as Community Action Network) is always written with capital letters.
1. The Early Intervention Fund is delivered by CAN Invest in partnership with UBS.
2. CAN is a charity trading as a social enterprise (charity number 1075749). Their activities include:
CAN Mezzanine charity office space currently operates at five locations: four in central London and one in the London Borough of Hounslow, providing office space to more than 140 charities and social enterprises.
CAN Invest accesses and manages funds for investment in social ventures. It also provides social impact measurement services to social ventures, other social finance intermediaries and investors (portfolio).