Social Investment Business

Energy Resilience Fund

The Energy Resilience Fund is a blended loan and grant: every award is 60% loan (8.5% fixed interest, 2-10 year term, generally unsecured) and 40% grant, from £25k to £250k per site, so the grant element is £10k to £100k. It helps charities and social enterprises in England install energy efficiency or generation measures in their buildings or land, or buy energy-efficient vehicles and equipment. A free independent energy assessment is provided for building projects, and the fund is delivered by Social Investment Business with partners including Big Issue Invest, Charity Bank, Key Fund, Groundwork UK and The Ubele Initiative. You must be able and willing to take on loan finance to receive the grant.

Apply on the funder’s site

You could get: £25,000 – £250,000; no fixed round
Deadline: Rolling; apply any time
Effort: Heavy; budgets, references, often several stages

Who can apply

Incorporated voluntary, community or social enterprise organisations based in England and serving communities primarily within England, constituted for social benefit
You must be registered as a charity, Community Interest Company or Community Benefit Society; any other legal entity must have a social object, an asset lock and a restriction on profit distribution (under 50% of post-tax profits) in its governing documents
You need at least 2 years' operating activity, a turnover of at least £100k in your last year-end accounts, fewer than 250 employees, turnover not over £40m and a balance sheet total not over £35m
You must be unable to access mainstream bank lending for the purpose, not be subject to insolvency proceedings, have a viable borrowing proposal, and have the support of your senior decision makers to take on loan finance
For building or land works you need freehold ownership or a suitable written lease (see note on lease length)

What it funds

Blended loan (60%) and grant (40%) to bolster the energy resilience of eligible charities and social enterprises in England:

Installing energy saving measures or generation technology to buildings/land (including new builds), e.g. lighting, insulation, glazing, heat pumps, solar PV, battery storage
Purchasing energy efficient or environmentally friendly vehicles or equipment (battery electric, plug-in hybrid and hydrogen vehicles are eligible)
Capital costs
Labour costs
Project management costs
Building management systems
Training
Contingency
Revenue losses from disruption caused by the works (up to 15% of total funding)

amounts are £25k to £250k per site, inclusive of the 40% grant; an organisation can make up to 5 applications, with total investment capped at £500,000. Vehicles and equipment must be bought and owned by the applicant and sit on its balance sheet.

What it will not fund

Refinancing, except in exceptional circumstances
Costs that have already been incurred (no retrospective funding)
Community energy or heating generation projects such as district heat networks, solar or wind farms, large hydro or nuclear, where the primary purpose is to sell energy to a third party
Community energy organisations that bring groups together to purchase, manage, generate or reduce consumption of energy
Hybrid electric vehicles that cannot be plugged into the mains
Untested technology
Facilities primarily for statutory services, e.g. hospitals, state funded primary or secondary schools, universities
Buildings or sections of them used primarily for political campaigning
Buildings or sections of them used for worship or furtherance of faith, unless more than 50% of the building's use is for community services and the measures benefit those community areas

How to apply

Submit the online application (about 25 minutes; it can be saved and resumed)
A fund partner carries out an initial eligibility review
If needed, a free independent energy assessment is arranged for building/land projects
Provide a funding request with quotes for the specific measures; the fund team contacts you with questions during a full assessment
The application goes to an internal panel and then the Investment Committee for a decision
If approved: offer documents, due diligence, then funds are released

an energy assessment is required for building/land measures but not for vehicles, standalone equipment or enabling works only; an existing assessment under 24 months old with no significant changes can be used.

Have ready

Last 2 sets of approved financial accounts
Latest management accounts
12-month cashflow forecast
For property projects: title deeds or lease
For buildings: 12 months of gas and electricity bills
Energy assessment (if you already have one)
Quotes for the measures, vehicles or equipment

More like this

Other grants open to organisations like yours.