GrantRadar

Social Investment Business (Access – The Foundation for Social Investment)

Reach Fund

Grants, typically £5,000 to £15,000, that help charities and social enterprises in England that are close to taking on social investment (repayable finance) to do the specific work an investor needs before it can make an offer, such as business plans, financial forecasts or governance reviews. You cannot apply directly: an approved social investor (an Access Point) must refer you and submit the application with its own assessment. Funded by Access – The Foundation for Social Investment and run by Social Investment Business; relaunched in 2026.

Apply on the funder’s site
You could get
£5,000 – £15,000
no fixed round
Deadline
Rolling
apply any time
Effort
Heavy
budgets, references, often several stages

Who can apply

  • Charities and social enterprises based in and operating in England that: are close to raising repayable finance for a specific purpose; have a social investor who has said information is missing that prevents an investment offer; are looking to raise that finance in the next 6-12 months; have a specific investment goal (not general capacity building); have a clear social mission; distribute less than 50% of post-tax profits and reinvest at least 51% of surpluses in the social mission; have an asset lock (a constitutional or contractual lock on social mission, dividend and surplus distribution); and have good governance with at least 2 independent directors
  • Sole traders cannot apply
  • Applicants must be referred by an approved Access Point
  • A second Reach grant is considered only once the first is complete and with a compelling case

What it funds

Specific work that an Access Point (social investor) needs done before it can make an investment offer, for example:

  • Updating business plans
  • Producing financial forecasts
  • Producing specific marketing plans
  • Reviewing staff, governance skills and governance structures
  • Extra hours for part-time staff or backfill for full-time staff working on the project (at actual cost)
  • Demonstrating social impact to meet investor requirements
  • Specific legal work required by the investor
  • Building-related activity such as surveys or valuations
  • Any other specific work required by the investor

The grant request must be determined by, and limited to, the Access Point's requirements, and each element must be justified and show value for money.

Priority applications include those aligned with the fund's EDI focus, such as organisations operating in IMD 1-3 or rural areas, or led by people with protected characteristics.

What it will not fund

  • Retrospective costs (items or costs already paid for or incurred)
  • Day-to-day running costs such as existing staff costs, other overheads or auditing of accounts
  • Time of internal staff where no additional cost is incurred
  • Early-stage feasibility work to establish whether the project or raising finance is realistic
  • Recruitment costs, including governance recruitment
  • General support to increase revenue or make the organisation more profitable or able to afford repayable finance
  • General marketing support, including materials such as leaflets or websites
  • Purchase of IT systems
  • Ongoing general support to add capacity to the organisation
  • Grants to sit alongside an investment offer to reduce the investor's risk
  • Sole traders
  • Straightforward refinancing (not typically supported)
  • More than two Reach grants per organisation

How to apply

  1. Find a social investor in the Access Point Directory and contact them to discuss your organisation and investment plans
  2. If the Access Point agrees the Reach Fund could help, it sends you an email link to the online application form
  3. Work with the Access Point to develop your investment readiness plan and complete the five-section form (organisation, services and beneficiaries, income, raising investment, grant information)
  4. The Access Point reviews your application, may ask for more information, then submits it with its own assessment to Social Investment Business
  5. Social Investment Business assesses the application and carries out checks; it may contact you or the Access Point
  6. If successful, sign the Grant Offer Letter via DocuSign and attach a recent bank statement; funds are released subject to any conditions

The application form is only available through an Access Point.

Contact the Reach team at grants@sibgroup.org.uk (subject 'Reach Enquiry') or 020 3096 7900 to discuss eligibility.

Have ready

  • Online application form (via your Access Point)
  • Access Point's assessment/supporting statement (submitted by the Access Point)

If the grant is offered, a bank statement no more than three months old showing account name, sort code and account number must be returned with the signed Grant Offer Letter.

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