Power to Change
£10,000 – £100,000+
Focus: Community businesses
England-only. Funds community-owned trading enterprises.
Funding guide
Grants for social enterprises and CICs
Social enterprises and CICs sit between the charity and commercial worlds — and the funding landscape reflects that. Some traditional charity funders exclude CICs; others actively welcome them. There's also a growing pool of social investment and blended finance you wouldn't see as a pure charity.
Who this is for: Community Interest Companies (CIC), social enterprises, B-Corps and mission-led trading organisations.
What to look for in a funder
- Funders who explicitly accept CICs (not all charity funders do)
- Funders who fund the trading element, not just the social mission
- Social investment alongside grants — blended deals stretch your runway
Active funders to consider
Always check current eligibility and deadlines on the funder's own website before applying.
UnLtd
£500 – £18,000 + support
Focus: Social entrepreneurs
Award packages combine cash with mentoring.
School for Social Entrepreneurs
Match Trading grants up to £10,000
Focus: Founders and early-stage social ventures
Match Trading doubles trading income earned during the programme.
Big Issue Invest
£20,000 – £3m social investment
Focus: Social enterprises scaling impact
Loans and equity, not grants. Useful alongside grant income.
Esmée Fairbairn Foundation
Typically £30,000 – £200,000+
Focus: Social change, including via enterprise
Accepts applications from CICs working on systemic change.
Application tips
- Be explicit about your asset lock and how surplus is reinvested. Funders care.
- Show the trading model alongside the impact model. Both must be credible.
- Where grants are scarce, look at blended finance — a small grant plus a social loan can unlock work neither would on its own.
Frequently asked questions
Can a CIC apply to charity grants?
Some — but many funders restrict eligibility to registered charities. Always check the criteria before investing time in an application.
Should we register as a charity to access more funding?
Only if the governance model and trading restrictions suit your organisation. The funding pool is larger as a charity, but the operating constraints are tighter.
Next step
From finding funding to a completed application
Most platforms stop once you've found a grant. Serin surfaces application questions and guidance inside the platform — so you can move from discovery to a stronger completed application in one workflow.